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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STRATEGIC
MINERALS CONSOLIDATES
VANADIUM PRODUCTION AT HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
DANBURY, Connecticut,
October 18, 2005 — New
vanadium-halide production facilities being built at Hot Springs, Arkansas
will enable Strategic Minerals Corporation of Danbury, Connecticut to
consolidate all its U.S. vanadium operations at one location, the company
announced today. The consolidation will improve efficiency, reduce transportation
costs, and expand the number of vanadium chemicals that the company
produces for the chemical and petrochemical industries.
Currently, Strategic Minerals'
Stratcor, Inc. subsidiary produces vanadium halides at Niagara Falls,
New York. When the new facilities are completed at Hot Springs at the
end of 2005 or early in 2006, the company will close the Niagara Falls
plant, resulting in a loss of 17 positions at that location.
"Our Hot Springs plant
already produces the vanadium oxide used as the raw material in our
vanadium-halide operations," said Hein Enslin, President of Strategic
Minerals Corporation. "By having all our vanadium-chemicals facilities
at the same location, we will streamline our operations and better serve
our customers, particularly those located in the southern part of the
United States."
The vanadium-halide products
affected by the move to Hot Springs are vanadium oxytrichloride, vanadium
tetrachloride, and vanadium-titanium mixes. These products are used
as catalysts in the production of polyethylene, synthetic rubber, and
other chemicals. The company currently produces high-purity vanadium
pentoxide, vanadium trioxide, ammonium metavanadate, and various other
vanadium chemicals and oxides at Hot Springs. These products are sold
to chemical customers or used as raw materials in the production of
Stratcor® ferrovanadium and vanadium-aluminum used by the steel
and titanium industries respectively.
Mr. Enslin noted that Strategic
Minerals had examined the possibility of extending its lease at Niagara
Falls and making the necessary investments needed to modernize that
aging plant. However, relocating the vanadium-chemical operations to
Hot Springs was the only logical long-term option to remain competitive
from a production and customer viewpoint, he said.
"We regret that closing
the Niagara Falls plant will adversely affect employees who have served
us faithfully for so many years," said Mr. Enslin. "We are
working with each individual there to minimize this effect as much as
possible."
October 18, 2005
For more information, contact
John Crane
telephone: (212)302-3344
email: John.Crane@stratcor.com
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