USGS has published: “Lineament Analysis of Mineral Areas of Interest in Afghanistan“. The report provides lineament maps that identify areas that warrant further investigation for optimal bedrock water-well placement within 24 target areas for mineral resources. The data may also support the identification of faults related to modern seismic hazards and support studies attempting to understand the relationship between tectonic and structural controls on hydrothermal fluid flow, subsequent mineralization, and water-quality issues near mined and unmined mineral deposits.
“In March, the US, European Union, and Japan formally requested that the World Trade Organization (WTO) launch an investigation into China’s rare earth export policy.” Quoted from the Rare Earth Investing News.
“Canada has 1.1 billion pounds of rare earths locked in black shale deposits (the Alberta Black Shale Project) worth an estimated $206 billion. In addition, several other Canadian mines across the country show great potential.” Quote from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce website.
This article: “How asteroidmining could turn billionaires into trillionaires” includes a video interview with Neil Degrasse Tyson, Director of New York’s Hayden Planetarium.
“Planetary Resources, Inc. announced today its plan to mine Near-Earth Asteroids for raw materials [...]. There are over 1,500 asteroids that are as easy to get to as the surface of the Moon. They are also in Earth-like orbits with small gravity fields, making them easier to approach and depart. [...] A single 500-meter platinum-rich asteroid contains the equivalent of all the Platinum Group Metals mined in history.” Quoted from the Planetary Resources website.
Experts disagree with a Pentagon report claiming that the United States has an adequate supply of rare earth elements to meet most U.S. Military needs.
Silver, the white metal, has an illustrious reputation for its use in jewelry and coins, but today, silver’s primary use is industrial. Whether in cell phones or solar panels, new innovations are constantly emerging to take advantage of silver’s unique properties.
ArizonaExperience.org takes a look back at the San Manuel CopperMine (once the largest underground mining operation in North America) through The Miners’ Story Project. This page has a small collection of videos about the mine and the people who worked there.
Marine treasure hunters claim to have located the SS Port Nicholson, a Britsh ship that was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1942. It was carrying over $2 billion in precious metals and industrial diamonds.
Layered, ultramafic to mafic intrusions are uncommon in the geologic record, but host magmatic ore deposits containing most of the world’s economic concentrations of platinum-group elements. These deposits are mined primarily for their platinum, palladium, and rhodium contents. Quoted from the USGS publication release.
The crushing pressures and intense temperatures in Earth’s deep interior squeeze atoms and electrons so closely together that they interact very differently.
To ensure a reliable supply of heavy rare earth minerals for its hybrid and electric cars, Toyota is entering into a deal that could give them a 49% stake in a Canadian mining operation.
This video shows how Raffi Stepanian finds gold and diamonds in the cracks of Manhattan sidewalks. I don’t know if he really making 300 bucks per day but his techniques are interesting!
It has been said that for all of the money in circulation today, four times that amount has been lost, hidden or buried.
The Afghan Ministry of Mines has been inviting companies to bid on contracts to mine the copper and gold in portions of Badakhshan, Ghazni, Herat, Balkh and Sar-e-Pul Provinces. Billions of dollars worth of metals could be in these areas but there are significant infrastructure and security problems.
The American Geosciences Institute has released a recorded webinar titled “Canadian Exploration- High Demands for the Future Workforce”. You can view it on their website.
An article on the MarketWatch website reports that gold is attracting more and more investors in their 20s and 30s. It suggests that they are Generation AU.
H.R. 1904 is a proposal that will authorize an exchange of Federal land for non-Federal land… to facilitate development of a world class domestic copper deposit capable of meeting a significant portion of the annual United States demand.
British Marine Exploration has identified the British Ship, Mantola, that was torpedoed in 1917 and went down in over one mile of water with 20 tons of silver on board.
An article on the “Business Insider” website speculates that so many companies have rushed into the tiny rare earth metals market that the growth in competition will spoil opportunities for profits.
Stephen Blumberg, a jeweler in Quincy, Massachusetts, explains how the high price of gold has changed the traffic in his jewelry store and the types of things that people are buying.
Record gold prices close to $2000 per ounce lured lots of gold jewelry and gold scrap into the market. Now that these items are being melted and cast into bars the ultra secure storage vaults typically used to store gold are in great demand.
The S.S. Gairsoppa was sunk by a Nazi submarine in 1941. It went down in deep water with 240 tons of silver. Recovering the silver could set several ocean salvage records.
The high price of gold has turned prospecting into a hobby, a part-time job and a retirement occupation for many people. This video visits some locations in Washington state where prospecting and related activities have attracted the new gold bugs.
“The risk list gives a quick indication of the relative risk in 2011 to the supply of the chemical elements or element groups which we need to maintain our economy and lifestyle.” Quoted from the British Geological Survey news release.
“Ultra high precision analyses of some of the oldest rock samples on Earth by researchers at the University of Bristol provides clear evidence that the planet’s accessible reserves of precious metals are the result of a bombardment of meteorites more than 200 million years after the Earth was formed.” Quoted from the University of Bristol news release.
“Now a new study, led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, reveals that the ancient deep ocean was not only devoid of oxygen but also rich in iron, a key biological nutrient for nearly a billion years longer than previously thought–right through a key evolutionary interval that culminated in the first rise of animals.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation news release.
Russia and China are very interested in the mineral resources of Antarctica and hope that the current ban on mining will be lifted in 2048. They currently have seafloor exploration projects on ocean ridges that approach the continent.
In 1971 the United States went off of the gold standard. With that the US Dollar was not backed by its value in gold and was instead back by promissory authority of the US government.
Gold in Newfoundland
August 22, 2011 | Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources
“The Island of Newfoundland represents an emerging underexplored gold district, where focused exploration for precious metals was essentially non-existent prior to the early 1980′s.” Quoted from the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources fact sheet.
Newfoundland and Labrador is geologically diverse and is richly endowed with a wide spectrum of minerals, including iron ore, base and precious metals, uranium, tungsten, molybdenum, antimony, rare earths and industrial minerals. [...] Yet it remains relatively under-explored compared with other mineral-rich jurisdictions, thus creating a unique opportunity for mineral resource investment and new mineral finds.
The spot price of gold hit a record high of $1,833.81 today. The price of gold has doubled since late 2007 and since the beginning of June it has risen about 19%.
“UCLA researchers and their colleagues from China and Japan have shown that by incorporating gold nanoparticles into these organic photovoltaics — taking advantage of the plasmonic effect, by which metal helps to enhance the absorption of sunlight — they can significantly improve the cells’ power conversion.” Quoted from the UCLA news release.
An article on the Business Insider website reviews some emerging uses for scandium, an element found in many rare earth deposits that is sometimes classified as a rare earth element. It has historically been an important ingredient in “aluminum” baseball bats but new uses in lighting, aerospace, fuel cells and electronics could drive demand.
A bill to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an assessment of the capability of the Nation to meet our current and future demands for the minerals critical to United States manufacturing competitiveness and economic and national security in a time of expanding resource nationalism, and for other purposes.
Dramatic price increases in the rare earth metals markets have lots of companies looking for deposits. A number of companies are exploring for rare earths in Canada and this article reports on one neodymium discovery that could be significant.
“Fallen autumn leaves transfer as much, if not more, hazardous mercury from the atmosphere to the environment as does precipitation each year, according to recent U.S. Geological Survey research.” Quoted from the USGS news release.
The town of Kiruna, Sweden is located 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle and directly over valuable iron ore. Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB has been mining in the area for over 100 years and will pay to move the town to get at the ore. Fortunately there is little opposition – the town exists because of the mine.
An article on the Reuters website reports that central banks around the world have purchased about 180 tonnes of gold during 2011 – while gold prices are setting all-time records. Thailand, Mexico, Russia and Korea have been very aggressive gold buyers.
USGS recently published: “Depositional Setting and Geochemistry of Phosphorites and Metalliferous Black Shales in the Carboniferous-Permian Lisburne Group, Northern Alaska”. [...] “Black shales within the phosphorite sections have up to 20.2 weight percent Corg and are potential petroleum source rocks. Locally, these strata also are metalliferous, with up to 1,690 ppm Cr, 2,831 ppm V, 551 ppm Ni, 4,670 ppm Zn, 312 ppm Cu, 43.5 ppm Ag, and 12.3 ppm Tl; concentrations of these metals covary broadly with Corg, suggesting coupled redox variations.” Quoted from the USGS publication announcement.
One of the world’s largest unmined uranium deposits is located in southern Virginia. Although there is a strong interest in mining the deposit the state has a 30-year moratorium on uranium mining.
“The study [...] reports that measurable amounts of the mercury emitted by coal-fired power plants is deposited in local soil and subsequently enters regional watersheds, contaminating fish and making them unsafe for human consumption.” Quoted from the Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis news release.
Every gold prospector knows that the high specific gravity of gold can cause small nuggets to become trapped in cracks and crevices for long periods of time. Recently a sewer pipe broke in Jackson, North Carolina and repair workers found a class ring that was accidentally flushed down a toilet fifty years earlier just a short distance away.
Gold continued its steady rise in price today by breaking $1600 for the first time. The closing price was $1602.40 – a gain of $12.30. Since 2001 the price of gold has risen 500%.
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