In brief: Sterling president De Motte ousted
Sterling Mining Co., operator of the Sunshine Mine in Idaho’s Silver Valley, has fired President Raymond De Motte and named director Ken Berscht as interim replacement.
Berscht declined to comment on the reasons for the weekend termination of De Motte, who headed Sterling for 10 years and at one time was the company’s only employee.
“It was just a decision by the board that we had to move on,” said Berscht, who added that he would not be on Sterling’s board of directors but for De Motte, whom he called a friend.
De Motte said he also did not want to talk about the reasons for the Sterling decision, instead choosing to wish the best for the crew that has brought the legendary Sunshine Mine back into production after years of closure due to poor silver prices.
“It was a very productive 10 years,” he said.
But Sterling, in a May 12 regulatory filing, said cash on hand might not allow the mine to continue operations beyond the middle of June.
Berscht said Sterling has enough cash to “exist,” and expects cash flow to improve with the Sunshine’s restart.
Still, he said, the company is looking for more capital, or a joint-venture partner.
He said the board of directors will meet this weekend to consider the company’s options.
Bert Caldwell
BERLIN
Airlines researching alternative fuels
Some of the world’s biggest aviation companies are turning to alternative fuels – made from sources as diverse as hydrogen cells or algae – as soaring oil prices drive the search to build and fly more fuel-efficient planes.
The Boeing Co. and its European rival Airbus showed off their latest alternative-fuel projects Tuesday at the Berlin Air Show, held against the backdrop of oil prices that hit $135 a barrel last week.
Boeing displayed a one-seater demonstration airplane that can fly on batteries and hydrogen fuel cells. While the plane is still in the early stages, the company said in a statement that test flights have shown “a manned airplane can maintain a straight level flight with fuel cells as the only power source.”
The Chicago-based plane maker said the technology could potentially power small manned and unmanned aircraft. But it said it “does not envision fuel cells will provide primary power for large passenger airplanes,” although it will continue investigating their potential.
Airbus brought along a demonstrator version of its A320 passenger jet that uses fuel cells to power some of the aircraft’s steering systems.
The company said it sees great potential in fuel cell applications.
Dutch airline KLM, meanwhile, said at the show that it had signed a contract with AlgaeLink for fuel made from algae for a pilot project whose first test flight is scheduled for this fall.
Associated Press
SEATTLE
Amazon cuts price of e-book reader
Web retailer Amazon.com Inc. has nipped $40 from the price of its Kindle e-book reader.
The $399 Kindle launched last November and sold out in hours. Amazon sorted out its supply chain and manufacturing problems, and the device was back on sale in April.
Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener said Tuesday that Amazon’s cost of manufacturing the Kindles dropped as it increased the number produced. He would not say how many of the e-book readers have been sold.
The Kindle’s new $359 list price is still higher than Sony Corp.’s competing Reader, which retails for $299.
Associated Press