Geology News
Metals Current Events

ABC News has an article that looks at the status of the Bingham Canyon copper mine after a landslide has cut off production from the pit and will have the company excavating landslide debris instead of ore.

The price of gold has dropped over $200 in the past week. An article on the New York Times website reviews gold price trends for the past two years and explores factors that might be causing the current price changes.

Dave Petley has a post about the massive landslide at the Bingham Canyon Copper Mine. Discussed are the landslide detection system used to predict the slide and the speculated financial impact of the slide.

The price of gold has been dropping since October. A New York Times article explores recent changes in the price of gold and the potential driving forces.

A landslide that was anticipated finally occurred in Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon Copper Mine. No one was injured.

USGS authors have authored a book chapter titled: “Occurrence and mobility of mercury in groundwater”.

Sandia Labs has developed a gold-silver-germanium alloy that is expected to improve electronics in the high temperature, pressure and vibration environment of oil and geothermal wells.

Arizona Mining Review is a live, online video magazine from the Arizona Geological Survey exploring and reviewing mining in Arizona — its challenges and successes. From potash to copper to gold, from mineral exploration to policy development, tune in to see experts from industry, academia, research, and politics discuss the current state and future of mining in Arizona.

You can view the next program live on Wednesday, March 27th at 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM MST or view archive programs at any time.

One of the most important gold discoveries of the 20th century was made by John Livermore who found rocks that contained recoverable amounts of gold – but the gold particles were too small to see.

A guy with a metal detector found a 5.5 kilogram gold nugget near the city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The nugget has an estimated value of about $282,000 based upon its gold content but a collector might be willing to pay more because it is such a unique specimen.

The United States Geological Survey has published: “Gold Deposits of the Carolina Slate Belt, Southeastern United States: Age and Origin of the Major Gold Producers”.

An enormous gold and copper deposit in the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed has miners, environmentalists and government agencies at odds over how natural resources should be developed.

“The researchers discovered that the volatile element zinc, which they call “a powerful tracer of the volatile histories of planets,” is severely depleted on the moon, along with most other similar elements. This led them to conclude that a “planetary-scale” evaporation event occurred in the moon’s history.” Quoted from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography press release.

Used cell phones and tablet PCs contain precious and rare earth metals that can be recycled and many phones that are retired are suitable for another owner. The National Science Foundation is supporting a kiosk method for collecting used phones and offering compensation to their owners.

“The deep sea is still relatively unexplored, but pioneering Southampton researchers have discovered deep-sea vents teeming with new life and valuable metals such as gold, platinum and copper.” Quoted from the University of Southampton press release.

This CNN video explores the impact that a concentration of rare earth elements might have on the small town of Sundance, Wyoming.

Evelyn Mervine posts some great photos of the red garnet sands that can be seen along Western Beach in Nome, Alaska – and shows some results from her panning.

Map from CIA Factbook

Rocky, uninhabited islands that have been infrequently thought about in the past are now getting a lot of attention thanks to the potential exclusive economic zone (meaning claim to oil, natural gas, gas hydrate, mineral and biological resources) that might surround them under the United Nations treaty known as the “Law of the Sea”. This video on the CNN site features two island clusters that have triggered international squabbles – multiple nations declare that they own them.

Squabblers: The map at right is a public domain document from the CIA Factbook. If you don’t like the names that are used on it write to the CIA, not to us.

“AZGS has updated the Arizona Major Mines map, which shows major active mines of copper, gold, lime, coal, uranium and molybdenum.”

Lee Allison provides a brief summary of iron ore and manganese resources in Arizona.

An announcement by China to increase rare earth element export quotas has surprised many commodity experts. China has been holding very tight control over the metals for the past few years.

China currently produces about 90% of the world’s supply of rare earth elements and their tight export rules have made it difficult for companies in other countries to obtain adequate supplies at reasonable prices. Now China says that they plan to cut production by 20%.

Manganese has several things in common with rare earth elements. The first is that it is a critical material needed to manufacture a variety of special products required for national security. It is also produced mainly by China, which is expected to become a net manganese importer by 2018

The Arizona Geological Survey is scanning, georeferencing and building metadata for an enormous collection of mineral resource maps that will be entered into an online digital catalog.

According to Lee Alison, State Geologist, “As we get the data online, you’ll be able to search by title, keyword, location, or do a map-based search, to bring it all to your screen, using your own software or free tools like Google Earth or Microsoft’s Layerscape, and at no cost.”

Although China is the worlds primary producer of rare earth metals, the country could become a net importer of the metals by 2014.

“Coal exports come in two forms: metallurgical coal, which can be used for steel production, and steam coal, which can be used for electricity generation. Metallurgical coal dominates U.S. coal exports. [...] In general, coal use abroad continued to grow. U.S. coal exports helped to meet rising Asian demand and provided coal for other emerging markets. ” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration.

“Beryllium is one of the lightest and stiffest metals, but there was little industrial demand for it until the 1930s and 1940s when the aerospace, defense, and nuclear sectors began using beryllium and its compounds. Beryllium is now classified by the U.S. Department of Defense as a strategic and critical material.” Quoted from the USGS Fact Sheet

An article on the BusinessInsider.com website considers geological, political and economic factors related to investing in gold stocks.

This ArizonaExperience video explains how copper mining contributed to the development of the State of Arizona.

A gold deposit spanning the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic could be one of the world’s largest, containing 23 million ounces.