MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Cimbar Performance Minerals To Acquire Barretts Minerals' Mount Vernon, Indiana Plant

October 26, 2009 - Cimbar announced its intention to acquire the Mt. Vernon, IN minerals processing plant currently owned by Barretts Minerals (the subsidiary of Specialty Minerals). The Facility will complement Cimbar's existing product lines of barium sulfates, bentonite clays, and magnesium hydroxides with the additional lines of talcs and calcium carbonates. Cimbar will own SMI's baryte, calcium carbonate, and talc products of BARICRON, CLEAR-BLOC, FLEXTALC, and RIVERCAL.

To learn more of Cimbar’s announcement, please refer to the original press release below.

Please click here to download the pdf file.

Rio Tinto Continues Plans To Divest Of Talc Business

March 11, 2010 Harry Kenyon-Slaney, CEO of the Diamond and Minerals Division of Rio Tinto announced renewed efforts to sell its talc product line. Due to the economic downturn in late 2008, Rio Tinto ceased initial plans to divest its talc and borates businesses. After reviewing the situation, the company has decided to retain the borate operations and continue forward with the sale of its talc business. Rio Tinto is an international exploration and mining conglomerate whose major products include aluminum, copper, diamonds, energy products, gold, industrial minerals (borates, titanium dioxide, salt, and talc), and iron ore. The minerals operation netted a $78 million profit in 2009. To learn more of Rio Tinto's announcement, please refer to the original press release below.