Business Description
Applied Minerals, Inc. owns the Dragon Mine in central Utah from which we extract,
process and market halloysite clay and iron oxide for sale to a range of end
markets. We also engage in research and development and frequently work collaboratively
with potential customers, consultants, distributors, and third party processors
to engineer and enhance our halloysite clay and iron oxide products to improve
the performance of our customers’ existing and new products.
Halloysite
Our halloysite clay, which we market under the DRAGONITE™ trade name,
is aluminosilicate clay with a hollow tubular shape. DRAGONITE can utilize halloysite’s
shape, high surface area, and reactivity to add significant functionality to
a number of applications, including molecular sieves and catalysts, nucleation
and/or reinforcement of polymers, fire retardant additives for plastics, and
cement.
Iron Oxide
Our iron oxide, which we market under the AMIRON™ tradename, is a high
purity product. We currently sell it as an absorbent for hydrogen sulfide gas
contained in natural gas. We believe that the high purity of the Dragon Mine’s
iron oxide resource positions it to be able to compete cost effectively in the
pigment market with higher-cost synthetic iron oxides as a colorant for mulch
(typically made out of bark chips) and for other uses.
Characterization of the Mineralization; Research and Development
Over the last eight years, the Company has expended significant resources to
determine the amount, character and mineabilitiy of the mineralization of the
deposits at the Dragon Mine.
We have also expended significant resources on research and development that
focused on exploiting the unique shape and high purity of the Dragon Mine’s
mineral resources to develop high-value, eco-friendly solutions. Such solutions
either enhance product performance at minimal additional cost or reduce manufacturing
costs without sacrificing product performance. We believe that DRAGONITE and
AMIRON offer solutions that accomplish both of these objectives.