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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STRATEGIC
MINERALS KEEPS
VANADIUM-MINING CAPACITY IN RESERVE
DANBURY,
Connecticut, February 27, 2003 - Strategic Minerals Corporation,
headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut, has decided that it will continue
to meet most of its feedstock requirements in South Africa with purchased
vanadium-bearing slag and not mined ore from its captive mine. As a consequence,
it has renewed an existing contract for purchasing vanadium-bearing slag
for the period 2003-2006.
"The vanadium industry
has enormous capacity in the form of vanadium-bearing slags, by-products
and co-products," said William G. Beattie, Chairman of Strategic
Minerals. "With over two-thirds of worldwide vanadium production
derived from by-product or co-product sources, mining capacity has a
swing role. This decision conserves our ore reserves and maintains our
flexibility to expand mining operations when market conditions warrant."
Strategic Minerals estimates
worldwide vanadium-oxide production capacity at 250 million pounds annually,
with current demand running at about 155 to 160 million pounds. Non-mining
sources alone could presently supply 170 million pounds annually, much
of it at a low-incremental cost.
Mr. Beattie added that the
economics of the vanadium industry, especially the "swing"
role of mining, remains widely misunderstood today, creating a potential
trap for investors in new vanadium-mining projects. "It's very
easy for new mining advocates to underestimate the diversity, magnitude,
and persistence of vanadium from non-mined sources," he said. "Also,
investors who lack a complete understanding of the industry's unique
structure can be easily misled by short-term fluctuations in supply,
demand, or price."
February 27, 2003
For more information, contact
John Crane
telephone: (212)302-3344
email: John.Crane@stratcor.com
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