Downside

Downside

  • 999 Woodland Ave
  • Menlo Park, California
  • 94025-2844

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Description

Table column format standardization was unsuccessful.R ESERVES We mine sorbent materials, which we generally refer to as clay, on leased or owned land near our manufacturing facilities in Mississippi, Georgia, Illinois and California; we also have reserves in Nevada, Oregon and Tennessee. We estimate our proven reserves of these sorbent materials are approximately 156,103,000 tons in aggregate and our probable reserves are approximately 148,949,000 tons in aggregate, for a total of 305,052,000 tons of mineral reserves. Based on our rate of consumption during fiscal year 2010, and without regard to any of our reserves in Nevada, Oregon and Tennessee, we consider our proven reserves adequate to supply our needs for over 40 years. Although we consider these reserves to be extremely valuable to our business, only a small portion of the reserves, those which were acquired in acquisitions, is reflected at co st on our balance sheet. It is our policy to attempt to add to reserves in most years, but not necessarily in every year, an amount at least equal to the amount of reserves consumed in that year. We have a program of exploration for additional reserves and, although reserves have been acquired, we cannot assure that additional reserves will continue to become available. Our use of these reserves, and our ability to explore for additional reserves, are subject to compliance with existing and future federal and state statutes and regulations regarding mining and environmental compliance. During the fiscal year ended July 31, 2010, we utilized these reserves to produce substantially all of the sorbent minerals that we sold. Proven reserves are those reserves for which (a) quantity is computed from dimensions revealed in outcrops, trenches, workings or drill holes; grade and/or quality are computed from results of detailed sampling, and (b) the sites for inspection, sampling and measurement are spaced so closely and the geologic character is so well defined that size, shape, depth and mineral content of reserves are well established. Probable reserves are computed from information similar to that used for proven reserves, but the sites for inspection, sampling, and measurement are farther apart or are otherwise less adequately spaced. The degree of assurance, although lower than that for proven reserves, is high enough to assume continuity between points of observation. We employ geologists and mineral specialists who estimate and evaluate existing and potential reserves in terms of quality, quantity and availability. M INING O PERATIONS We have conducted mining operations in Ripley, Mississippi since 1963, in Ochlocknee, Georgia since 1968, in Blue Mountain, Mississippi since 1989, in Mounds, Illinois since 1998 and in Taft, California since 2002. Our raw materials are surface mined on a year-round basis, generally using large earth moving scrapers, bulldozers, excavators or off-road trucks to remove overburden, and then loaded into dump trucks with backhoes or front end loaders for movement to the processing facilities. The mining and hauling of our clay is performed by us and by independent contractors.

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