DENVER, Sept. 29, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Pinnacle Resources, Inc. (OTCBB:PNRR) announced today that its wholly owned South African subsidiary, Titan Processors (Pty) Ltd., has completed the expansion of the acid-leach section of its tantalum refinery in Johannesburg, South Africa. The front, or beneficiation, end of the plant now has the capacity to process a quantity of tantalum concentrate or ore from which 30 tons per month of finished tantalum product can be separated. Expansion of the other separation circuits is underway to match the beneficiation plant's capacity.
Ore supplies to feed this production rate have been identified mainly in Mozambique and Zimbabwe where Titan will contract with independent miners to produce the required plant feed.
Tantalum pentoxide is useful in electronic applications because of its stable properties and in specialty alloys because of its temperature and corrosion resistance. The metal finds application in cell phones, televisions and jet turbine engines.
Titan's production of high-purity tantalum pentoxide is expected to ramp up over the next 9 months, without major interruption in production, from the present two-ton per month output to the designed 30-tons per month production rate. The Titan refinery is the only plant in Africa that produces finished tantalum products and that can beneficiate some of the complex African ores that contain contaminants that disqualify them for export to European or North American refineries.
Worldwide demand for tantalum has recently been increasing, largely because of China's increasing appetite for this material. Recent price rises have been fueled by the uncertainty created by the reported financial difficulties encountered by Australia's Sons of Gwalia, the world's largest miner of tantalum ore. Supplies of ore have been further restricted because the Free World has disqualified tantalum ores produced in the DRC (Congo) having classified them as "conflict material" that promotes tribal warfare.
Pinnacle is currently evaluating offers for its production from a number of potential customers whose traditional supply sources have recently been compromised.
Additional information on Pinnacle Resources, Inc. is available on the company's website at http://www.pnrr.net.
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include expressions of beliefs, expectations, hopes, or intentions regarding the future, which may or not come to pass. It is important to note that actual results may differ from those expressed in such a forward-looking statements. Although Pinnacle believes its properties have potential, they are in early stages of exploration or development. There can be no assurance that if identified, any resource might be economically extracted. If additional projects are acquired, there can be no assurance of any economic benefit of cash flow to the company.