SALT LAKE CITY, June 10, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Sands Energy Corp. (OTCBB:AMSE) ("AMSE" or the "Company"), an oil sands exploration and development company operating in Utah, is pleased to announce that William H. Champion, an experienced mining industry executive, has been appointed to the Company's board of directors.
Mr. Champion joins the board of directors having most recently spent over eleven years with Rio Tinto PLC, during which time he managed various mining subsidiaries. While at Rio Tinto, Mr. Champion's roles included:
- Managing Director of Rio Tinto Coal Australia (2009-2013) where he was responsible for the operations of six open pit and one underground coal mine with annual revenues of approximately $ 4.5 billion, annual earnings exceeding $1 billion and over 4,500 employees,
- Managing Director of Rio Tinto Diamonds (2007-2009) with responsibility for three diamond mines producing 35 million carats annually,
- President and CEO of Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation (2002-2007), one of the largest open pit mines in the world, with revenue of approximately $2.5 billion and earnings of approximately $1.5 billion.
"I'm delighted to be joining the board of American Sands," said Mr. Champion. "AMSE has an exciting project at Sunnyside and a technology that has the potential to be game-changing in the unconventional heavy oil sector."
"We welcome the addition of a mining veteran of Mr. Champion's caliber to our board of directors," stated William Gibbs, AMSE's Chairman and CEO. "His years of successfully running Utah based mining facilities along with his significant experience managing mines, always with a focus on safety and sustainability, will be instrumental to developing our operations as we turn our focus towards commencing production."
Simultaneously with Mr. Champion's appointment to the board of directors, Daniel Carlson has resigned from the board. Mr. Carlson stated, "I am excited that someone of Mr. Champion's stature in the mining industry is able to fill my position on the board and I look forward to working with him and the board as we make this project a success." Mr. Carlson remains with AMSE as its Chief Financial Officer and will also maintain his duties as Corporate Secretary to the board of directors.
About American Sands Energy Corp.
American Sands Energy Corporation is a development stage Delaware company with primary operations in Utah. The Company has acquired rights to oil sand ore covering approximately 1,800 private acres of prime oil sand deposits in the Sunnyside area of Utah. The Company has an extraction and recovery system using a licensed proprietary solvent that separates oil and other hydrocarbons from sand, dirt and other substances without creating tailing ponds and other environmental hazards. For more information, visit www.americansandsenergy.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements regarding AMSE's future plans and expected performance based on assumptions the Company believes to be reasonable. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements, including, without limitation, the success rate of business development efforts, exploration efforts and the timeliness of development activities, the ability to place the project into full production; the ability to secure all necessary mining permits in a timely manner, fluctuations in energy prices, confirmation of estimated resources, and other risk factors described from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the SEC. In addition, the Company operates in an industry sector where securities values are highly volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond the Company's control. American Sands Energy Corp. undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.