Mar 22 2010
Applied Minerals, Inc. (OTCBB:AMNL) a leading global producer of Halloysite Clay, announced today that The Naval Research Lab (NRL) has given notice to grant to Applied Minerals, Inc., a license to several patents covering the use of Halloysite microtubules for the elution of active ingredients (for example, biocides) in paints and building materials.
The paints in the license include paints, sealers, fillers, anticorrosion coatings, varnishes, shellac and polyurethane coatings. Of particular interest are coatings for anti fouling boat hulls, which may have biocides for reducing barnacle growth. The building materials covered in the license include grout, cement, stucco, mortar, wallboard, particleboard, paneling, fiberboard, plywood, lumber, caulks, sealants and adhesives, ceramics, cultured marble, tile, and insulation materials. Many of these materials also are used with biocides such as antifungal agents.
The Government-owned patents licensed by Applied Minerals are U.S. Patent numbers 5,492,696; 5,651,976; 5,705,191; and 6,280,759.
Applied Minerals Chief Executive Officer, Andre Zeitoun, stated: “We are very pleased to add the Naval Research Lab’s controlled release technology to our growing base of intellectual property. We feel that this agreement provides us a meaningful competitive advantage in paints, coatings, and building materials, where Halloysite is a promising material with highly desirable properties. We are now in a position to supply our customers with premium grades of Halloysite as well as the IP protection to use it in these exciting applications.
“One of the most important advantages of Halloysite in paints and building materials is minimizing the quantity of toxic additives in the environment. There is tremendous pressure on suppliers to reduce the amount of environmentally harmful chemicals in products, and to develop greener products,” he said. “Our Halloysite technology enables manufacturers to improve the efficiency and performance of their existing products while reducing the amount of active chemical agents needed to achieve the desired results. This translates into significant cost savings as well as environmental responsibility. We plan on working closely with our customers to commercialize these value added products,” Zeitoun said.
“This license enables us to further broaden our line of Halloysite based Dragonite products, building on the recent launch of our Dragonite-XR™product as a high performance filler in the polymer composite market. We thank the NRL for their validation in choosing Applied Minerals as their partner to commercialize this exciting technology and look forward to a successful ongoing relationship.”
Source: http://www.atlasmining.com/