Natural Resource Partners L.P. Acquires Three Aggregate Properties

HOUSTON, April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Natural Resource Partners L.P. (NYSE: NRP) announced today that it has closed three acquisitions in the aggregates sector. The combined investment for NRP on all three transactions will be approximately $31 million, $21 million of which was paid at closing and $10 million of which is anticipated to be funded later in 2010.  A portion of the proceeds from the recent equity offering were used to fund the transactions.

"Including the previously announced acquisition in Arizona, in the last four months, NRP has closed four transactions in the aggregate sector.  In these four transactions NRP has acquired or has overriding royalties on over 115 million tons of reserves, further diversifying its asset base," said Nick Carter, President and Chief Operating Officer of Natural Resource Partners.  "NRP continues to look for expansion opportunities in the aggregate sector, including construction aggregates, industrial minerals and specialty aggregates."

The three most recent acquisitions, located in Indiana and California, include silica sand reserves, dolomitic limestone reserves, and infrastructure for the processing and manufacture of fine grind calcium carbonate. 

Dolomitic Limestone Reserves - Monon, Indiana

NRP acquired approximately 100 fee acres of property with extensive dolomitic limestone reserves in White County, IN.  Northgate Aggregates will lease the reserves from NRP and develop a crushed stone operation on-site to serve the growing Northwestern Indiana and Northeastern Illinois markets.  This operation has the capability of serving both Gary, Indiana and Chicago, Illinois.

Silica Sand Reserves – Oroville, California

NRP has acquired the rights to aggregates on a 1,000 acre property in Northern California.  Sierra Silica Resources LLC will expand an existing silica sand plant to include an industrial drying and processing operation that will manufacture and sell high purity silica sand to specialty industrial minerals markets.  The expansion of this facility is expected to be completed by year end, which will result in the sale of higher priced silica sand products.

Fine Grind Facility - Cloverdale, Indiana

On the site of an existing crushed stone business owned by Ohio River Trading Company, a subsidiary of North American Limestone Corporation, NRP will build and own a fine grind processing facility for high calcium carbonate limestone. This facility is currently under construction and will be leased to Ohio River Trading.  The end product will be sold into specialty aggregate markets.  Construction of the facility is expected to be completed by year end. 

Company Profile

Natural Resource Partners L.P. is headquartered in Houston, TX, with its operations headquartered in Huntington, WV.  NRP is a master limited partnership that is principally engaged in the business of owning and managing mineral reserve properties.  NRP owns coal reserves and coal handling and transportation infrastructure in the three major coal producing regions of the United States: Appalachia, the Illinois Basin and the Powder River Basin.  In addition, the partnership owns and manages aggregate reserves in Arizona, California, Indiana, Texas, West Virginia and Washington.

For additional information, please contact Kathy H. Roberts at 713-751-7555 or [email protected].  Further information about NRP is available on the partnership's website at http://www.nrplp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may include "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Such statements include the timing of the completion of the infrastructure projects.  All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the partnership expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements.  These statements are based on certain assumptions made by the partnership based on its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances.  Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the partnership.  These risks include, but are not limited to, decreases in demand for coal; changes in operating conditions and costs; production cuts by our lessees; commodity prices; unanticipated geologic problems; changes in the legislative or regulatory environment and other factors detailed in Natural Resource Partners' Securities and Exchange Commission filings.  Natural Resource Partners L.P. has no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Natural Resource Partners L.P.