“Now, we have a study in Nature that discusses the magmatic events that led up to the Minoan eruption at Santorini — a fairly timely topic considering the rumblings there — that has gotten the media’s attention.” Quoted from the Eruptions Blog.
“The value of mineral production in the United States increased by 12 percent in 2011 from that of 2010, suggesting that the nonfuel minerals industries, particularly metals, continued to recover from the economic recession that began in December 2007 and lasted well into 2009. The value of raw, nonfuel minerals mined in the United States was $74 billion in 2011, up from $66 billion in 2010.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
IBM researchers have announced that they have a new technology that enables them to store one bit of magnetic information in just twelve atoms of material.
A recent article in the Ultratec Newsletter by John Bailey was: “Can You Make Money Faceting?” He thinks you can make good money if you have the desire and basic skills.
Researchers have discovered small amounts of tranquillityite, a mineral previously known only from lunar samples, at six locations in Western Australia.
The United States Department of Energy has published their 2011 Critical Mineral Strategy. It explains how supply concerns for a variety of minerals threaten energy security in the United States.
American West Potash is exploring the possibilities of an underground potash mine in Arizona. Going underground instead of opening a pit lowers the environmental impact.
The-Vug.com has a state-by-state listing of rock and mineral museums, tours and other places of interest. Most states have several locations where you can view a nice exhibit and most of them are open year-round.
This is a great time to introduce kids to earth science with age-appropriate books. The geology.com store has children’s books on topics that include: dinosaurs, rocks, minerals, fossils, gemstones, volcanoes and more.
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.
Fertilizer has often been used as an explosive – often in terrorist acts. Honeywell has a new ammonium nitrate / ammonium sulfate fertilizer that is much less explosive.
The American Geosciences Institute has an interesting article on critical minerals that outlines what makes a mineral “critical” and how the sudden loss of these resources could impact both the U.S. and global economy.
The United States has a 100% import reliance on the minerals listed at right.
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 RenewableEnergyWorld.com explores potential supply disruptions for rare earth elements. Between 2000 and 2009 demand for these materials increased by more than 50% and future demand will be supported by low carbon technologies.
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.
The Law of the Sea Treaty is an agreement that allocates the seafloor resources under the Arctic Ocean. A debate in the Wall Street Journal has arguments in favor and against.
This video takes you on a quick visit to the Molycorp rare earth elementmine at Mountain Pass, California and provides some background on rare earth elements.
A Reuters article predicts that most of the recently launched rare earth exploration and mining projects will not be profitable.
Welcome to Geology News!
Every day you can find links to several earth science news topics right here.
Bookmark this page and visit often. You can also receive our news for free by RSS feed or in a daily email message.
Advertising
Popular From Geology.com
Marcellus Shale: The most overlooked resource in the eastern United States!
Diamonds from Coal? Diamonds form under a variety of conditions that rarely involve coal as a source of carbon.
Mineral Rights / Oil & Gas: Who owns the minerals under your land? Have they been sold? Can someone mine without permission?
The Many Uses of Gold: Learn how the unique properties of gold make it extremely suited for a large number of industrial uses.
