July 19 , 2006

PRESS RELEASE

AMERICAN ELEMENTS ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF AEDCO AS EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR FOR EGYPT AND ARABIC-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

[July 19 , 2006, Los Angeles , CA] American Elements is pleased to announce it has appointed distributor Arab Engineering & Distribution SARL (AEDCO) as its exclusive distributor in Egypt. AEDCO will also represent the company in the other key Arabic-speaking countries and emirates in North Africa and the Gulf State region.

AEDCO has a long standing reputation for quality service supplying industrial, petrochemical, electrical and transportation materials and equipment on behalf of other recognized global enterprises including General Electric and the Toshiba Corporation. AEDCO maintains offices in Garden City , Egypt.

The addition of AEDCO to American Elements' network of international distributors will allow it to better meet the logistical and customer service needs of its Arabic-speaking customers.

For further technical and pricing information on American Elements' full line of petrochemical, advanced ceramic, electronic, glass and structural advanced material products, please contact your local American Elements distributor or American Elements U.S. corporate headquarters. American Elements is a Los Angeles based global manufacturer and developer of engineered and advanced materials with the world’s largest industrial catalogue of rare earth materials accessible electronically at www.americanelements.com. For further information on the new Chinese rare earth tax rates, please contact your local American Elements distributor or American Elements U.S. corporate headquarters at (1)310-208-0551, FAX (1)310-208-0351 or customerservice@americanelements.com.