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A look under the hood
Bowles/Oblinger tour of eastern North Carolina, David GreenDavid Winwood Named Associate Vice Chancellor for Technology Development and Innovation at NC State
David Winwood, Centennial Campus
Updating
N.C.'s revenue mix
Institute of Emerging Issues
College
Grads Flock To Raleigh, Wake County
Mike Walden
Police
chiefs share common need
Thomas Younce, Campus Police
Pests
pose grape danger
Ken Sorenson
Cars
on the grass pose puzzle, alas
Residential parking
Faithful
catch the swagger
Student republicans gather to watch the President's State of the Union Address
Fire
department merger raised
NCSU advisement regarding the Carrboro/Chapel Hill fire department merger
The Preiss
Company and Harrison Street Real Estate Capital form Student Housing
Joint-Venture
Off-campus student housing
David Winwood Named Associate Vice Chancellor for Technology Development and Innovation at NC State
Feb. 1, 2006
dBusinessNews Triangle
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
Triangle - Raleigh - Dr. David Winwood has been named the new associate vice chancellor for technology development and innovation at North Carolina State University. Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies John Gilligan made the announcement.
Winwood will be responsible for overseeing the Centennial Campus Partnership Office and the Office of Technology Transfer, and will look to enhance the performance and efficiencies of both offices by bridging the parallels between the company recruitment done by the partnership office and the commercialization and licensing activities of technology transfer. He will also connect all aspects of company recruitment and creation with technology creation and licensing.
“Research has shown that businesses spun out of university creations stay
close to home and contribute to the economic vitality of the state,” Winwood said. “In using the university’s strengths in science and technology, we’re
able to create technologies, which in turn often leads
to the birth of a start-up company to license the created technology. My hope
is to have such companies locate on Centennial Campus and
contribute to the economic prosperity of North Carolina.”
Most recently the director of Centennial Campus, Winwood has held technology development positions at several universities, including Ohio State, NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also has experience in business development and early-stage drug development activities.
Winwood holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in chemistry from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, and a master’s degree in liberal studies from NC State. He has more than 20 peer-reviewed publications and reviews in the areas of synthetic chemistry and drug design and delivery, as well as numerous invited presentations.
Recognized as one of the nation’s leading universities in science and technology, NC State is ranked ninth among national research-extensive universities in industry-funded research, third in total state and local research funding among public national research universities, second in total research expenditures in the University of North Carolina System, and 31st nationally among public universities in total expenditures for research and development. More than 50 companies have spun out of NC State, creating more than 13,000 jobs.
Feb. 1, 2006
dBusinessNews, Carolina Newswire
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
CHARLOTTE, NC – January 31, 2006 – The Preiss Company (“TPCO”), the largest housing provider of off-campus student housing at North Carolina State University and Clemson University, is pleased to announce it has entered into a strategic joint-venture with Harrison Street Real Estate Capital (“HSRE”) to acquire and develop student housing complexes throughout the Southeast. The Venture intends to acquire and develop a portfolio worth over $100 million throughout the next 24 months.
The Venture’s first investment was the acquisition of the 130-unit (520-bed) University Club student apartment complex located in Charlotte, North Carolina. In a further investment, the Venture acquired 24 adjacent acres of land for which it will develop an additional 168 units (600-beds). Development of the University Club Phase II will begin during the summer of 2006 with occupancy available in 2007.
The Venture with HSRE allows TPCO to ramp up its business plan of growing its presence throughout the Southeast markets. The company's goal is to become the largest off-campus provider in each of the markets that it selects. “The University Club property is an excellent asset situated in close proximity to the University. We have brought in new on-site personnel and have exciting renovation plans for the property. We look forward to developing a larger presence in this market,” says TPCO Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Donna Preiss.
Harrison Street Real Estate Capital is a recently formed real estate private equity firm that focuses on providing equity capital to operators that are active in the specialty areas of the real estate market. These include student housing, senior housing, self storage, medical office, and parking. “The Preiss Company has a strong organization and excellent track record. They are poised for significant growth in the Southeast. We are excited about our initial investments with TPCO and look forward to expanding the portfolio,” says Harrison Street Real Estate Capital Founder and Managing Director, Christopher Merrill.
University Club is a 520-bed, 4 bed/4 bath town home-style student housing facility. The complex is located within one mile of the UNC Charlotte campus and offers a full-range of amenities including pool, basketball and volleyball courts, and clubhouse with exercise facilities and a student lab. The Preiss Company is planning to provide further enhancements and improvements to both the exterior and interior of the property. University Club represents The Preiss Company’s first student housing acquisition in Charlotte. Dan Leff, and The Preiss Company’s Director of Sales and Development, Susan Folckemer, handled the acquisition for the Venture.
Feb. 1, 2006
Durham Herald-Sun
By JENNIFER FERRIS and ROB SHAPARD
© Copyright 2006
CARRBORO -- Merger in Orange County could mean more than talking about school districts.
The issue of merger has come up in a different area -- in this case, the fire departments of Carrboro and Chapel Hill. The two governments have talked about forming a single fire department in the past and decided against it, but Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton is pushing for a new look at the idea.
Chilton said Tuesday he wonders if Carrboro should hold off hiring a new fire chief for its department and see if the merger idea could get any traction.
"We have two excellent fire departments, do we really need two separate fire chiefs?" he asked.
In the midst of legal problems and crises in his personal life, long-time Carrboro Fire Chief Rodney Murray announced last month he would officially retire March 1, and he's currently on medical leave.
In addition, the town has just begun the process of building a new fire substation for the northern section of town -- a cost, Chilton suggested, that could easily be shared with Chapel Hill.
"My common sense tells me there's the possibility of saving a lot of money here," he said. "We owe it to the taxpayers to explore this idea."
Chilton gave his counterpart in Chapel Hill a heads-up that he wanted to raise the issue, and Mayor Kevin Foy said Tuesday he saw the potential for some benefits. Both Foy and Chilton noted that the towns already work together in a number of areas, such as with Chapel Hill Transit.
Both towns also are faced with the prospect of needing to add firefighters. Carrboro figures it would need 15 new employees to staff the northern substation, and Chapel Hill Fire Chief Dan Jones has said for several years that he needs to add up to 18 new firefighters over three years.
"We have a good history of working together, [and] we're certainly willing to consider discussing it," Foy said. "If we can work together in some way and provide better services for citizens and increase our efficiencies, I think that would definitely be something worthwhile."
If the Carrboro and Chapel Hill boards decided to delve into the matter, there would be at least two critical issues, said Jones.
One is the issue of pay and benefits, and how officials would handle any differences in compensation for employees of the two departments, he said.
The second, Jones said, are any differences between the standards of coverage for the departments.
Jones was head of the Chapel Hill department back in the early 1990s, when the notion of merging the two departments drew a great deal of discussion. A North Carolina State University professor advised the towns in 1993 that there would be benefits but also costs, such as money to raise the pay of Carrboro firefighters to the level of their counterparts in Chapel Hill.
The boards decided the next year to focus on increasing the cooperation between the two departments, rather than merging them.
Jones said he believed the pay in Chapel Hill was significantly higher 12 years ago, but that the salary differences were much less dramatic now.
The most recent salary Carrboro gave for Murray was $77,776. The posted range is about $63,000 to $96,000.
In Chapel Hill, Jones earns $104,080, and the range is about $72,000 to $108,000.
Looking at a couple of the other levels in the departments, the range in Carrboro for firefighters is about $31,000 to $46,000, compared to about $29,900 to $47,100 in Chapel Hill.
At the captain level, Carrboro's range is $40,500 to $61,600, while the range in Chapel Hill is $40,100 to $60,100.
The Carrboro department has 24 people, while Chapel Hill's department currently has 75 employees.
Touching on a point that figured in the earlier debate -- and in pretty much any other merger discussion -- Chilton said he felt a merged fire department wouldn't jeopardize Carrboro's autonomy, noting the other services on which the towns have cooperated.
Alderman Jacquelyn Gist said that while she would support a discussion of a merger, she might not support the step itself.
"We've explored this in the past, and at that time it looked like there isn't that much savings," Gist said. "You are only saving the salary for one position."
While the idea to save taxpayers money is a good one, said Alderman Alex Zaffron, the timing of this merger discussion could not be worse.
"I cannot think of more colossally bad timing than to float this issue when the department is in transition," Zaffron said. "This is very, very bad timing."
Chilton's arguments were that the towns possibly could eliminate more than just one position by rearranging positions among the stations, and also that the timing actually was ideal, since Carrboro is currently without a permanent fire chief.
The town has begun recruiting to fill Murray's post, while Deputy Fire Chief Travis Crabtree is leading the department.
According to Carrboro Manager Steve Stewart, the town will take applications for the chief position until March 3. Chilton said he felt his board would be able to decide before then whether to pursue the merger idea.
In Chapel Hill, Jones said he would need a great deal more information before he'd be ready, if asked, to weigh in on the question.
On the one hand, he said he didn't really see how a merger would help solve the manpower shortage in his department.
However, Jones has been through a fire-department merger in Florida himself and is aware of many others. He said it's not that difficult to accomplish, at least logistically.
"It's not that hard to do, particularly here, where we've already been working together," he said, "and we share a lot of similar policies and training, and we also work together on a lot of [fire calls]."
Police chiefs share common need
Feb. 1, 2006
News 14 Carolina
By Annette Newell
© Copyright 2006
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Two hundred law enforcement leaders are in the Queen City this week, and almost all agree that they need more officers.
“Manpower's always an issue for law enforcement,” said Thomas Younce, the chief of police at North Carolina State University. “I don't think you'll find any police chief in the United States that will tell you he has enough police officers.”
Younce is the first vice president of the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, the group that has gathered in Charlotte. He said communities across the state have to make a decision.
Gathering in Charlotte this week is the North Carolina Assoictaion of Chiefs of Police.
“For most cities, probably 40-50 percent of their budget is police and fire,” he said Tuesday. “So cities have to take a look at what's best for them.”
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is asking for more manpower. At a cost of about $6.2 million, Chief Darrel Stephens wants to add 70 new officers and 23 new civilian positions.
Vic Orr, who served as Mecklenburg County police chief for seven years, thinks the request is reasonable.
“I think you can anticipate an increase in the number of calls for service and certain crimes as the population increases,” said Orr, who is now retired after 35 years in law enforcement.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is asking for more manpower -- 70 new officers and 23 new civilian positions.
Charlotte has more than 1,500 police officers right now. A recent study showed that is about 23 officers for every 10,000 residents. The CMPD says it’s more like 21 or 22.
The average for large American cities is 29.
“If the infrastructure's not in place to deal with it -- police, fire and other services -- then it's going be continually getting further and further behind,” Orr said. “It's extremely difficult to play catch-up.”
The Charlotte City Council has the final say on adding officers, and it has to make its decision before it adopts a budget in June.
Feb. 1, 2006
The Reidsville Review
By Seth Stratton
© Copyright 2006
Although they didn't pose much of a threat last year, Kathryn Holmes said multi-colored Asian lady beetles, better known as ladybugs, Asian ambrosia beetles and Japanese beetles have the potential of damaging much of the county's wine grapes this year.
Holmes, a Rockingham County extension agent for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, and other extension specialists gathered at the Bethany Civic Center on Monday night to discuss the impact pests would have on the upcoming grape-growing season.
Dr. Ken Sorenson, fruit and vegetable entomologist from North Carolina State University, started the evening by presenting the impact that Asian lady beetles and grape root borers have on grapes in the Piedmont and specifically Rockingham County.
Sorenson told grape growers that they needed to be ahead of the curve when it comes to diseases and pests in their vineyards.
The entomologist also told the dozens of growers gathered that they need to continue to monitor their vineyards throughout the season as different hazards are posed from March through October.
A specific insect Sorenson mentioned was the Asian ambrosia beetle, which has been a major problem in peach, pecan and nursery fields for many years.
These beetles bore stems into trees and infest them from the inside out.
Trees that have been infested can be identified by toothpick-like protrusions coming from the trunks or bases.
These beetles are attracted to damaged, stressed, but also healthy thin-barked hardwood trees.
To control these pests, Sorenson suggested growers build their own traps by hanging an upside down two-liter bottle near the grapes cutting four holes around the outside.
Next, four squares are cut in the midsection of the bottle and the neck of the bottle is filled with soapy water. To attract the beetles, Sorenson suggests placing a film canister's worth of ethyl alcohol with a small wick in the center of the bottle. The beetles are attracted to the burning fuel, and then perish when landing in the sudsy water.
Last year, Japanese beetles were a huge problem with various crops in the county. And although yellow sticky traps can be set, Sorenson said growers can catch the beetles in their immature stage by killing them when they are feeding on the roots of grasses.
Asian lady beetles are a little harder to get rid of, Holmes said, because they are beneficial insects. These beetles eat aphids, which attack grapevines, but they also hide in grape clusters when vines are ready to harvest in the early fall.
Holmes said a vineyard in Ohio had to dump thousands of gallons of wine in 2004 because the beetles had been crushed along with the grapes in the winemaking process. During the crushing, the beetles release an alkaloid that contains a foul stench. The winemakers tried everything to get rid of the awful smell but the batch ultimately had to be destroyed.
To rid these pests without killing them, Holmes suggested growers scout the fields for signs of beetles about two weeks before planned harvest. These beetles are especially active during warm sunny days in the fall and tend to gravitate toward tall structures and wooded areas. Holmes said these beetles love soybeans and growing some of these plants near grapevines might lure them away from gathering in the grape clusters. Harvesting during the day also helps, as most beetles usually hide in the clusters at night.
For more information on grape management, visit the following websites: http://ipm.ncsu.edu, www.cals.ncsu.edu/entomology and http://pestdata.ncsu.edu/cropprofiles.
Cars on the grass pose puzzle, alas
Feb. 1, 2006
News & Observer
By Josh Shaffer
© Copyright 2006
Shirley Morton's husband has always been a sucker for a good used car, and the evidence sits parked in their front yard on Kaplan Drive.
The Mortons keep eight vehicles in a jumbled line -- some on concrete, most on dirt, all of them apparently working. Two panel vans, a Ford Crown Vic, an Isuzu pickup with some lumber hanging off the back.
"We do have too many cars," said Morton, who has lived 40 years in Southwest Raleigh. "Sometimes he has to put jumper cables on them if they sit too long."
For months, the Raleigh City Council has wrestled with a way to keep people from strewing cars across their yards, creating erosion and eyesores.
Curbing cars is part of Raleigh's recent push to tidy up, which includes fines for leaving trash cans at the street or letting lawns grow too tall.
But parking is a trickier puzzle than it first seemed, said Councilman Thomas Crowder.
The city could tidy up, he said, by requiring cars to be parked in a defined space rather than at random. As the rules stand, every house needs just one slot, and it can be dirt or pavement, whatever the driver pleases.
You can see the result on Pineview Drive near the Mortons' home. A minivan sits parked sideways on the grass, a few inches from the street.
"Parking in your front yard is just like throwing your trash all over your front yard," said Elizabeth Byrd, a leader of the West Citizens Advisory Council. "It shows a lack of respect."
But the city also wants to keep paving to a minimum, Crowder said. Raleigh's rules allow a driveway to cover up to 40 percent of the front yard.
"If I were to pave 40 percent of my front yard," Byrd said, "it would be wider than the length of my house."
She would like to see cars confined to driveways, and driveways of reasonable size.
Raleigh leaders have been mulling over rule changes since spring, and the Comprehensive Planning Commission will likely take another look next month.
In older neighborhoods, where yard cars are part of Raleigh culture and restrictive covenants do not exist, the city can expect some fight.
"I pay taxes on them, and they're all legal," Morton said, gesturing to her collection. "Plus, we pay to have them inspected."
On Pineview nearby, there is no shoulder, so a driver has a choice of the driveway or the grass. Families with children who drive don't like to shift cars around if someone who is parked in the middle wants to move.
College students often live four to a house, and all of them drive to N.C. State University.
At Kent Road and Greenleaf Street, just off Western Boulevard, the yard is all dirt, gravel and cars.
Andrew Puryear moved in with three other students in August, and as far as he knows, there has never been any grass.
"It's terrible dirt to grow anything with anyway," he said.
Crowder said Raleigh might try a formula for driveway size based on the size of the lot, allowing for circular drives on busy streets.
Staff writer Josh Shaffer can be reached at 829-4818 or jshaffer@newsobserver.com
Feb. 1, 2006
News & Observer
By J. Andrew Curliss
© Copyright 2006
About 50 Republicans munched on pizzas and ate cookies at the state party headquarters on Hillsborough Street near downtown Tuesday night.
The gathering included a few state legislators and some aspiring ones -- several groups of Republicans from area high schools and N.C. State University took part.
The chatter beforehand was upbeat. As the introductions of dignitaries from Washington began, the volume went up on two televisions tuned to Fox News, and the lights went down. There was applause when President Bush first appeared -- and continued, approving applause throughout his speech.
One clear hesitation from the Raleigh crowd, though, came when Bush said the economy could not function without immigrants.
There were the requisite groans when Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York was shown. But many said they left feeling energized, proud and glad that Bush was in charge. They shared his swagger.
Indeed, the most cheers came when Bush set his chin, looked into the camera and said: "We will not sit back and wait to be hit again."
'It was a great speech about leadership. You know the old saying: "Lead, follow or get out of the way." He was talking about leadership ... He was talking to the average American, and some might not like it, but it was from a leadership role.'
-- JOSEPH AVERY, 54, a salesman and party leader from Smithfield, who has a son in the Army serving in Iraq
'I was very impressed and amazed by the vision he outlined. He was talking about optimism, not just on a national level but for the whole world. It was very optimistic.'
-- JULIAN QUESADA, 16, a junior at Apex High School
'We can do it. That was the message he was giving. Regardless of the problem -- no matter how insurmountable it might seem -- based on things we have accomplished in the past, we can do it.'
-- MARILYN AVILA, 57, chairwoman of the Wake County Republican Party
Feb. 1, 2006
Jacksonville Daily News, New Bern Sun Journal, The Daily Tarheel
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
MOREHEAD CITY — The new
president of the University of North Carolina system was full of questions Tuesday.
“What else can we do? What do you really need?” asked Erskine Bowles as he began his two-hour visit of N.C. State University’s Center for Marine Science and Technology in Morehead City.
Bowles, a former candidate for U.S. Senate and White House chief of staff in the Clinton administration, tried to satisfy his curiosity as he took a glimpse of Carteret County’s niche in marine sciences.
Bowles joined N.C. State Chancellor James L. Oblinger on a four-stop tour of eastern North Carolina. After morning visits to Cherry Point Air Station and CMAST, the tour continued to the Cunningham Agriculture Research Station in Kinston and the Duplin County Agriculture Center in Kenansville.
For Bowles, who began his job as head of the 16-campus system on Jan. 1, it was all about listening.
“I hope to hear from you about what you need in order to capture what’s here,” he said.
The tour of the CMAST facility gave Bowles a first-hand look at some of the research being done in Carteret County in areas such as fisheries, water quality, seafood processing and coastal resources.
In the zoology lab, where graduate students worked on fisheries research, Bowles stopped at each station to talk with them about their work. And each time, the questions flowed.
“How has your experience been here? What type of work do you want to do?” he asked one student. “What brought you to this facility?” he asked another, who was examining the over-wintering of bluefin tuna.
Nate Bacheler, a graduate student, talked with Bowles about a tagging project he is working on tracking red drum, particularly in the Neuse River. It’s a project that could provide valuable information about the fish, from habitat to mortality rates Bacheler explained.
Bacheler said Bowles’ visit was more than just a chance to talk about his research but to show him the importance of the work being done to address many issues in marine fisheries.
“The more attention we get for marine fisheries issues the better,” Bacheler said.
The entire marine sciences field was a major focus during the stop in Morehead City, and it wasn’t just the work within the CMAST walls that was discussed.
The emphasis Tuesday was on partnerships between CMAST and the other many other education and research facilities clustered in Carteret County.
Within the CMAST building alone is its own faculty and staff as well as N.C. Cooperative Extension offices, the N.C. Sea Grant Marine Extension and space for Carteret Community College, where the CMAST facility is located.
Beyond the building is a vast array of marine science facilities, including the federal NOAA lab, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Institute for Marine Sciences and Duke Marine Lab, the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and Carteret Community College’s aquaculture program.
There is also the nearby N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and the N.C. Maritime Museum.
Promotion, coordination
CMAST Director David Green noted the importance of partnerships and the formal coalition that has been formed to promote and coordinate efforts by the various entities. The N.C. Marine Science and Education Partnership was formed in 2002, when Carteret County Economic Development Council Executive Director Dave Inscoe invited all the agencies to meet.
They agreed to continue to meet to discuss how they could work together for the greater good of both their programs and the entire county.
“It’s exciting the things we can do when we work together,” Green said.
Carteret Community College President Joe Barwick said that while the agencies and institutions in Carteret County know the benefit of this partnership, the challenge is making others outside the area aware of the resources that exist in the county.
Bowles said he sees the potential in the concentration of marine science resources in Carteret County, and he sees it developing into something similar to the technological hub that has grown in the central area of the state.
“I believe that we have the potential here in Carteret County to have a Research Triangle Park for marine sciences,” Bowles said.
Contact staff writer Jannette Pippin at jpippin@freedomenc.com or by calling (252) 808-2275.
College Grads Flock To Raleigh, Wake County
Feb. 1, 2006
WRAL.com
By Melissa Buscher
© Copyright 2006
RALEIGH, N.C. -- He grew up and went to college in South Carolina, but Frankie Hagan now calls Wake County home.
"This is a place a young professional can definitely make their mark on a community and go somewhere," said Hagan, who is a local Realtor.
College graduates are coming to Raleigh and Wake County for jobs. Many of the 10,000 students from schools in the Triangle choose to stay in the area after graduation -- and is part of the reason Wake County stands out nationwide.
In 2004, nearly 50 percent of Wake County's population was a college graduate over 25 years of age -- twice the state and national average.
The amount of people living in Wake County with a college diploma could get even higher. Since 1980, the educated population has grown by about 10 percent every 10 years.
Chamber of Commerce president Harvey Schmitt said the amount of college alumni in Wake County is great for economic development. He said companies have located to the area and will continue to do so because of the intelligent employee pool.
"They are looking for people who can make their companies innovative and globally competitive," Schmitt said.
He pointed to a decision by financial services Credit Suisse to locate to the area.
"They chose this marketplace because they could find the brainpower they needed here," said Schmitt. "Not necessarily because they were perfectly trained, but could be trained with what they wanted to do."
There are some downsides, however. North Carolina State University economist Mike Walden says the more educated people are, the higher their salaries. He believes that leaves others with long commutes.
"When you are not highly educated and don't make as much money, you can't afford the high housing prices that usually go along with an area where there is a high level of education with the population," said Walden.
Still, leaders said high brainpower today is the water and natural resources of the 20th century. It's what many believe will make Wake County succeed.
According to the U.S. Census, education levels bode well for a city's economic success. More than half of America's 20 most educated cities also rank at the top of the list of the country's most prosperous cities.
Reporter: Melissa Buscher
Photographer: Courtney Davis
Online Editor: Dana Franks
Feb. 1, 2006
News & Observer
By James B. Hunt Jr.
© Copyright 2006
For a copy of this article contact, News Services at 515-3470.
USDA Rural Development Grant Received for Industrial Site Scoping Study in Bovill Area
Feb. 1, 2006
Market Wire
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
VANCOUVER, BC -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/31/2006 -- i-minerals inc. (TSX-V: IMA) has received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture -- Rural Development (the "USDA") for an industrial site scoping study intended to identify the most prospective location for the processing and storage of feldspar, quartz and kaolin clay in the Bovill area. The scoping study will be used by both the City of Bovill and i-minerals to locate the most suitable site and will consider a broad spectrum of factors including land availability, utility access, transportation access, rail access, constructability, environmental impacts and other related factors. Ruen -- Yeager & Associates of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, has been selected to complete the industrial site scoping study. The study will be funded jointly by the USDA and i-minerals essentially on a 50/50 basis and will begin immediately.
"As we move further along the feasibility process it will become increasingly important to have the plant site location selected as it has implications for both the capital and operating cost estimations," commented Roger Kauffman, President and CEO of i-minerals. "We are pleased with the strong support the Company and its project have received from the local community and we believe that based upon successfully completing the feasibility study, locating a production facility in the Bovill area will be beneficial for the immediate area."
i-minerals is pleased to provide the following update on ongoing property developments. Two series of metallurgical tests are currently ongoing at the Minerals Research Laboratory at North Carolina State University ("MRL"). The quartz, non-magnetic fraction from a previously produced feldspar product is being re-floated using standard processes in an effort to produce the highest purity quartz product possible. Should this preliminary flotation work produce a quartz product of sufficient purity, i-minerals will undertake additional testing to determine if a high purity quartz ("HPQ") product can be produced. HPQ products can be value added products worth many times that of standard quartz products. Any production of these products could have a pronounced impact on future cash flows. i-minerals has also assembled a composite sample of drill core from the 400-foot grid drill program. This sample was created from several uniformly spaced drill holes and is intended to be the basis of the metallurgical work for the reserve calculations for the Kelly's Basinfeldspar-quartz deposit. Results from both the quartz and composite sample work are expected in the next 3 to 5 weeks. Shortly after the completion of this work, MRL will begin processing the 40-ton bulk sample delivered towards the end of 2005.
A resource calculation for the Kelly's Basin feldspar -- quartz deposit is almost complete. The resource calculation will be based on 400-foot drill hole centers, sufficient to demonstrate an Indicated and/or Measured resource. The area of the Kelly's Basin deposit that is the subject of the resource calculation was identified as a high purity, open pit resource sufficient for a minimum of 15 years of production. The resource estimate and accompanying 43-101 report are expected in the next 2 to 4 weeks.
In addition, Ginn Mineral Technology, Inc. is undertaking detailed testing of the Company's clays, which include both kaolinite and halloysite. The first phase of work was very encouraging, and i-minerals expects the latest work to provide a more thorough characterization of the clays and an analysis of what products and markets the clays are best suited for. Management is expecting results in the next 2 to 4 weeks and will provide an update at that time.
A. Lamar Long, CPG, is the Qualified Person ("QP") for the Helmer-Bovill project under NI 43-101. He oversees the quality control and quality assurance program and the construction of all samples for metallurgical analysis and reviews all analytical results prior to public release.