Home > News Archive > Applied Minerals, Inc. Appoints Material Sciences Expert Prof. Roger Rothon to Newly Created Technical Advisory Board

June 06, 2012

Applied Minerals, Inc. Appoints Material Sciences Expert Prof. Roger Rothon to Newly Created Technical Advisory Board

Board Enhances Commercialization Efforts for Current Product and Next Generation Solutions; Provides Access to Global Network of Contacts  

New York, NY -- June 6, 2012 -- Applied Minerals, Inc. (the “Company”) (OTCQB & OTCBB: AMNL), the leading global producer of Halloysite Clay solutions, today announced the appointment of Professor Roger Rothon to the Company’s newly created Technical Advisory Board. 

Prof. Rothon is a recognized expert in the field of particulate fillers and flame retardants. Combining world-class technical expertise and keen awareness of market needs, he has a forty year track record developing commercial materials, products and processes. His tenure at Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), acquired by Akzo Nobel N.V., led to revolutionary new filler products and coupling agents, and subsequent endeavors have resulted in a wide variety of high-tech and eco-friendly products.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome such a highly respected and capable figure in Prof. Roger Rothon as the first appointment to our newly created Technical Advisory Board,” said Andre Zeitoun, President and CEO of Applied Minerals, Inc.  “Roger possesses a unique combination of world class technical capabilities and an impressive industrial track record, particularly in the field of flame retardancy and value added pigments.  His insights and unmatched global network will prove to be invaluable to Applied Minerals in further accelerating the rapid commercialization of our Dragonite line of products.”

According to Prof. Rothon:  “I believe that being appointed to the Technical Advisory Board for Applied Minerals represents an exciting opportunity due to the uniquely disruptive qualities of their halloysite clay products.  The unique characteristics of Halloysite enables significant enhancement in the performance of plastics, elastomers, coatings and adhesives beyond the level achievable with conventional additives. I look forward to working with this team in broadening the market potential and further accelerating commercialization for its Dragonite line of halloysite clay products.”

Professor Roger Rothon Career Highlights

With a career spanning over four decades, Prof. Rothon spent 25 years with ICI in the UK.  Thereafter, he was recruited by Flamemag International in Australia and more recently worked as an independent consultant and as a University researcher and visiting professor.  Prof. Rothon has a specialization in the areas of particulate fillers and surface treatments.  He has many publications and patents combined with a strong track record in development of new commercial products.  He is the editor and main contributor to the textbook, Particulate Filled Polymer Composites, and has authored several chapters in other books; including a chapter on Functional Polymers and other Filler Surface Modifiers in Functional Fillers for Plastics, edited by Marino Xanthos. 

Prof. Rothon is well versed in the area of market studies and commercial acceptance of products, applications, industry demand and market value.   Recent work includes flame retardant products for developing economies, green tire technology and its effect on filler and silane markets, and specialty silica markets.  In addition, Prof. Rothon has completed application-specific initiatives in conjunction with corporate clients for products that are presently being commercialized or are already being distributed in Europe and the United States.

He was a founder member of the successful Eurofillers conferences and is currently a member of its steering committee. He is a four-time keynote speaker at the annual Eurofillers conference, where industry and academia have convened to discuss the latest trends in material sciences involving particulates, fillers and composites.  Prof. Rothon also was chairman of Eurofillers 97 and of Several High Performance Fillers Conferences, both in Europe and the United States.

Throughout his career, Prof. Rothon has developed and introduced new forms of precipitated calcium carbonate fillers, new maleated polybutadiene coupling agents, very highly filled composites using magnetic fillers, a white, conducting, filler for use in nylon fibers, a new production process for magnesium hydroxide fire retardant fillers, a new filler for PMMA solid surfaces and commercialized new filled products based on polyvinylbutyral recovered from end of life windscreens.

About Applied Minerals, Inc.

Applied Minerals is the leading producer of Halloysite Clay solutions from its wholly-owned Dragon Mine property in Utah.  Halloysite is an aluminosilicate clay that forms naturally occurring nanotubes.   In addition to serving the traditional halloysite markets for use in technical ceramics and catalytic applications, the Company has developed niche applications that benefit from the tubular morphology of its halloysite.  These applications include carriers of active ingredients in paints, coatings and building materials, environmental remediation, agricultural applications and high-performance additives & fillers for plastic composites.   Additional information on the company can be found on our company website at www.appliedminerals.com.

Safe harbor statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for Applied Minerals, Inc.: Some statements contained or implied in this news release may be considered forward-looking statements, which by their nature are uncertain. Consequently, actual results could materially differ. For more detailed information concerning how risks and uncertainties could affect the Company's financial results, please refer to Applied Minerals’s most recent filings with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information.