VALENCIA, CA - U.S. Borax Inc., the world's leading supplier of refined borates, announced today a product improvement designed to improve the only dry-flowable boron nutrient available to American growers.

The product, SoluborŪ DF, was developed in response to demand for a more cost effective source of boron than liquid products, with the same performance characteristics. Solubor DF is a concentrated microgranular product containing 17.5% boron, or 75 percent more boron than standard liquid products.

Solubor DF is free-flowing, so it pours easily into the tank like a liquid and dissolves completely with typical tank agitation. The product was also developed to lower the time and labor involved in mixing, and packaged to make clean-up easy. Empty Solubor DF bags require no special handling and can be discarded along with regular trash.

Borax is the acknowledged world leader in borate research, processing and innovation. Most recently, the company has focused on improving Solubor DF's flow to reduce caking problems reported by some customers.

Boron is one of seven essential micronutrients that all plants need to grow. The nutrient is vital to fertilization, fruit and seed production. Boron deficiency is the most widespread of all crop deficiencies, affecting almost all major crops grown around the world. Independent research shows that boron fertilizers can quadruple corn yields, and increase cotton yields by more than 500 pounds per acre.

Borax continues to look for new ways to transform borates from California's Mojave Desert into products that help American growers produce the world's best crop yield and quality. The company has been at the forefront of crop research since 1940, and makes research on boron in soils and plant nutrition available online at www.borax.com/agriculture.

About U.S. Borax Inc.
Borax operates California's largest open pit mine in Boron, California - one of the richest borate deposits on the planet. The company supplies nearly half the world's demand for refined borates, minerals essential to life and modern living. Borax traces its roots to California's Death Valley, where borate deposits were discovered in 1872. The twenty mule teams used to haul ore out of the remote desert live on as a symbol of the company's commitment to innovation. Today, Borax is the acknowledged world leader in borate technology, research and development. Technical support for customers, product quality, and supply reliability are the pillars of the company's commercial commitment. Borax is equally committed to ensuring that its practices and products are socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. Borax is a member of the Rio Tinto group. For more information visit www.borax.com or call 661-287-5484.