March 30, 2005

PRESS RELEASE

AMERICAN ELEMENTS ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF NEW LEAD CRYSTAL LINE OF SPUTTERING TARGETS AND MATERIALS

[March 30, 2005, Los Angeles , CA] American Elements announced today the launch of a new product line dedicated to producing ultra high purity sputtering targets, and materials made of Lead, Lead Telluride, Lead Selenide, and Lead Antimonide compounds.

This new product line was developed to provide the highest quality lead compounds available for infrared detection, imaging, thin film deposition, and other optical applications. The new processes produce 99.999% and 99.9999% purity lead compounds.

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.