Iofina Regulatory News (IOF)

10 Aug 2009 11:13



10 August 2009 

Iofina plc

 ("Iofina" or "the Company")

Management Appointments

The Directors of Iofina are pleased to announce the appointment of Forest D. Dorn as CEO and President of Iofina Natural Gas, Inc, a subsidiary of Iofina PLC.  Mr. Dorn brings over thirty (30) years of broad oil and gas experience. This experience will further progress the Company in its production of iodine and natural gas in the Atlantis Prospect and third party brine streams.

Mr. Dorn began his oil and gas career with Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST US$1.773 bn cap). in 1977 as a Landman. Mr. Dorn was Division Manager of Forest's Gulf Coast Operations overseeing all aspects of exploration and production. He subsequently held several senior management and business development positions in Denver, Colorado, and ultimately earning the title of Senior Vice President.

Prior to his Appointment as CEO and President of Iofina Natural Gas, Inc., Forest D. Dorn was a Member/Manager of Avanti Exploration, LLC since 2004. Mr. Dorn developed and managed an exploration program in the Illinois basin utilizing full tensor gradiometry in conjunction with traditional exploration tools and a multi-well exploitation programme in South Louisiana. 

Following the recent acquisition of H&S Chemical, Iofina's CEO David Schneider will assume the role of CEO and President of H&S Chemical in addition to his role as CEO of Iofina plc. H&S Chemical will be renamed Iofina Chemical. The acquisition will give the Company a strategic platform with complete vertical integration into iodine derivatives and a particular strength in the higher margin organic iodine derivatives markets.

Dr Chris Fay, Non-Executive Chairman of Iofina plc commented:

"We are delighted to welcome Forest Dorn to the Company and believe his strong experience and knowledge will ensure our ambitious production targets are met. This allows David Schneider, Ph.D. to exploit his significant experience in iodine derivates and integrate H&S Chemical with Iofina Chemical and establish it as a leader in the market. These steps will provide Iofina with the platform to become a major integrated iodine and gas business."

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About Iofina

Iofina is involved in the exploration and production of both iodine and natural gas with complete vertical integration into the specialty chemical iodine derivatives business through its wholly owned subsidiary Iofina Chemical, Inc. The presence of both iodine and natural gas has been discovered on acreages which the Company holds through its wholly owned subsidiary Iofina Natural Gas, Inc. The presence of both iodine and natural gas allows the Group to generate dual revenue streams over a single cost structure. 

Iodine is a rare element that is only produced in a few countries in the world with over 79 per cent. coming from Chile (58 per cent.) and Japan (21 per cent.). This has resulted in the US and Western Europe becoming major net importers to meet growing demands from pharmaceutical and industrial manufacturers. Iodine demand is growing at 6.6 per cent. per annum driven by a combination of increased usage in a wide variety of sectors from pharmaceutical manufacturing, LCD screen manufacturing, medical imaging, cosmetics, biocides in paints and pesticides, as well as the emergence of new uses for iodine and greater consumption from developing countries such as India and China. The Group's proprietary Wellhead Extraction Technology® method will allow low cost production metrics and high operational efficiencies compared to other large iodine/gas fields in Mobara, Japan and Oklahoma, USA. Iofina currently has leased over 290,000 net acres in the Atlantis Prospect and approximately 30,000 net acres in its Triton Prospect. MHA Petroleum Consultants, Inc., the Competent Person, estimates that as of 1 February 2008 and, based on Iofina's core c.28,000 acres at that time in the Atlantis Prospect, Iofina has 100.6 million kg of iodine in place and has 155.6Bcf of natural gas in place, making the Atlantis Prospect the largest known iodine resource in North America. The directors of the Company believe that Iofina's low cost development strategy and its dual revenue streams are expected to provide both excellent margins and reduced revenue volatility since the two product streams are unrelated relative to their respective markets.

Iofina is traded on the London Stock Exchange's AIM Market under the ticker: IOF.

www.iofina.com

Wellhead Extraction Technology® and WET® are registered trademarks of Iofina Natural Gas, Inc.