Balcatta-based metallurgical and mineral testing equipment supplier Ammtec Ltd has officially taken a majority stake in US-based resin producer Purity Systems Inc, after increasing its shareholding by 20 per cent.
The full text of a company announcement is pasted below
Ammtec is pleased to announce it has acquired a majority interest in Purity Systems Inc (PSI).
The US based PSI produces resins, which extract metals from solutions and have wide ranging application in the mining sector. In October 2006, Redbank Mines announced the first Australian commercial application of the resin technology to recover 300 tonnes of copper from the previously mined Sandy Flat Open Pit in the Northern Territory.
The acquisition was originally announced in April 2007 and was finalised yesterday. Ammtec takes control with 68.5% of the issued stock in PSI, the original founders have retained their interest in the company.
First discovered in 1845 and commercialized in 1913 by the Permuit Company for water softening, the industry is currently dominated by Styrene resin producers. Styrene resins function by exchanging ions on the resin with oppositely charged ions in the solution. They lose loading capacity over time and have limited selectivity and need to be regenerated with ions after elution.
The PSI resins, developed by the University of Montana, last longer than Styrene resins, do not drop off significantly in loading capacity over time and exchange ions by a reversible chemical reaction rather than by replacement of ions after elution.
The Board considers this to be a significant strategic acquisition, which will see Ammtec diversify its operations base.
Ammtec anticipates announcing results to the year to 30 June 2007 on 28 August 2007.
