Home > News Archive > Applied Minerals, Inc. Announces Its First Commercial Supply Contract For Dragonite-HP™

February 14, 2011
Applied Minerals, Inc. Announces Its First Commercial Supply Contract For Dragonite-HP™

NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Applied Minerals, Inc. (the “Company”) (OTCBB:AMNL.ob - News) is pleased to announce its first commercial supply contract for its Dragonite-HP™ multi-functional polymer additive. Dragonite-HP is a new, patent pending Halloysite-based product designed to provide an unmatched combination of reinforcement properties and cycle time reduction in high-density polyethylene (“HDPE”). The product is available in either powder form or masterbatch pellets.

Signature Fencing & Flooring Systems, LLC (“Signature”), the world’s largest manufacturer of modular flooring systems, will utilize the Dragonite-HP additive in its MegaDeck product offering, the latest addition to EventDeck’s line of heavy-duty matting and temporary roadway systems (http://www.eventdeck.com/MegaDeck.shtml). The Dragonite-HP additive will enable the Megadeck product line to meet the rigorous performance standards required by such a critical application.

MegaDeck’s extra-large access mats allow even the largest vehicles and equipment to traverse any type of terrain while protecting the ground beneath from chemical and vehicular damage. MegaDeck’s composite mats are intended for use as temporary roads, construction and heavy-lift crane platforms, rig mats, dragline mats, military base camp flooring, and can be used anywhere heavy-duty access matting is required.

The benefits provided by the Dragonite-HP additive @ 1-2% loadings to HDPE include:

  • An increase of 20% - 30% in stiffness
  • An increase of 15% in flex strength
  • An increase of 15% in tensile strength
  • Retention of notched izod impact
  • Improved surface finish and pigment dispersion
  • Improved dimensional stability (uniform shrinkage and reduced warpage)
  • Reduction in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)
  • Flame and smoke suppression synergist
  • Fully recyclable without a loss of physical properties

The processing benefits of the Dragonite-HP additive for fabricators of HDPE include:

  • 15-30% cycle time reduction resulting in an increase in plant efficiency through the combination of nucleation, melt viscosity and superior heat transfer capability provided by the additive
  • Reduction in energy consumption
  • Reduction in manufacturing costs
  • Ability to thin wall parts resulting in further decrease in resin cost and reduced part weight

According to Andre Zeitoun, President and CEO of Applied Minerals, Inc.: “We are delighted to see our Dragonite-HP product go from the R&D stage to commercial deployment in such a relatively short time. The MegaDeck product is the largest and strongest HDPE heavy-duty matting product on the market today. The Dragonite-HP additive delivered the necessary combination of price and performance. We believe that Signature’s decision to use Dragonite-HP in its high performance MegaDeck product is a strong validation of our product’s potential in the targeted 100 billion pound-per-annum High Density Polyethylene global market.”

According to Arnon Rosan, President & CEO of Signature Fencing & Flooring: “We have tried various fillers and additive systems to resolve issues with shrinkage and heat dissipation for a part as large as MegaDeck and found that incorporating Dragonite-HP into our formulation yielded these processing benefits in addition to the increase in strength. We are excited to incorporate this material into our MegaDeck product, which has already shown huge promise through a number of advance customer orders. With the success we have achieved using Dragonite-HP in MegaDeck, we are planning on evaluating it in a variety of other products in our line, such as DuraDeck, our lighter weight access mat.”

Applied Minerals, Inc. is preparing for a full commercial launch of its Dragonite-HP additive at which time detailed product specifications and marketing literature will be made available.

Technical inquiries regarding Dragonite-HP should be directed to Dr. Christopher DeArmitt, Chief Technology Officer of Applied Minerals, Inc., at (917) 210-4077 or cdearmitt@appliedminerals.com. Sample requests should be sent to info@appliedminerals.com.

About Applied Minerals, Inc.

Applied Minerals Inc. is a leading global producer of Halloysite Clay from their 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 targeted niche applications that it feels will benefit from the tubular morphology of its Halloysite. These include: carriers of active ingredients in paints, coatings and building materials, agricultural applications and high-performance functional fillers in polymer composites. Statements in this press release that are not historical facts, and this includes all the statements concerning future-oriented statements relating to processing, capacity, costs, notifications, working together, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and involve a number of significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated, expected or implied.

About Signature Fencing & Flooring Systems, LLC

Signature Fencing & Flooring Systems, LLC is the world’s largest manufacturer and renter of event fencing, barricades, dance floors, stadium flooring and tent flooring. Based in New York City, it manufactures and markets a wide range of portable fencing and flooring systems that are ideal for any type of facility and special event. The Company’s products are proudly manufactured of high-quality materials and are backed by the Signature quality guarantee.

Contact:

 

Darrow Associates
Jordan M. Darrow
Phone: 631-367-1866

or
Signature Fencing & Flooring Systems, LLC
Sales: 1-800-709-9055
sales@signaturefencing.com