RENO, NV--(Marketwired - May 19, 2015) - Itronics Inc. (
"Itronics outlook for the second quarter continues to be positive," said Dr. John Whitney, Itronics President. "Successful start-up of Itronics new silver refining furnaces is demonstrating the viability of our new silver refining technology. We are realizing a 33 percent reduction in electric power cost and a significant improvement in operational reliability, which were two major objectives of the refinery upgrade project."
New Developments
The operating capabilities of the new refining furnaces makes it possible for Itronics to process certain categories of precious metal bearing e-waste, which comes from discarded electrical and electronic devices. A study of the feasibility of recycling e-waste is underway. The Company believes that processing of e-waste would provide a significant increase in precious metal sales and improve profitability of Itronics' refining operation. E-waste would be integrated as feed material to the silver refining process, would not be seasonal, and would increase the value of sales to our finish refiner by including gold and the platinum group metals, palladium and platinum, with the silver bullion which is now recovered from liquid photowaste.
E-waste is a growing environmental problem in the United States and the demand for e-waste recycling is growing rapidly. Itronics would initially source e-waste for recycling from northern Nevada communities. Actual methods of collecting and handling will be identified as part of the feasibility analysis. A Reno-based computer retail and service company and a Reno-based electrical technology company are assisting Itronics with the feasibility study.
Late in the third quarter of 2014 Itronics began working with a leading Reno laboratory to conduct testing to develop the operational parameters for using KAM-Thio in silver-gold mine cyanidation systems. Three possible beneficial outcomes have been identified and will be fully evaluated.
The first is the possibility that KAM-Thio may be able to regenerate cyanide and supplement the cyanide silver-gold leaching ability, thereby reducing cyanide replenishment costs and improving silver and gold recoveries. The KAM-Thio would be metered into the cyanide leaching solution as an additive during on-going operations, making adoption of this new practice relatively easy to accomplish with capital investment in a feed tank and metering equipment. Since KAM-Thio has been extensively tested and is in use as a commercial fertilizer, mine site permitting should be straightforward.
The second is the possibility that upon completion of recovery of most of the easily recoverable gold in the ore, cyanide replenishment could be discontinued and the recovery of residual silver and gold would be accomplished using KAM-Thio. This could significantly increase life-of-mine silver and gold recoveries while at the same time the cyanide in the heap leach tailings piles would be neutralized, a significant environmentally and financially attractive outcome.
The third potential benefit is that the amount of KAM-Thio added to the leach solution to accomplish the wind down of the leaching process would be several times greater than is required for fertilization of plants. Because of this, and the fact that there would not be any cyanide in the water, there is the potential to dilute the residual water with fresh water and use it for reclamation and re-vegetation irrigation at the mine site. This would be an environmentally attractive way of using the water at the end of the leaching cycle.
Nevada is one of the top gold producing areas in the world. Much of Nevada's gold and silver is produced using cyanidation heap leach technology. Because of this Nevada is one of the largest potential markets in the world for adoption of KAM-Thio technology. Itronics is located in Reno, so this market is literally in its own backyard. A second large near-by market would be silver-gold mines in Mexico, also one of the world's largest silver producers. KAM-Thio sales would be non-seasonal and would supplement GOLD'n GRO fertilizer sales for Itronics.
Quarterly Operations Review
GOLD'n GRO liquid fertilizer sales for the first quarter 2015 were 10.8 percent higher than the 2014 first quarter. Sales in the second quarter are expected to approximately equal the 2014 second quarter.
Silver sales were nominal for the quarter, but will increase in the second quarter now that one of the new refining furnaces is operational. The Company expects to have its second new refining furnace operational in early June and to resume silver bullion shipments that month. The Company has a backlog of silver bearing materials to process which will help maintain silver production after this year's spring fertilizer season is completed.
The Company's supply of silver-bearing photographic liquids is adequate to meet the requirements for GOLD'n GRO fertilizer sales increases.
Mining Technical Services sales were down in the first quarter due to a reduction in consulting services for a long term client.
Unaudited Revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013 together with comparative unaudited figures for the 2012 first quarter are presented below:
| For the Quarter | |||||||
| Ended March 31 | |||||||
| 2015 | 2014 | ||||||
| REVENUE | |||||||
| Fertilizer | $ | 516,466 | $ | 465,984 | |||
| Silver | $ | 392 | $ | 1,324 | |||
| Photo Services | $ | 7,841 | $ | 14,247 | |||
| Mining Tech Services | $ | 5,584 | $ | 15,939 | |||
| TOTAL REVENUES | $ | 530,283 | $ | 497,494 | |||
About Itronics
Headquartered in Reno, Nevada, Itronics Inc. is a "Creative Clean Technology" Company which produces GOLD'n GRO specialty liquid fertilizers and silver bullion. It owns a large Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) mineral property (the Auric Fulstone Project) in the prolific Yerington Copper Mining District in northwestern Nevada. The Company's goal is to achieve profitable clean technology driven organic growth in specialty GOLD'n GRO fertilizers, silver, zinc, and minerals. The Company's technologies maximize the recovery and use of metals and minerals.
Through its subsidiary, Itronics Metallurgical, Inc., Itronics is the only company with a fully permitted "Beneficial Use Photochemical, Silver, and Water Recycling" plant in the United States that converts spent photoliquids into pure silver and GOLD'n GRO liquid fertilizers. The Company is developing environmentally compatible mining technology. Itronics has received numerous domestic and international awards that recognize its ability to successfully use science and engineering to create and implement new environmentally clean recycling and fertilizer technologies.
The Company's environmentally friendly GOLD'n GRO liquid fertilizers, which are extensively used in agriculture, are also used for lawns and houseplants, and are available at the Company's "e-store" on Amazon.Com at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_lawn-garden?ie=UTF8&field-brandtextbin=GOLD%27n+GRO&node=2972638011.
VISIT OUR WEB SITE: http://www.itronics.com
("Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains or may contain forward-looking statements such as statements regarding the Company's growth and profitability, growth strategy, liquidity and access to public markets, operating expense reduction, and trends in the industry in which the Company operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in risks, uncertainties or assumptions underlying or affecting such statements, or for prospective events that may have a retroactive effect.)
Contact Information:
Contact:
Paul Knopick
888-795-6336