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The Caribou Mine site, originally owned by Breakwater Resources, was the first commercial application of BioteQ's BioSulphide® Process, treating mine drainage containing high concentrations of zinc together with copper, cadmium and lead. The plant concluded operations in 2003, having successfully demonstrated the commercial scale of the technology. BioteQ continued to operate water treatment plants at the site until completion of its operations contract as of July 31, 2007.
 When BioteQ became involved in the site in 2001, the Caribou mine was not operating; however, the site required ongoing attention for water management and treatment. In 2001, BioteQ financed, constructed and operated a plant upstream of a lime treatment plant to recover zinc and other heavy metals into a concentrate. The plant was started up in November 2001 and by January 2002 had reached a steady state.
The plant operated throughout 2002 and demonstrated the ability of the technology to recover metals into a high grade product and to treat highly variable contaminated water quality. During 2002, the plant recovered nearly 35 tonnes of zinc concentrate which was delivered and accepted for sale to the nearby Brunswick Mine under contract with Noranda. As a result, lime reagent consumption on the lime plant was significantly reduced. In addition, the lime plant produced less sludge for disposal and long term sludge storage liabilities were reduced due to the prior removal of the heavy metals which were shipped off site. Concentrate production was suspended at the end of October 2002 due to the planned shut-down by Breakwater of mine water collection and treatment as part of changes to its water management strategy.
Lime plant operation resumed in 2004, and coincided with a new contract with Breakwater for BioteQ to take over water management and treatment responsibilities at both Caribou and the nearby Restigouche mine site. BioteQ designed and commissioned a new HDS lime plant in 2005 to improve process efficiency and reduce sludge handling costs. Part of the contract included remediation of a sizeable deposit of old tailings deposited by previous owners. Tailings treatment operations began in 2005.
In 2006 the mine was re-activated by Blue Note Metals Inc. BioteQ completed its operating contract at the site as of July 31, 2007.
The application of BioteQ's technology at Caribou resulted in a number of environmental and economic benefits, including:
- First commercial BioteQ plant in North America
- Recovered zinc concentrate for sale
- Reduced lime consumption and sludge volumes
- Reduced annual operating costs resulting from the HDS lime plant commissioning
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