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Gold/Mining/Energy : Headwaters Inc. (HDWR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gofer who wrote (3)	2/18/2001 5:01:54 PM
From: Ben Wa	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17

Part of the environmental problem of using coal to generate electricity is that, apart from whatever may be created when it is combusted, mining it is a real mess. The emissions from burning it can be recaptured and the fact that in the US, we have a couple hundred years of coal supply makes it preferable to using OPEC or domestic oil to generate electricity if the environmental aspects can be handled. Part of the mining mess created are particles of coal that are physically too small to be safely transported to electric plants. Coal dust when airborne can create a very dangerous situation. HDWR has technology that takes the particles of coal that are too small to be transported and agglomorates them into pieces that can be safely transported to a coal burning electric utility. At a coal burning utility, coal is pulverized prior to combustion, but you don't want to transport coal dust from mine to utility. A couple years ago, HDWR had clearly inept management, and they borrowed a few zillion dollars to build little plants that would convert coal dust (in the industry called coal fines) into larger particles. Unfortunately, they borrowed too much. New mgt came in and prevented the whole company from going to creditors. They sold the plants they built to electric utilities for cash plus revenue from the materials that the plants use to agglomorate the coal dust. In addition, in many cases, HDWR will get a per ton fee for the stuff that each plant produces. The federal government has deemed the product that the HDWR plants produces an "alternative fuel", and as such, the utilities get a tax break for using the stuff. Plus, it does clean up part of the nasty byproduct of mining coal. The tax break goes till 2007. Several sellside analysts have met with the company and the biggest negative they seem to come up with is that the tax credit runs out in 2007. What they have ignored in that analysis is the rate that cash is flowing into the company and what the balance sheet will look like in a year or two. Unfortunately, because of the big cash flows, HDWR does not need the services of an investment banker to raise money for them, so it is unlikely that any of the firms that have coal analysts like Bear Stearns or Merrill will ever recommend the stock. But, as most people know, stock recommendations on the part of major firms are usually paid advertisements anyway, so the lack of an endorsement from the sellside is irrelevant to me.

To: Gofer who wrote (3)	8/6/2001 10:10:38 AM
From: Ben Wa	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17

Headwaters Inc. Announces New Patent for Advanced Catalyst Business Editors/Energy & Environmental Writers DRAPER, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 6, 2001--Headwaters Inc. (Nasdaq: HDWR), Monday announced that Hydrocarbon Technology Inc. ("HTI") was recently granted a patent for an advanced iron-based catalyst to be used in converting gas to liquids ("GTL"). HTI has succeeded in developing a catalyst that extends the life and increases the selectivity of iron-based catalysts. Its unique construction provides for greater surface area exposure and strength. Iron catalysts are significantly less expensive than the competing cobalt-based materials and will facilitate conversion to ultra clean high energy fuels from a wide array of feedstock sources. On May 2 of this year, Headwaters entered into an agreement to acquire HTI. It is expected that all regulatory approvals and other conditions to close will be met in August and the transaction will then be able to close. However, no assurance can be given that the transaction will close if the closing conditions are not met. If the transaction does not close, Headwaters will not have access to the intellectual property developed by HTI. Al Comolli, chief executive officer of HTI, stated, "The successful development of our unique iron-based catalyst allows us entry into the GTL market place. We have been working on our catalyst for several years and are pleased that our patent has been granted. The technology is an innovative application of our knowledge of how catalysts are formed and how they function in the GTL environment. "We have commenced working on the implementation of the technology and we look forward to working with Headwaters in its commercial deployment." GTL technology can be used to produce high-value ultra-clean gasoline, diesel fuel and lubricants from low-value alternative fuel resources such as stranded natural gas, coal, tarsands, biomass and refinery still bottoms. There are several companies involved in commercializing GTL technology including: Exxon, BP, Sasol, Conoco, Rentech and Syntroleum. Using low-value alternative fuel resources, GTL could be used to supply a major portion of the world's current demand for liquid petroleum products. For example, it is estimated that GTL technology will enable the development of stranded gas reserves, which are estimated at more than 4,000 trillion cubic feet. This represents about 80 percent of all known gas reserves worldwide. GTL has the potential of producing more than 11 million barrels per day of liquid petroleum products. "We are extremely excited about the many opportunities that HTI gives us to expand. HTI has the engineering and scientific competence that allows us unprecedented opportunities to grow our business in adjacent markets. "The GTL market is huge and we intend to fully investigate implementation of HTI's catalyst to provide us with sources of additional revenue and income," said Kirk A. Benson, CEO and chairman of Headwaters Inc.