Industrial Minerals

Malcolm Bucholtz B.Sc, MBA Analyst

Trading Note

Iodine - Little Talked About but Vitally Important

At The Market Traders we have a particular interest in the lesser known industrial type minerals. The next time you are in the Pharmacy section of your local Safeway or Albertson’s take a look on the shelf for Iodine. Stop for a moment and ask yourself where that Iodine came from. Would you be shocked to learn that it may have originated at a mine in a place like Chile?

Iodine is something that does not come up in everyday conversation in the office coffee room. But, it is an industrial product of vital importance. Aside from what you see in the pharmacy section, what else is Iodine used for? Well, how about as a contrast media in X-ray and MRI applications for one. In fact, this is the largest single application for Iodine taking about 20% of global production. Close behind is the area of biocides at 18%. Each time I brew a batch of home-made beer I sterilize my bottles with something called Iodophor which contains Iodine. Imagine how much of this stuff gets consumed by the big brewers at Coors and Miller as they sterilize millions of bottles every week? Other applications include human and animal nutrition, pharmaceuticals and even LCD computer and television screens.

Atacama Minerals – A Lundin Company

Atacama Minerals is a Canadian based company with a 100% interest in the Aguas Blancas iodine/sulphate/nitrate mine in northern Chile. Aguas Blancas has been in production since 2000 and Atacama has had 100% ownership of the project since 2005. One of the major shareholders in Atacama is the Lundin Group of Sweden. The mere mention of the Lundin name in mining circles is enough to make grown men tremble. Lucas Lundin is to be feared and revered for his business acumen. Read more »