Mantra signed an exclusive Option Agreement to acquire the license of the Biometals Recovery System (BRS)- a revolutionary mine wastewater technology, on February 27th, 2009. Biometals Recovery System is a biological-based water treatment system that selectively recovers and upgrades valuable metals with maximum energy recovery.

Acid mine drainage (AMD), the outflow of acidic water from abandoned metal mines or coal mines, is responsible for the contamination of 40% of western waterways. While the U.S. Bureau of Mines estimates current AMD remediation expenditures to be $1 Million per day, these efforts have been largely inadequate due to the ineffectiveness of current AMD mitigation technologies. In 2004, the EPA listed 63 hardrock mining Superfund sites with a combined estimated cleanup costs of $7.8 Billion- representing only a fraction of global market demand.

In addition to the treatment of acid mine drainage, a secondary market for Mantra’s BRS technology is Heap Leaching Metal Recovery. Heap leaching is currently responsible for 20% of worldwide copper production, representing an approximate market value of $12 Billion USD.

Bioteq Environmental, one of the pioneers in the AMD remediation sector, represents a fairly accurate representation of Mantra’s intended entry into this industry. Bioteq’s technology, as developed by the same inventor of Mantra’s BRS technology, has led to annual revenues of $4.6 Million USD since going public in 2000. In 2007, Bioteq processed a total of 4.46 billion liters of water, recovered 1.4 million pounds of copper and increased its operations and engineering staff by 40%.

Mantra’s BRS technology relies on a much more efficient biological reaction, which is combined with product upgrading and energy recovery to provide a major economic advantage over competing technologies in the AMD mitigation market. Therefore, upon completion of the BRS technology, Mantra anticipates rapidly overcoming market penetration rates achieved by its competitors.

The implementation of BRS technology will focus on the development of selected large-scale projects in collaboration with key industry partners, resulting in on-going profitability for all parties involved. In addition, Mantra anticipates licensing the BRS technology to resource companies for their own applications for projects that do not fit within Mantra’s discretionary project criteria.

The BRS technology is currently in the critical patenting process; therefore, more detailed information outlining its unique chemical processes and capabilities will be available shortly.