Atacama major EXPANSION INTO NITRATE PRODUCTION
June 2, 2008? Atacama Minerals Corp. (?Atacama? or the ?Company?) (TSX
Venture: AAM) is pleased to announce a major expansion at the Company?s Aguas Blancas industrial minerals mine located in northern Chile.
In addition to iodine, the Aguas Blancas
mine hosts extensive nitrate resources. A positive feasibility study on
development of these large nitrate resources has recently been completed.
The Board of Directors has approved development which will include construction
of a US $60 million nitrate fertilizer plant designed to initially produce
70,000 tonnes of nitrate fertilizer per year.
The nitrate fertilizer plant will process the nitrate salt-bearing brine
solution produced from the current iodine operations. A portion of the
evaporation ponds for recovery of the nitrate salts have already been
constructed and are being prepared for future nitrate salt recovery. The new
plant will have the capability to produce three different specialty fertilizer products ? potassium nitrate,
sodium nitrate and sodium potassium nitrate. Engineering, construction and
start-up of the new plant are estimated to take up to 27 months. Permitting and
infrastructure are already in place and a new powerline
which facilitates this expansion was inaugurated in April of this year.
Nitrate fertilizers from Chile
are considered a specialty fertilizer and have been experiencing strong demand
and price increases in recent years, especially during
2007 (recent potassium nitrate contracts have been priced at in excess of US
$1,000 per tonne). This demand, part of a long term trend, is a result of
global agricultural growth estimated at more than 5% per year, stimulated more
recently by the implementation of government policies to replace gasoline with
bio-fuels (bio-diesel and ethanol) produced from crops such as corn, soybeans
and sugar cane. These crops are grown with significant amounts of nitrate-based
fertilizers.
Development of the Aguas Blancas nitrate resources represents an
important new growth phase for the Company and follows upon the successful
expansion and optimization of the mine?s iodine operations. Nitrate
production not only diversifies the Company?s
commodity mix but is transformative in terms of scale and growth profile.
?The fertilizer market has entered a new period of
significant growth and global consumption?, said Atacama?s President and CEO,
Edward Posey. ?The timing is very opportune for
Atacama to develop the fertilizer potential of the Aguas Blancas mine. Atacama
has established itself as a long-term, reliable supplier of high quality iodine
to the world market. The Company will now enter a major new growth phase as an
important new supplier of specialty nitrate fertilizers.?
On Behalf of the Board
Edward F. Posey
President
For further information, please contact:
Sophia Shane, Corporate Development (604) 689-7842
This
news release contains forward-looking statements concerning the Company?s plans for its operations. These forward-looking
statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could
cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the
forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, risks and
uncertainties relating to political risks involving the Company?s exploration
and development of its properties, the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates
and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price
fluctuations, the inability or failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely
basis and other risks and uncertainties. Such information contained
herein represents management?s best judgment as of the
date hereof based on information currently available. The Company does not
intend to update this information and disclaims any legal liability to the
contrary.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and
does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.