MINERALS TECHNOLOGIES HAS SIGNED A JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENT WITH PT INDAH KIAT PULP & PAPER CORPORATION FOR A SATELLITE PCC PLANT AT A PAPER MILL IN INDONESIA.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 1996--Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE: MTX) announced today that it has signed a joint venture agreement with PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Corporation (IKPP), a subsidiary of Asia Pulp & Paper Company Ltd., for a satellite precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) plant at IKPP's paper mill in Indonesia.

The joint venture company, PT Sinar Mas Specialty Minerals, will construct and operate the plant to produce PCC for paper filling and coating applications at the Pulp and Paper Mill in Perawang, Riau province of Sumatra. Specialty Minerals International Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Minerals Technologies, and IKPP are the joint venture partners in the plant that will be equal to approximately two satellite units. A satellite "unit" produces between 25,000 and 35,000 tons of PCC annually. The satellite plant is scheduled to be in operation in the first quarter of 1997.

"We are extremely pleased to enter into this joint venture with PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Corporation," said Jean-Paul Valles, chairman and chief executive officer of Minerals Technologies Inc. "This agreement is a continuation of our strategy for expansion into international markets. The satellite PCC plant to be built in Perawang will be our second in Southeast Asia and our forty-fifth worldwide."

Paul R. Saueracker, president of Specialty Minerals Inc., said: "We consider this project to be of considerable importance because it is with such a prestigious paper company in Asia. We look forward to providing PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper with PCC for use as a cost-effective means of improving paper quality. We are also pleased that we continue to participate in the rapid expansion of forest products-based industries in Southeast Asia."

PCC is a specialty pigment for filling and coating high-quality paper. By substituting PCC for more expensive wood fiber, and other, more expensive pigments, the paper industry is able to produce higher quality paper at lower cost. Minerals Technologies originated the satellite concept for making and delivering PCC on site at paper mills. This concept has been a major factor in revolutionizing papermaking from an acid to an alkaline-based technology. Minerals Technologies constructed its first PCC satellite plant in 1986. Today, the company has 41 satellite plants in operation around the world and four under construction.

PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Corporation is one of the largest pulp and paper producers in Asia, and is listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange. By the end of 1996, IKPP will have annual pulp capacity of 1.4 million tons and an annual paper production capacity of 1.2 million tons.

Minerals Technologies Inc. is a resource and technology-based organization that develops and produces performance-enhancing minerals, mineral-based and synthetic mineral products for the paper, steel, polymer and other manufacturing industries on a worldwide basis.

CONTACT: Rick Honey

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