ATLANTA, Nov. 4, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Ruby Mining Company (OTCBB:RUBM), a Colorado corporation ("Ruby"), which conducts its operations through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Admiralty Corporation, a Georgia corporation ("Admiralty"), today announced the signing of a letter of intent to acquire from Caribbean Treasure Hunters, Inc., a Nevada corporation ("CTHI"), the New World Legacy, a 110-foot, 169-ton shipwreck search and recovery vessel (the "Ship"). The terms of the proposed acquisition include 1,000,000 shares of Ruby Mining Common Stock and the assumption by Ruby of the two perfected liens encumbering the Ship. The letter of intent was signed on behalf of CTHI by Mr. Charles Nelson, acting in his capacity as founding and principal shareholder of CTHI. Mr. Nelson has indicated that he is in a dispute with certain of the stockholders of CTHI over control of the management of CTHI. The acquisition of the Ship is conditioned upon the approval of a majority of the stockholders of CTHI and Mr. Nelson is currently directing the preparation of a proxy to be submitted to the stockholders of CTHI requesting their vote on the proposed acquisition.
CTHI was organized in 1996 for the purpose of locating and recovering valuable cargoes from historic shipwrecks. CTHI owns the Ship, but the Ship is currently arrested and impounded under court order in New Orleans, Louisiana pursuant to judicial actions filed by certain lien holders, including Mr. Nelson. Ruby first began negotiating with CTHI to acquire the Ship over one year ago, but a condition then imposed by Admiralty to completing the proposed acquisition was the relocation of the Ship from Panama where it was then impounded under court order to a United States port. Mr. Nelson succeeded in arranging for the delivery of a bond in Panama, pursuant to which the Ship could be and was in fact moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where it is today.
The Ship will accommodate 21 persons, including a crew of 4. It has been outfitted with sophisticated dive-support equipment and special marine survey and recovery equipment, including a "fish tow" cesium magnetometer, two hand-held cesium magnetometers, sub-bottom mapping electronic equipment and software, two 18-foot Boston Whalers, a heavy-duty crane, air compressors for diving tanks, and a full dive air Nitrox system. If the proposed acquisition is completed, Ruby intends to utilize the Ship for operations in the permitted waters of the Pedro Bank. The Ship should be ideal for such operations because many of the target areas are quite shallow and the Ship only drafts 8 feet.
Information about Ruby/Admiralty (the "Company")
The Company has developed unique, proprietary detection technology, which it calls ATLIS, for use in locating and excavating valuable cargoes from historical shipwrecks, primarily Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English, and French shipwrecks dating from the late 15th through the 19th century. The initial target area for the Company's archaeological operations is the Pedro Bank, roughly 2,000 square miles of ocean territory approximately 80 miles southwest of Kingston, Jamaica. Admiralty holds an exclusive permit from the government of Jamaica for exploration and excavation of historic shipwrecks located in these waters. The waters of the Pedro Bank are believed to be some of the richest in the world for shipwrecks from three centuries of Spanish flotillas carrying gold and silver bars and coins, as well as valuable gemstones and artifacts, from Central and South America, to the Spanish Empire. Admiralty has also negotiated the key terms and conditions for a proposed license from the Government of Mexico to locate and excavate historic shipwrecks in the territorial waters of Mexico, a license which Admiralty believes will be issued by the end of the first quarter of 2004.
The Company has enhanced the shipwreck search capabilities associated with its ATLIS detection technology by positioning itself to acquire and use specialized fly-over (aerial) remote-sensing analyses to detect underwater anomalies, which may indicate the presence of historic shipwrecks in licensed waters. The Company is also actively prosecuting applications for patents to protect its ATLIS technology. The Company's principal objective is to utilize its proprietary, patent-pending technology, in partnership with domestic and foreign governments, marine archaeologists, research historians, and research scientists, to become the recognized world leader in the location and excavation of historic shipwrecks.
The Company is also actively exploring the possibility of utilizing its ATLIS technology to assist the federal government in locating unexploded ordnance (bombs, artillery shells, ammunition, weapons, and other potentially explosive military devices and materials), commonly referred to as "UXO," in the territorial waters of the United States. Once properly located, the UXO may then be safely disposed of on site or retrieved and transported to a safe disposal site. In an effort to expand this new business opportunity to include land mines and other land-based (terrestrial) UXO, the Company recently granted the Georgia Tech Research Institute a non-exclusive license to develop the ATLIS technology for use in locating land mines and other terrestrial UXO, without the obvious dangers inherent in conventional location methods which often rely on digging, probing, and drilling.
Both marine, but especially land-based, UXO pose a serious, often lethal, threat to the safety and well-being of millions of people. There are 15,000 to 20,000 new casualties in over 75 countries from land mines and UXO each year. The cost of successfully remediating the thousands of UXO and land mine sites worldwide is typically estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars, and it has been estimated that 100 years may be required to conduct full remediation activities with conventional technology.
The Company plans to generate future revenues from six principal sources: (i) sale of select cargo and other cultural materials from historic shipwrecks; (ii) sale of merchandise; (iii) fees from artifact exhibitions; (iv) corporate sponsorship fees; (v) sale and licensing of intellectual property rights; and (vi) fees from government agencies for assistance in locating and retrieving UXO for disposal.
Additional information about the Company can be found at www.admiraltycorporation.com.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release, other than those concerning historical information, should be considered forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are made based on management's current expectation or beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. The Company's actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, governmental, monetary and fiscal policies; our ability to obtain financing for operations; our ability to establish and maintain relationships with foreign countries; our ability to secure and perform under contracts, licenses and other agreements; adverse changes in laws and regulations; adverse decisions and orders of courts and regulatory agencies; development of competing technology to ATLIS; our ability to acquire marine vessels and conduct successful operations; less than expected performance of the ATLIS technology under actual field conditions; the issuance of patents providing adequate protection for the ATLIS technology; the successful adaptation of the ATLIS technology for use in detecting UXO and land mines; and adverse changes in the securities markets. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by, or on behalf of, the Company.