October 17, 2006

PRESS RELEASE

AMERICAN ELEMENTS ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF NEW HIGH PURITY SILVER NANOPOWDER PARTICLES

[October 17, 2006, Los Angeles , CA] American Elements' Nanometal™ division announced today the development of a new high purity nano scale silver nanoparticle and nano flake powder specifically designed for use as an anti-microbial, anti-biotic and anti-fungal agent. The new silver nanopowder is 99.95% pure making it highly suitable for biomedical applications where human safety is critical. The material is intended to be incorporated in coatings, nano fiber, first aid bandages, plastics, soaps, skin care products and textiles. It is also suitable in the treatment of certain viruses and in self cleaning fabrics. The product is available in lot sizes up to 1,000 kg. Small orders are also available for university and corporate R&D programs.

American Elements' silver nanoparticles product line includes powders that range in size from 10 nm to 1 micron. Due to proven proprietary coating and processing techniques, American Elements has been able to significantly decrease particle agglomeration and improve dispersion characteristics.

For further technical and pricing information on American Elements' high purity silver nanoparticles and nanoflakes, please contact your local American Elements distributor or American Elements U.S. corporate headquarters. American Elements is a Los Angeles based global manufacturer and developer of engineered and advanced materials with the world's largest industrial catalogue of rare earth materials accessible electronically at www.americanelements.com. For further information on the new Chinese rare earth tax rates, please contact your local American Elements distributor or American Elements U.S. corporate headquarters at (1)310-208-0551, FAX (1)310-208-0351 or customerservice@americanelements.com.