By Dave Harcourt •
April 27, 2009
South Africa is a world leader both in terms of mineral resources and in the development of mining technology to extract these resources. The industry there leads the world in many areas, and has had enormous impact on the growth of Africa and on the environment.
1. The Biggest Open Cast, Hand Dug Mine in the World
The Big Hole of Kimberly was dug by hand, using picks and shovels. There is debate about whether the Big Hole is the biggest hand dug open cast mine in the world. Its surface area of 17 hectares (42 acres) and depth of around 200 metres (650 ft) required the excavation of around 25 million tons of earth and rock. This was achieved in 52 years between 1866 and 1914 by a workforce of up to 50,000 miners. What is beyond dispute though is that The Big Hole yielded 2,720 kilograms (6000 lb) of diamonds significantly more than the Jagersfontein mine, the other contender for the title of biggest. After all what better metric is there than output!
By Allison Boyer •
February 20, 2009
Scientists are continuously looking for a way to make solar power cheaper, and they may have found it - in iron pyrite.
Iron pyrite, or fool’s gold, is just one of the alternatives to silicon that’s being researched for use in solar panels.
From BusinessGreen:
Iron pyrite, copper sulphide and copper oxide were at the top of the list of potential silicon and thin film replacements, with iron pyrite – more commonly known
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By Sean Sullivan •
January 31, 2009
There’s gold in them thar hills!
But to mine it you first must find it, and a revamped website now provides an extremely easy way to do just that. While all that glitters is indeed not gold, this precious resource is far more valuable – wind.
3Tier’s website tool FirstLook allows average Internet users to mine their neighborhoods for wind power potential. Users familiar with Google Maps will feel right at ease with the software, which offers wind assessment for all of North America. For those of us fooled by intentionally vague oil and gas ads, that region includes the US, Canada and Mexico.
Users can type in their town and state, and the site will direct a cursor to the spot. The wind prospector then zooms in for a more detailed view of the resource’s potential for that area. For greater precision, coordinates can be fed into the search in lieu of a town or state. FirstLook essentially puts a push pin in the area of the user’s choice, providing detailed reports of wind resources at that site.
By Amiel Blajchman •
December 10, 2008
Earlier this week, Mongolia’s parliament announced that it was permitting the Mongolian government re-open talks with international mining companies about the Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper mine and the Tavan Tolgoi coal deposits.
Potential investors include Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto, claim that an agreement on the Oyu Tolgoi gold mine would increase Mongolia’s GDP by 34%.
By Alex Felsinger •
November 14, 2008
A Peruvian engineer has created a device that drops the use of mercury in the gold mining process by instead using “a foam flotation process with simple gravitational techniques” to separate gold from rocks.
The most commonly used process in developing countries uses mercury to separate the gold from the ore, and then burns off the mercury leaving only gold. The mercury pollutes ground water initially and the air once burned, affecting the health of miners and nearby residents alike. While alternatives exist, the process is the most efficient for low gold-yielding ore.
By Reenita Malhotra •
October 6, 2008
The non-profit American Eagle Foundation announced today that United States Mint’s 2008 Bald Eagle Commemorative Coins are selling very well, and have already raised over $6 million dollars for the future protection of Bald Eagles. Three legal tender coins in gold, silver & clad (copper-nickel), all celebrate the successful recovery of the Bald Eagle to America’s skies and the upcoming 35th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act on December 28th.
By Ariel Schwartz •
August 22, 2008
As I recently discussed, sometimes we need to look to the past for solutions to our current problems. Queensland University professor Zhu Huai Yong has done just that, noting that painting glass windows with gold particles can purify the air.
Zhu came across this realization after studying medieval painted church windows, which were often decorated using glass colored with gold nanoparticles.
Though people likely did not realize it at the time the churches were built, the sun-energized nanoparticles destroy air-borne pollutants, as sunlight creates an electromagnetic field that resonates with the gold particles’ oscillations.
By Rebecca Carter •
February 8, 2007
Love is in the air. But if you don't pay special attention to your sweetie next week, you just might wind up in the dog house. Just a few days away, Valentine's Day is sneaking up on us. Over the next several days, we'll give you quick tips to make your day of love go a little greener.
First up: Gold. We'll give you the skinny on how to make sure your Valentine's bling is
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