17 November 2014
Iofina plc
("Iofina" or the "Company")
(LSE AIM: IOF)
Issue of Patent and Market Update
Iofina, specialists in the exploration and production of iodine and iodine specialty chemical derivatives, is pleased to provide an update to the market.
Since the Company's update in October, production of iodine at Iofina Resources has been on track and Iofina is pleased to reiterate that it expects to produce between 325 and 350MT of crystallized iodine in 2014 at its six IOsorb® plants. Additionally, the Company has not seen a slow-down in fracking activity as many of its partners have hedged out a significant portion of their oil production, mitigating exposure to recent oil price volatility. The Company will closely monitor the oil price and its impact on fracking activity in Iofina's areas of operation, but at this time Iofina does not anticipate any impact on its operations.
Iofina Chemical continues to perform well utilizing Iofina produced iodine. Year-to-date (YTD) through October, Iofina Chemical derivative sales are up over 25%, even with downward pressure on iodine prices throughout 2014.
The Company's Montana water permit (No. 40S 30066181) is under a public notice period through December 1st 2014. Soon thereafter the Company expects to be notified by the state of any objections to the preliminary permit.
The Company is also pleased to announce that the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for Application No. 2011-528048. The Company expects the official Patent Certificate to be issued by the JPO in the next few months. This patent is a similar filing to the Company's US patent, which was issued last year, describing the extraction of iodine from a third party oil brine stream located at the brine water injection site.
The Company's management team is in the process of finalising its next business growth plan and intends to update the market on the Company's plans for 2015 and beyond once this process is fully complete.
Commenting on today's update, President and CEO Dr. Tom Becker stated: "I am pleased that we continue to improve operations at our current Iosorb® facilities and we still believe we can make further operational improvements to our plants. In the next few months we look forward to updating the market on our business plan and outlook for 2015".
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Tom Becker, CEO & President
Iofina plc
Tel: +44 (0)20 3006 3135
John Prior/Rupert Krefting/Paul Gillam
Numis Securities
Tel: +44 (0)20 7260 1000
Rob Collins/Emily Morris/Liz Williamson
GMP Securities
Tel: +44(0)20 7647 2800
Media Contact:
Dominic Barretto/Anna Legge
Yellow Jersey PR
Tel: +44 (0)7768 537 739
About Iofina:
Iofina specializes in the exploration and production of iodine, iodine specialty chemical derivatives and produced water. Iofina's business strategy is to identify, develop, build, own and operate iodine extraction plants currently focused in North America based on Iofina's WET® IOsorb® technology. Iofina has production operations in the United States, specifically in Texas, Montana, Kentucky and Oklahoma. It has complete vertical integration from the production of iodine in the field to the manufacture of the chemical end-products derived from iodine to the consumer and the recycling of iodine using iodinated side-streams from waste chemical processes in Europe, North America and Asia. Iofina utilizes its portfolio of patented and patent pending technology, proprietary methods and trademarks throughout all business lines.
www.iofina.com
