is RETIRED
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The fortunes of Idaho's Silver Valley pick up with metal prices, ski resort
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
The Associated Press 5/27/08
KELLOGG, Idaho — Just when locals thought the mining industry was deader than Noah Kellogg's mule, more miners are suddenly heading back down the shafts in northern Idaho's Silver Valley.
A steep rise in metals prices has re-energized this battered area's original industry, even as two decades of efforts to turn Kellogg into a ski resort are finally paying off.
The scene is the same in some other Western mining towns that were long given up for dead............
growing numbers of workers are putting on hard hats and riding cages deep into the Sunshine and Lucky Friday mines.
Many are former residents who left for mining jobs elsewhere.
"A lot of people who left have been coming back, because things are pretty good," said Rick Decker, a miner for three decades who is also president of Local 5114 of the United Steelworkers in Kellogg.
Don't expect any clash of cultures in this narrow mountain valley that has produced silver for more than a century. The ski bums wouldn't stand a chance.
"There is definitely a mining culture in the Silver Valley," said Vicki Veltkamp, spokeswoman for Hecla Mining Co., which owns the Lucky Friday..............
Silver was discovered here when prospector Kellogg's mule kicked over a shiny rock of ore in 1885. People rushed in, and the Silver Valley once employed 4,200 people in mining.
Then the bottom fell out of the industry. Mines laid off workers and the Bunker Hill smelter closed. According to the Idaho Department of Labor, Shoshone County's population fell 28 percent in the 1980s as people left to find work. But in the past few years population is slowly growing again, topping 13,000 in 2006..........
the community added 200 mining jobs in the past year, bringing the total to 705. That's about twice what it was at the lowest point in 2003. These jobs pay an average of $57,000 a year, a huge salary by local standards........
Mining produces the kind of steady workforce that buys homes and incorporates into the community, compared to more transient tourism workers, said Norma Douglas, head of the Silver Valley Chamber of Commerce........
Ron Price was still a member of the Atlas Board of Directors at the time that Mr Levy joined the Board and there is no reason to believe that he has left since that time. Doctor Price was working on nano technology aspects of the halloysite clays of the Dragon Mine.
It has been over 4 months since John Lanzafame wrote his 1/16/2008 Letter to Stockholders. We should learn what progress has been made later this week when the annual SEC Form 10-K is filed. It will detail the financial condition of Biophan up to March 1 of this year.
As Biophan is in the early stages of regulatory approval and product introduction of the Myotech CCS, funding is a key issue. A goal is to begin clinical trials of the CCS in 2009 in Europe. When and under what terms a partnership is entered into must be major decisions to be made regarding the CCS. Going it alone does not seem to be a viable option. Hopefully the Company will not have to sell off any more assets nor enter more "financing" deals like the last.
A pump for the CSS.
Msg. 104509 on RB.
MEDICAL DEVICE DAILY™
FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2008 VOL. 12, NO. 80 Special Reprint PAGE 1 OF 1
THE DA I LY M E D I C A L TECHNOLOGY NEWSPAPER
Biophan/Myotech CSS simulates cardiac massage for SCA cases
By LYNN YOFFEE
Medical Device Daily Staff Writer
Physicians struggling to save the lives of people suffering sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) will, many times, administer defibrillation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, drug therapy or they will crack open their chests and massage the heart. But these efforts often are fruitless, with at least an 80% mortality rate.
Biophan Technologies (Pittsford, New York) has taken a cue from the latter technique with the development of Myotech CSS, a flexible plastic sheath that slips around the heart and literally pumps it back to life. The Myotech CSS is based on direct mechanical ventricular actuation (DMVA) technology. It consists of a flexible polymer cup that can be installed around the heart in as little as three minutes via thoracotomy, an incision between ribs.
“It is a mechanical circulatory support device, but it’s totally different in design,” John Lanzafame, Biophan’s CEO, told Medical Device Daily. “Ventricular-assist devices [VAD] are typically blood pumps. They actually pump blood, bypassing the heart chamber. Ours is a heart pump. It’s a device alternative to doing cardiac massage, but it’s much more controlled, it applies uniform pressure, and it can run for days.”
Lanzafame explained that it can be used as a bridge to CABG, bypass surgery, heart transplant or even recovery because it can both resuscitate a stopped heart and provide cardiac support while waiting for additional therapy or transplant.
Incorporating a pneumatically activated liner, the Myotech CSS operates by compressing and expanding bidirectionally, providing the energy that allows the heart to restore blood flow to normal, life-sustaining levels. Because there is no contact with circulating blood, it is expected to significantly reduce the risk of patient complications, such as clotting and stroke, bleeding and infection.
“Given the unique features of Myotech CSS compared to what’s on the market, we think it will position us to address an unmet market niche,” Lanzafame said.
In the U.S., there are 263,000 in-hospital sudden cardiac arrests every year. There are 70,000 cases per year of heart stoppage due to myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock with a 70% mortality rate. He said Myotech CSS will address that secondary market as well.
Biophan’s board of directors has just approved the next phase of Myotech’s (also Pittsford) engineering and regulatory development program for the Myotech CSS with the release of $2 million to be invested in its development. Myotech is a majority-owned subsidiary of Biophan.
Lanzafame said the company is searching for partners to commercialize and distribute Myotech CSS and will later seek approval overseas.
Clinical data is as yet unavailable, but a previous version of the technology, originally tested at Duke University (Durham, North Carolina) has been tested in more than 700 animals and the company has anecdotal evidence that it has helped to save human lives.
The company has yet to announce its development and regulatory plan, but, “With our current strategy, the Myotech CSS could be on the market in the U.S. in 24 to 30 months,” Lanzafame said. “We are in early-stage discussions with a number of distribution and commercialization partners.”
The company has enough funding to move through the next stages of development but will seek additional funding, “potentially through distribution/commercialization relationships,” he said.
It’s a little early, too, for targeting a cost of the device, but Lanzafame said it can easily be priced competitively with existing VADs. While the sheath part that fits over the heart will be considered disposable, the external console that runs the pump is reusable >>
Time to review old PR - with my comments:
Posted on ZDNet News: Oct 26, 2005 11:00:00 AM (NOTE YEAR WAS 2005)
By Michael Kanellos, News.com
BURLINGAME, Calif.--The next big nanotech product, according to start-up NaturalNano, will be dug out of the ground.
The Rochester, N.Y.-based company has found a way to use Halloysite, a naturally occurring tubular clay, as an unobtrusive carrier in metals, perfumes and other substances.
NaturalNano says that by filling Halloysite tubes with copper and then mixing the tubes into a polymer, a manufacturer could make an electrically conductive plastic. If filled with fungicides, the Halloysite particles--which consist of aluminum, oxygen, silicon and hydrogen--could be swirled into paint to make it more resistant to mildew and mold. Time-released coatings could also be added to make all-day deodorant.
"If you load the tube with a common pesticide, an insect can pick it up by brushing up against it," Aaron Wagner, director of research and development for NaturalNano, said during an interview at the Foresight Nanotechnology Conference in Burlingame. "There are some nasty chemicals used in agriculture today and we'd like to reduce the amount of the nasties." (THERE MUST BE A WAY TO AVOID SPRAYING. THIS IS AN IMMEDIATE NEED IN CALIFORNIA!)
Spreading pesticides in this manner could cut down the amount of poison sprayed on a field by 70 or 80 percent, he speculated.
Futurists often speak about how nanotechnology will alter semiconductors and other technologies, but the first generation of nanotechnology applications revolve around some pretty prosaic stuff: lighter car door panels for better gas mileage (THIS IS A MUST FOR CARS AND AIRPLANES!), stain-free pants, better plastics. Nanotechnology involves building products or enhancing existing products with designer molecules that measure 100 nanometers or less. (A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.) The applications also help explain why nanotech entrepreneurs haven't become overnight billionaires: Textile and plastics manufacturers can't raise their prices easily. (AUTO MAKERS HAVE TO GET BUSY AND DO SOMETHING FOR THE WORLD WIDE GROWING MARKET).
No one really fully understands why Halloysite forms into tubes, he said. One theory is that it's a result of shearing; other researchers believe interaction with water causes Halloysite sheets to roll into tubes.
The fact that the tubes can be dug from the ground, however, means that they are somewhat cheap, and far less expensive than similar, manmade objects like carbon nanotubes.
Some carbon nanotubes cost $250 a gram and are made in furnaces in labs. By contrast, Halloysite comes out of mines. NaturalNano gets its raw material from the Atlas Dragon Mine in Utah. (WE SURE WOULD LIKE TO SEE ATLAS MINING UP AND RUNNING AND I-minerals GET THEIR PERMIT TO DIG IN IDAHO!)
"We buy by the ton," Wagner said. "I don't think you can beat us on price. Nature spent billions of years on R&D."
Halloysite tubes are generally about 40 to 200 nanometers in diameter and about a micron long. A micron is a millionth of a meter, so the tubes resemble hollow spaghetti.
NaturalNano has patents pending for its method of extracting the tubes from raw clay (which can contain other materials) and then processing them for industrial applications.
Wagner would not state when products containing the company's tubes would debut or who NaturalNano's customers are. Nonetheless, he said the tubes would be likely to first appear in plastics and particles. Fungicides and agricultural applications would be likely to follow later. And in the more distant future, the tubes might be used for human drug delivery. (BIOPHAN HAS AN INTEREST IN DRUG DELIVERY.)
NaturalNano expects that prices for finished Halloysite nanotubes will run from $3.50 per pound to $20 per pound, depending on function and complexity.(HOW MANY POUNDS IN A TON? A SHORT TON IS 2,000 POUNDS.) The company says it is laying the groundwork for an IPO. (THEY BOUGHT A SHELL COMPANY RATHER THAN HAVE AN IPO. SINCE THEN THE SHARE PRICE HAS GONE DOWN, DOWN, DOWN LIKE JOHNNY CASH SUNG IT.)
"Our goal is to be a public company by the end of the year," Wagner said. (HOW ABOUT BEING A PROFITABLE COMPANY BY THE END OF THIS YEAR AND BIGGER THAN A PENNY STOCK BY THE END OF NEXT YEAR.)
Had Cascade Engineering had a reference to Pleximer on THEIR
web site, there would be a very good reason to be bullish about NNAN. But alas that is not the case.
Good news is that we made it past the May 15 "drop dead" date
given us by the Company in their SEC reporting. Now we have a June date.
"The Company has not been able to file the Quarterly Report for the three months ended September 30, 2007, nor the Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2007, due to an internal investigation into the accounting and other issues identified in the Company’s press release dated October 9, 2007. Until that investigation is completed and both the 10-QSB and 10-KSB are filed, the Company will not be in a position to file the Company’s Quarterly Report of Form 10-Q for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008."
The NaturalNano Form 10-Q reports that there were 125,072,965
NNAN shares outstanding as of 5/15/2008. At a PPS of $0.053
the Market Capitalization for the Company was $6,628,862.
In the Form 10Q it is stated - with all the necessary warnings:
"Our operating plan for the twelve months ending March 31, 2009 assumes revenue of $4.4 million for which $3.4 million in gross cash receipts would be realized. During the twelve months ended March 31, 2009, we will be required to spend $1.4 million to purchase the raw materials needed to support such sales"
The following is from the 10-Q filed by NaturalNano on 5/15/2008:
In December 2007, the board of directors determined that the Company should make its best efforts to recover the $250,000 it had pre-paid Atlas Mining Company for halloysite. On January 28, 2008, after attempts to contact Atlas Mining Company management failed, the Company formally notified Atlas Mining Company that it believes Atlas Mining Company was in breach of its contract with the Company for the supply of halloysite, for which the Company had prepaid $250,000 for future deliveries. The Company intends to file a claim against Atlas Mining Company and is seeking to recover the $250,000 it had previously paid and now believes it may never receive material from Atlas Mining Company. In addition, on February 4, 2008, the Company notified Atlas Mining Company’s distribution partner, NanoDynamics, Inc., that it may be liable for the $250,000. Any portion of such amount covered will be recognized by the Company when and as recovered.
- 8 -
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Company believes it has identified various sources of halloysite that are considered suitable as alternate suppliers of this raw material, and as such, is not solely dependent upon Atlas Mining Company nor the mine in New Zealand for delivery of halloysite materials.
The initial story:
Biophan Details Latest Patent Rights;
Depiction of Technology Available Online
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 10, 2004--Biophan Technologies, Inc. (OTC BB: BIPH), a leading developer of next-generation biomedical technology, provided additional detail today on its broad U.S. Patent issued to Nanoset, LLC, its technology partner, with Biophan holding the worldwide, exclusive rights for all medical applications. The patent rights relate to a nanomagnetic particle coating technology which can provide illumination for devices that are currently difficult to see, either because they are invisible to MRI or because the devices occlude the MRI image. As noted in the earlier release, the patented technology is expected to help pave the way to allowing MRI-guided surgical procedures when combined with Biophan's safety solutions, including minimally invasive procedures, such as those used for placing stents, performing RF ablation, angiograms, biopsy probes, and many other procedures.
Mr. Weiner noted, "In the interest of providing additional detail regarding the patent, it should be noted that the variations in the coating, as taught in the patent and covered in the patent claims, can allow us to coat the tip with a very bright coating that can help guide the catheter placement through vessels or tissue; and make the rest of the catheter visible but less prominent, so its position can be seen. Many MRI machines already in the field have software built in that can track a catheter that emits the proper signal, so it can be viewed in the operating theater during a procedure. Until now, the combination of device heating and image artifacts has prevented the emergence of MRI as a tool for guided procedures. Our technology suite can now allow the transition to MRI guided surgery to move forward."
U.S. Patent No. 6,765,144 was issued to Nanoset, LLC, with Biophan holding the worldwide exclusive rights to all medical applications. Biophan and Nanoset worked jointly on the innovation, based on earlier nanotechnology patents developed by Nanoset. A copy of the patent can be viewed on the Company's website at http://www.biophan.com/intellectual.php.
In the actual MRI image, which can be viewed on the Company's website at http://www.biophan.com/visiblecoating.php, an aluminum rod is on the third position from the left, and is almost invisible. The same type of rod is shown in the middle position and on the left-hand position, with the Nanoset/Biophan thin-film coating, and the rod is now very visible in the same MRI image. Biophan is utilizing its thin-film coating technology to introduce a controllable, "magnetic" signal capable of creating an image of the coated device. The visibility, or equivalent of "brightness," can be controlled.
About Nanoset, LLC
Nanoset, LLC, based in East Rochester, NY, develops nanomagnetic particle coatings. Nanoset's research and development has been conducted with Alfred University, a world leader in ceramics and thin-film coatings. Nanoset and Biophan are jointly developing technologies for the medical device industry.
The Special Investigation Committee headed by Atlas Mining Board member John Levy is still in operation. It was formed on or about January 15, 2008.
NaturalNano does not appear to be a significant potential customer for Dragon Mine in the short term. This is from their recently filed annual report:
"Future sales and growth potential depend upon the price and availability of acceptable halloysite materials.
Our future sales, and operating margin from such sales, if any, will depend on our ability to purchase halloysite clay in the quantity, quality and cost required by any such sales. Our 2008 operating plan will require that we supply approximately 80 tons of halloysite clay to our prospective customers. As of December 31, 2007, we had an inventory of approximately 15 tons of halloysite clay. We must obtain additional quantities of halloysite clay during 2008. No assurances can be given that we can secure the required halloysite clay, if any, under terms that will be acceptable to us."
Will the lights go out in 10 days? We should at least get a PR
by then telling us what if anything has transpired in the interim since that provided the May 15 date:
"NaturalNano Inc. indicated in its annual report, issued Friday, that it needs to raise $5 million by May 15 to keep going. That date is the point at which the small company will run out of money, the annual report said."
Why would they need that much money by that date?
Over 4 million BIPH shares traded today which is the most since April Fool's Day when over 6 million shares were traded.
On both dates the Closing Price was 3 cents a share. The
fiscal year end report is expected next week
A quick look at 2 companies as of 5/01/2008:
NaturalNano has a Market Capitalization of $8.05 million based on 123.88 shares outstanding and a Price Per Share of 6.5 cents. NNAN has a 52 week low of 4.5 cents.
Biophan Tech has a Market Cap of $3.73 million based on 113.07
million shares outstanding and a PPS of 3.3 cents. BIPH has a 52 week low of 2.9 cents a share.
IMHO there is no way to put a value on NNAN, It would be very interesting to hear their pitch to new financing
and/or partnering prospects. The recently filed 10k
provides frightening reading. A Mike Weiner LLC owns about
a 51% stake in the Company. Its ability to provide financing
is very questionable. A major sale of NaturalNano's additive
would make this stock really jump IMO How much new financing will cost is a major issue.
Biophan's PPS has fallen so low that it seems in banruptcy
shareholders would get at least twice the Market Cap for its patents. If Myotech is worthless then a lot of notable people
have made a bit of a fool of themselves in joining its Boards etc. IMO this Company has the better risk/reward ratio now.
Biophan's fiscal year end was 2/28 so we should get another
look at the Company within the next 10 days or so.
What a nasty joke. The number of BIPH shares now outstanding is over 113 million. In addition to the dilution of BIPH shares, there may be dilution of Biophan's stake in Myotech LLC.
The Biophan Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending 2/28/2008 can be expected on about May 8 based on
its submission date of last year.
VAD in the news:
FDA approves new Thoratec heart pump
April 21, 2008 05:07 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thoratec Corp won U.S. approval to sell a new implanted heart pump to keep patients alive while they wait for a transplant, U.S. health regulators said on Monday.
THOR has a Market Cap of $842.36m
It would be interesting to know how long and what hoops
they had to go through to get this FDA approval.
BIPH is up 23.53% today on 793k volume at 4.2 cents a share.
Good picking on your part. Do you have a target price?
"Medical devices giant Boston Scientific Corp. reports on 4/15/08 it has struck a licensing and development deal with Surgi-Vision Inc. for access to Surgi-Vision's MRI-safe technology.
Natick-based Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) said it plans to use the technology to make cardiac implants safer under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Financial details of the deal weren't disclosed."
A better mouse trap?
It would be great to hear of new financing and/or a customer for Pleximer. Pleximer has been on the market for over 4 months now so a sale may not be overdue, but that breakout
will be special.
Your find is very interesting as it is more detailed than the NaturalNano PR. Another item by the same author is (in part):
"High double-digit growth expected in nanotech cosmetics market
By Guy Montague-Jones
03-Dec-2007 - The market for cosmetics using nanotechnology is expected to grow significantly over the coming years despite continued concern about the safety of the technology........
This is from the NaturalNano 10K filed this week;
"On May 25, 2005, the Company entered into a Joint Research Agreement with Nanolution, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Biophan. Biophan is related to the Company because it is an affiliate of one of the Company’s directors. This agreement covers the exchange of ideas in support of a new drug delivery capability. The term of this agreement shall continue until the desired technology becomes commercially viable or until mutually terminated by both parties. All medical uses and inventions that arise as a result of this agreement will be owned by Nanolution, LLC and all purification processes for raw halloysite and non-medical applications will be owned by the Company. The Company is not actively pursuing any research or development activities in collaboration with Nanolution or Biophan."
This agreement could become very valuable to Biophan sometime in the distant future IMO.
You can get into NNAN now at an all time low at 5 cents a share. Of course I am not sure how many subbasements there are here.
It has come to this:
"During 2007, the Company was notified that Atlas Mining Company suspended mining activities at its mining facility which sources halloysite. In February 2008, the Company initiated legal proceedings against Atlas Mining Company and is seeking to recover up to $250,000 which had been prepaid to Atlas Mining Company. Due to this uncertainty, $249,650 of prepaid inventory related to Atlas Mining Company has been written off by the Company, and shown as an operational expense." NaturalNano 10K
NaturalNano has filed its FORM 10-KSB for the year ending 12/31/2007.
PPA Technologies' web site (ppa-technologies-ag.de/) lists Michael Friebe as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. He and Dr. Melzer were the ones who sold Biophan Europe to Biophan.
A reminder: PR of 11/19/2007 in part: "NaturalNano said it is currently developing halloysite nanotubes (HNT(TM) sources and potential partnerships in the western United States as part of the Company’s ongoing focus on industry partnerships and joint venture sourcing and technology development. While undergoing the development process, NaturalNano said it continues to have access to reserves of HNT to meet customer demand and to continue laboratory-scale testing of additional Pleximer products. NaturalNano has purchased and is warehousing a six month supply of HNT based on current projections, and will continue to add to the supply throughout 2008. NaturalNano said it expects to introduce several new Pleximer products in the first half of 2008, with extended release applications coming online later next year."
John Levy is acquiring ALMI shares as payment of Director & Special Investigation Committee fees. He now owns 69,775 shares.
Halloysite Nanotubes in Polymers
R.C. Daly, C.A. Fleischer, A.L. Wagner, M. Duffy
NaturalNano, Inc., US
Keywords:
halloysite, HNT, nanocomposite
Abstract:
Halloysite Nanotubes (HNT TM) provide a new avenue for the preparation of nanocomposites. These unique tubes can be dispersed by normal extrusion processes in a variety of polymer melts to produce nanocomposites with unusual physical properties. Their addition reduces the polymer MIF, making for more easily controlled mixing and extrusion. Dispersions can be made directly to the desired working composition or a concentrate may be let down to that concentration. Injection molded parts or blown films have been produced from a variety of different polymers, including Nylon-6, polypropylene, TPO and several varieties of polyethylene. The HNT can also be dispersed into polymer latexes and dispersions in order to produce coating formulations which in turn produce coatings with advantaged physical properties. The various PleximerTM polymer concentrates and surface treated HNTTM from NaturalNano allow easy routes into improved polymer performance.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Nanotech 2008 Conference Program Abstract
NSTI Nanotech 2008 June1-5, 2008
"A cheaper, safer heart pump, also better for women" must have more value than this. Is the Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Ronald Kirshner as high on the myovad prospects now as he was a year ago? Maybe E Harness will do a follow up story soon.
Biophan Announces Appointment of John H. Bowers as Senior Technologist for Myotech. Was this hiring a notice of problems with patents and/or product?
Atlas Mining filed an SEC Form NT 10-K on 3/31/2008:
"The Company has not been able to file the Quarterly Report for the three months ended September 30, 2007 due to an internal investigation into the accounting and other issues identified in the Company’s press release dated October 9, 2007. Until that investigation is completed and the 10-QSB filed, the Company will not be in a position to file the Company’s Annual Report of Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007"
The Company filed an SEC Form 8K on 4/1/2008 in which notice was given of a change in bylaws that were made on 3/27/08.
Over 5% of the 113,070,000 some outstanding shares of Biophan
traded today. About $225,000 traded hands. It is difficult for me to understand how the market cap for this company has gone so low. Has Myotech proven to be worthless?
Why did you expect it? Why was it necessary?
An SEC Notification of Late Filing was filed by NaturalNano on 3/31/2008 for the Report due for the year ending December 31,5007.
NNAN shares were selling for about 30 cents a share a year ago. The Company seems to be in much better shape today than it was then. Yet there were no sells reported this quarter;
and the amount of funding "won" was not reported nor was the cost associated with it.
Director John L.Levy filed on 3/28/2008 Form 4 reporting he now owns 45,980 ALMI shares. Mr. Levy received 12,820 ALMI shares on 3/7/2008 in partial payment for March services. He is being prepaid $16,666 a month for his committee work. He has elected to receive half of his pay in restricted ALMI shares. The number of shares he receives is based on the market price just prior to the pay date. That value was $0.65 this month. Is not known when a report from the committee can be expected.
2008 Trade Show Schedule per Atlas web site:
13-15 Feb 2008
International Nanotechnology Exhibition and Conference
Tokyo, Japan
Exhibit Booth and Scientific Lecture
25-29 March 2008
12th International Plastics Exhibition
La Rural Exhibition Center Buenos Aires, Argentina
Commercial Exhibit
What work load does Atlas Fausett Contracting (AFC)now have?