August 2, 2004

PRESS RELEASE

AMERICAN ELEMENTS ANNOUNCES NEW ULTRA HIGH PURITY ALUMINUM PRODUCTION CAPABILITY

[August 2, 2004, Los Angeles, CA] American Elements announced today the development of a new ultra high purity aluminum metal that is the highest purity aluminum now commercially produced. The material is of the Ingot type A5N7 with a purity of 99.9997%.  The product is available in lot sizes up to 5,000 kg.  The material will be delivered under full IGAS quality inspection (significant spectrometer analysis).

This ultra high purity form of aluminum will be of great value to many advanced engineered alloy and structural requirements. Small orders are also available for university and corporate R&D applications.

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.