Sep 27 2006
Emgold Mining Corporation (Vancouver, Canada) has announced that Golden Bear Ceramics Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Emgold, will be exhibiting its stone tile, manufactured from 100% waste material, at the West Coast Green Residential Building Conference from 28-30 September 2006 in San Francisco at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, Booth 103. West Coast Green is the largest residential green building conference dedicated to the development of sustainable communities in North America.
As an exhibitor, Golden Bear will have the opportunity to introduce high quality 100% green stone building products to architects, designers, developers and builders who focus on green building projects or who intend to incorporate green products into future projects. Golden Bear is introducing the high quality stone products manufactured using the Ceramext(TM) technology to key decision makers early in the project planning process to allow Golden Bear products to be specified.
In addition to the floor and wall tile markets, Golden Bear has also targeted the roofing market, through the manufacture and sale of roofing tiles to be produced by the Ceramext(TM) technology. The current market for ceramic roofing tile is approximately US$100 million per year out of the US$8.9 billion annual roofing materials market in the United States.
A key driver of this market in the future is the introduction of 'Cool Roof' technology. Cool Roof technology is the application of reflective coatings to roof tile surfaces. The high roof reflectance reduces the heat entering a building through its roof and results in lower interior temperatures and lower air conditioning demands placed on the local electrical power grid. In 2008 it is expected that the State of California will introduce Title 24, a state-wide initiative that will mandate the use of Cool Roof technology, which may be a possible driver to the tile roofing market.
According to Emgold, Given that Golden Bear's roof tile is made from 100% waste material, the combination with Cool Roof technology enhances its potential as a supplier of 100% green ceramic roofing products.