mine

Mining process based on bacterias unlocks gold in South Africa

14

A bacteria-rich process currently being used in Barberton, a town in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, can help liberate ultra-fine gold locked in sulphide crystals. The experiment, called Biox technology, is happening in three mines owned by Pan African Resources. Besides these three pits, there are other five gold mines around the world currently using the biological oxidation … Read more

Scientists test new technique to mine water on Mars

600px Mars Valles Marineris

With an apparent and significant amount of water locked up in ice, Mars is being studied by the scientists that want to understand how to extract the precious liquid. And the answer is via some very different mining techniques. Recent exploratory missions have found that water ice exists on the planet’s poles and just beneath … Read more

First Nations promise to legally fight against Taseko’s gold-copper mine

800px Topoftheworldprovpark

The controversy around Taseko Mines’ New Prosperity gold and copper project, to be installed in the British Columbia Interior, keeps growing. The First Nations guarantee the project won’t happen without a (legal) fight. The native groups claim the pressure on Ottawa to approve the mine, imposed by the provincial mines minister, is a disgrace and an open act against … Read more

Blast in Chinese coal mine traps and kills 21 workers

Web china mine 300

The Chinese Xinjiang province, in the western part of the country, witnessed a violent explosion in a coal mine that killed 21 workers. According to the Xinhua news agency, quoted by ABC News, the accident occurred in the Baiyanggou pit, last Friday (13). The local authorities revealed that 34 miners were working underground at the time of … Read more

Galilee Basin mega mine by the numbers [infographic]

INFOGRAM Gallaie Basin Megamine final

The Indian-Australian consortium GVK-Hancock recently received the approval of the Australian government to move forward with its ambitious project: the Kevin’s Corner mine, located in the Galilee Basin. The development of the project is expected to start in 2015 with the first coal being produced in 2018. But, despite the economical advantages of the mine and the approval … Read more

Green group Save the Tarkine wants to block Venture Minerals’ mine

649c6f7a 5b47 4083 b214 75bbd4c60268

Environmental groups keep fighting the mining activity in the Tarkine region of Tasmania, in Australia, where the fauna and flora are being affected. The organizations claim the government has failed to properly consider the impact of mining on species like the Tasmanian devil. The group Save the Tarkine is challenging the authorities’ approval given to Venture Minerals’ project, which … Read more

Canadian company uses satellites to monitor and measure mining sites from space

Space Radar Image of Hampton Roads Virginia

Did you know it’s already possible to monitor and measure mining sites from space? That’s right. Thanks to the advances in imaging satellites and data processing technology, the industry has evolved into a point where it can successfully monitor mines from thousands of miles away. Recently, the president and founder of the Canadian company PhotoSat wrote an article … Read more

The consequences of the Marikana massacre one year later

62328900 jex 1493887 de29 1

Four days ago, the world pointed the first anniversary of the police massacre that killed 34 platinum miners in the northern town of Marikana, South Africa. The disaster happened last year, on August 16, and also wounded over 75 people. “The attack reminded many people of the massacres inflicted by white supremacist forces during the apartheid era, … Read more