Atlas Mining in Discussions with Several Nano-Technology Companies; Top Advisors Meeting with Companies in Hong Kong and China.

Business Editors

OSBURN, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 2004

Atlas Mining Company (OTCBB:ALMI), a natural resource and mining company, announced today it has engaged in discussions with several nano-technology companies. Halloysite microtubules provide a wide array of benefits and potentials to several nano applications.

Atlas Mining President and CEO William Jacobson said, "The potential uses for our halloysite continues to grow, seemingly every single day. The time-release attributes of our halloysite microtubules has become a hot topic of interest to several nano-technology companies, some of which are working on fantastic technologies. The kinds of technologies that change our entire way of doing things."

Jacobson continued, "I have two of my top advisors in Hong Kong and China right now. Last night they met with several government officials in one of the most prominent economic development zones in China." The company and its advisors are also in discussions with several Asian biotech companies regarding the ingestible benefits of the halloysite time-release microtubules.

Recently some vitamin manufacturers who have been considering the use of microtubular halloysite as an ingestible product have approached the company. The ability to encapsulate various products from perfumes to health supplements to household products into the Dragon Mine halloysite has sparked a lot of interest from numerous end use manufacturers.

The unique tubular halloysite is a primary nano-ceramic material. The unique size and shape of the Dragon Mine halloysite makes it very interesting from the point of being fillers in coatings and composite materials. The microtubules are capable of being functionalized by a number of means including being plated by an electrolysis process with metals from iron to copper and nickel giving them a range of very interesting properties, including being fillers in RAM materials.

Additionally, they can be used as molecular sieves, catalysts in hydrocarbon cracking, fillers in polymers and other similar materials. Companies that make ceramic cracking catalysts and molecular sieve materials will make excellent customers for the company. By processing the halloysite to individual tubules, the nano-ceramics market is ideal as a high value target for the company.

Jacobson continued, "While these sales cycles all take time, and the preliminary mine setup has been slowed a bit by some bad weather, we are moving forward at a very nice pace." Last week the Dragon Mine property received about four inches of snow, delaying ground work for a couple of days.

"The bottom line for Atlas is that we are fortunate to not be in a race with anyone. Our product has been independently called one of the rarest and purest halloysite finds on the planet, and the testing and samples provided to our future customers have proven this," Jacobson concluded.

The Dragon Mine is a rich cache of the mineral "halloysite". Historically, halloysite has been used in the manufacturing of bone china, fine china, and porcelain products. However, internal and other chemists and scientists have discovered new uses for the processed mineral. The Dragon Mine halloysite also has a unique tubular quality, not unlike a grain of rice, only considerably smaller and hollow. The halloysite microtubules can act as a time-release capsule, dissolving over time, and can be filled with such things as antifouling paint, antiscalants, herbicides, pest repellents, and other agents which could benefit from a controlled release.

About Atlas Mining Company: Atlas Mining Company is a diversified natural resource company with its primary focus on the development of the Dragon Mine in Juab County, Utah, the only known commercial source of halloysite clay outside of New Zealand. The unique purity and quality of the Dragon mine halloysite is unmatched anywhere in the world and has spawned considerable research into new and exciting applications for this product. Atlas also holds mining and timber interests in Northern Idaho, and operates an underground mining contracting business. Atlas stock trades on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "ALMI". More information about Atlas Mining Company can be found at www.atlasmining.com.

Safe Harbor Statement: As a cautionary note to investors, certain matters discussed in this press release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such matters involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the following: changes in economic conditions; general competitive factors; the Company's ability to execute its business model and strategic plans; and the risks described from time to time in the Company's SEC filings.