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[July 2008]
Erdene Announces Reverse Takeover of Beta Minerals
Erdene Resource Development Corp (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) has entered into a binding letter agreement with Beta Minerals Inc and Deepstep Kaolin Company LLC whereby Erdene will exchange all of the outstanding common shares of its wholly owned US subsidiary, Erdene Materials Corporation (EMC), for common shares of Beta, giving Erdene a controlling interest in Beta. Prior to the transaction, EMC will transfer all of its ‘non-clay assets’, consisting primarily of its construction aggregate assets, to another company owned by Erdene.
"We are very excited by this arrangement which provides for initial funding of very promising business opportunities that will be advanced independently through a new public entity," said Ken MacDonald, VP Business Strategy and CFO of Erdene. "With EMC's primary clay projects already producing for the paper industry and new ceramic applications moving through final commercial testing we envision significant growth in these areas as well as rapid advancement of other opportunities."
Upon completion of the proposed transaction, Beta will control one of the highest quality kaolin resources in North America. Due to an aggressive exploration and acquisition programme by EMC in the late 1990s, Beta will control a large, high brightness primary clay resource of premium quality with an in-ground resource of 21.9 million tons. The projects are located in central Georgia which is the largest producing kaolin clay region globally. In addition to the kaolin resources, the clay assets will include ongoing commercial production on a pre-paid royalty basis by Kamin LLC (formerly J M Huber Corp), a minerals laboratory and pilot plant originally developed by RTZ's industrial mineral division, a joint venture with Deepstep to develop and manufacture specialty kaolin products largely in the ceramics business, large surface land ownership of approximately 1,500 acres and an experienced operations and management team.
The agreement will enable EMC to expand on the current commercial product line used by the paper industry and to develop new product lines for the primary kaolin resources, initially in the ceramics sector. EMC has also been conducting testing of the resource for use in the catalytic converter sector and is evaluating its use in the cement industry. The initial focus will be the production and sale of kaolin products to the ceramic industry and toll processing of specialised industrial mineral products. EMC and Deepstep have been working with manufacturers over the past 24 months testing various EMC primary clay sources in different ceramic and glazing clay applications and are about to begin commercial production.
www.erdene.com
ENDS