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| Atlas Minerals Inc. Announces the Closure of Its Andacaba Mining Operation |
AURORA, Colo., March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlas Minerals Inc. (formerly Atlas
Corporation) (OTC: ATMR) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary,
Arisur Inc., is being forced to shut down its Andacaba mine, located near
Potosi, Bolivia, as a result of failure of negotiations with its primary
lender, Corporacion Andina de Fomento ("CAF"), to reschedule its debt
payments.
The Company has been in intermittent negotiations with CAF since May 1999
when it originally defaulted on a scheduled loan payment. By letter dated
July 28, 1999 and revised on October 26, 1999, CAF agreed to restructure the
remaining balance of the debt under the condition that the Company, by
June 30, 2000, demonstrate that it has a minimum of four years of proven
reserves at a production rate of 400 tonnes per day at the Andacaba mine. In
April 2000, Latin American Investment Group ("LIAG"), an independent Latin
American engineering firm, confirmed the required amount of reserves and
recommended additional investment in the operation in order to assure a
sustainable production rate of 400 tonnes per day. Despite this report, and
subsequent recent confirmation by LIAG and Atlas that the operation is
progressing towards the 400 tonne per day level, CAF has been unwilling to
negotiate a rescheduling of the loan and is initiating foreclosure proceedings
against the Company's subsidiary, Arisur Inc.
The Company has been left with no choice but to cease operations effective
immediately, which will consequently result in the loss of over 250 jobs in
Potosi and the surrounding area, as well as causing serious damage to any
residual value of the mine assets.
The Company is evaluating its future alternatives.
For further information contact, James R. Jensen, Chief Financial Officer
(303) 306-1097.
SOURCE Atlas Minerals Inc.
back to topCompany News On-Call:
800-758-5804, ext. 057350
CONTACT:
James R. Jensen, Chief Financial Officer of
Atlas Minerals Inc., 303-306-1097
