SILVER CITY, Utah, June 6, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Atlas Mining Company (OTCBB:ALMI) is pleased to announce that the Company has improved its halloysite clay processing methods at the Dragon Mine in Juab County, Utah. The Company recently took delivery of a new jet mill, permitting the size reduction of the halloysite clay produced at the mine. According to Dr. Ron Price, President and CEO of Nano Clay and Technologies, Inc., an Atlas Mining Company subsidiary, the new jet mill will help process the raw halloysite product to a more useable size for nano and microtubular technical applications, and in addition will permit Atlas to offer toll-milling services to clients. The mill will be used in conjunction with the existing KDS dryer/grinder to process halloysite individual nanoscale and micron scale tubules with and aggregate size in the range of 2 to 4 microns.
The Company has also been improving its Quality Control processes with the establishment of a new laboratory capability located at the Dragon Mine to guide production. Analyzing equipment including a Phillips XRD and Zeiss TEM have been purchased and are being installed along with a new FTIR field instrument to allow for in-situ mapping of the resource.
According to William T. Jacobson, President and CEO of the Company, "Over the past several months we have been able to get a better handle on exactly what our quantity and quality looks like. We have undertaken additional exploratory drilling, which is ongoing, and have developed a geographical information database allowing us to compile geological and mineral information into three-dimensional programs. We are employing our enhanced quality assurance capabilities to provide a highly accurate database based on our core samples, thus allowing us to know exactly what and where our mineral assets are as we move into the halloysite deposit. In addition we have completed high resolution photo-mapping and are finishing the production of a very high resolution topographic map to guide both the current and future development of the Dragon Mine."
About Atlas Mining Company: Atlas Mining Company is a diversified natural resource company with focus on the development of the Dragon Mine in Juab County, Utah, the only known commercial source of halloysite clay outside of New Zealand. The unique purity and quality of the Dragon mine halloysite is unmatched anywhere in the world and has spawned considerable research in the nanotechnology fields and has created exciting new applications for this product. Atlas also holds mining and timber interests in Northern Idaho, and operates an underground mining contracting business, and holds interests in copper and gold properties in Newfoundland. Atlas stock trades on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "ALMI". More information about Atlas Mining Company can be found at www.atlasmining.com.
Safe Harbor Statement: Except for the historical statements made herein, the statements made in this release are forward-looking statements. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, general business conditions, managing growth, and political and other business risks. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this Safe Harbor Statement and the risks and other factors detailed in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Atlas Mining Company undertakes no duty to update these forward-looking statements.
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