WORLD’S FIRST ENGINEERING NEWS FOR YOUNG ENGINEERS
NOVEMBER 2016 ISSUE NO. 009
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE MINING INDUSTRY: • How Mining Companies Give Back To Communities • 10 Issues and Trends that Affect the Mining Industry • The Role of Mining in Society • 25 Awesome Things You Didn’t Know About Gold • Latest Trends in the Mining Industry
FEATURE STORIES: • Filipino Electronics Engineer Motivates Future Engineers Through Song • Why Engineering Students Hate Losing Their Calculators • The Six Engineers That We All Have to Deal With • What Lies Ahead for Construction Equipment • The Most Dangerous Engineering Jobs
CATERPILLAR INC.
A Look At The Company's Social Impact
Exclusive Interview with Jean Savage, a Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Caterpillar Inc. NOVEMBER 2016 Mining Engineering and Its Importance
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GINEERSNOW TEAM Ems Bagatsing
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Editor's
Note
Mining is not exactly a favorable topic in the public eye. It’s surrounded with controversies and several issues that affect the livelihoods of different people. Some would argue that mining has a negative impact on our environment and different organizations and agencies have focused on closing down several mining operations. Others would point out that contrary to popular belief, mining is essential to our daily lives. The minerals and metals mined out of the ground have played crucial roles in the development of our society - from manufacturing to the advancement of our technologies. This is why mining companies have created initiatives that would give the public a better view of what mining and mining companies can do and how different communities can benefit from them. Through their Corporate Social Responsibility programs, different mining companies make an effort to improve the livelihood of different people affected by the operations. They incorporate sustainable programs that would help men and women make a living even after the mining operation in the area is closed. We have to admit that not all companies follow responsible mining practices and they give mining a very bad name. However, we must not also ignore the benefits the public got from the resources extracted through these processes. While mining has its cons, it surely has plenty of pros. And through the
right campaign, we would be able to inform and educate the public about what mining can really do to us. In the November issue of GineersNow magazine, we are sharing several stories about the latest technologies developed for mining, the latest trends in this field and several interesting historical facts involving it. We’ve also featured stories focusing on corporate social responsibility programs - answering the “what, where, how and why’s” of these programs. This is our campaign to give the public more information about this unpopular field and why it’s important to educate ourselves about it. Our special cover story features Caterpillar, Inc.’s Chief Technology Officer and one of its Vice Presidents, Jean Savage. In this exclusive interview, she discusses the latest trends and the future of equipment and heavy machinery industry. She also discusses the importance of their company’s CSR programs and how each program is helping different individuals. With so many stories that focus on mining and its related fields, it is our responsibility to deliver these stories to you. By giving the public the positive aspects of mining, more people may be encouraged to push for better programs, laws and practices that not only stop illegal mining process but also help different communities have more sustainable programs during and after mining operations. As you can see, the mining field is not really the villain here. It’s not.
CONTENTS PAGE
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TITLE COVER STORY
CATERPILLAR INC.: MORE THAN JUST A BUSINESS THE ROLE OF MINING IN SOCIETY
IS MINING ENGINEERING FOR YOU?
WORLD’S LARGEST LAND VEHICLE
10 BEST YOUTUBE CHANNELS THAT FEATURE THE MINING INDUSTRY FILIPINO ELECTRONICS ENGINEER MOTIVATES FUTURE ENGINEERS THROUGH SONG $30 BILLION MARKET FOR CONSTRUCTION ELECTRIC VEHICLES
25 AWESOME THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT GOLD
WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE THE LARGEST GOLD RESERVES?
LATEST TRENDS IN THE MINING INDUSTRY WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMONLY MINED MINERALS AND METALS IN AFRICA?
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42 44 47 48 58 60 66 69 74 78 80
TITLE 10 ISSUES AND TRENDS THAT AFFECT THE MINING INDUSTRY FOUR INCREDIBLE OPEN PIT MINES
THE SIX ENGINEERS THAT WE ALL HAVE TO DEAL WITH
THIS IS MINING IN HELL ON EARTH
JHARIA, THE HOME OF INDIA’S BLACK DIAMONDS WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT CIVIL ENGINEERS WHO SHAPED THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OF TODAY
EXPLORING THE DEEP SEA FOR MINERALS
INSIDE THE WORLD’S LARGEST UNDERGROUND MINE HOW MINING COMPANIES GIVE BACK TO COMMUNITIES BEAUTIFUL MINERALS AND STONES YOU WANT FOR YOUR COLLECTION
COVER STORY
CATERPILLAR INC.: MORE THAN JUST A BUSINESS
The company has given back to our communities since before the Foundation was created in 1952--philanthropy is a part of our DNA.
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COVER STORY
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mong the Fortune’s Top 100, there is that one company whose trademark is in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines. For the past 90 years, that company has committed itself in providing machines and solutions through its hundreds of offices and facilities across the world. It has proved to be a global leader in creating, building, problem solving, and innovating, while answering its call for philanthropy. Caterpillar Inc., that company which has shaped the world we live in today, has more to it than just business. It thrives in an engineering industry with its exemplar products and services, at the same time focusing in its sustainability. Jean Savage, Chief Technology Officer and a Vice President of Caterpillar with responsibility in the Innovation and Technology Development division, tells us more in this exclusive interview on how the company instills its universal mission to the employees, what it can provide to its customers, what it has recently come up with, and the company’s social impacts and corporate social responsibility.
About Caterpillar Are you an educational institution, social enterprise, non-profit or private company? How big is your company? Caterpillar is a public company among Fortune’s Top 100. We have about 100,000 full-time employees globally. Caterpillar operates hundreds of offices and facilities across the world. Describe your mission, vision and values. Our mission is to enable economic growth through infrastructure and energy development, and to provide solutions to support communities and protect the planet. The 21st-century world you see today has been built with the help of Caterpillar machines and solutions. We’ve spent the
past 90 years creating, building, problem solving, innovating, testing, servicing and improving. In the process, we’ve built a global leader. Our Values in Action unite us as a company and serve as the foundation that has helped us succeed in the past and will continue to help us succeed in the future. Our Values in Action, the Caterpillar’s Worldwide Code of Conduct, is a guide that defines how we work and how we treat each other and those with whom we work, live, and serve. Caterpillar has always taken a leadership role in regards to holding itself to the highest ethical standards. Our core values remain constant• Integrity: The Power of Honesty Integrity is the foundation of all we do. • Excellence: The Power of Quality We set and achieve ambitious goals. • Teamwork: The Power of Working Together We help each other succeed. • Commitment: The Power of Responsibility We embrace our responsibilities. • Sustainability: The Power of Endurance We are committed to building a better world. Where is this company headed? What’s your future expansion plans? The enterprise strategy positions Caterpillar to be the leader everywhere it does business. Everyday, Caterpillar employees deliver sustainable solutions for customers, enabling them to succeed and drive positive change around the world. In return, this enables us to consistently reward our stockholders. Over the past century, Caterpillar has made progress possible. Looking to the future, Caterpillar is poised to respond to the challenges and opportunities of an everchanging world and growing global population.
The enterprise strategy positions Caterpillar to be the leader everywhere it does business" What the Company Can The company principally operates through its three Offer What are the most successful products that you have launched and why were they a success? For 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive changes in every continent. Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure, energy and natural resource assets. Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives.
product segments - Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation and also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. What kind of support do you offer to your clients? Our vast dealer network helps Caterpillar and our customers win around the world. Cat® dealers share our passion, enhance our competitive edge, and ensure that our customers receive maximum business value from our products and services.
More About Jean Savage
Jean Savage is originally from Ohio, now living in Peoria, Illinois. She is a retired Military Intelligence Officer for the U.S. Army Reserve, who holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Dayton. She has worked in engineering and manufacturing for nearly 30 years. She joined Caterpillar in 2002 and has held leadership roles in the company’s Rail and Advanced Components divisions. Prior to joining Caterpillar Inc., Jean spent 14 years with Parker Hannifin Corporation, a leader in motion and control technologies and systems. NOVEMBER 2016 Mining Engineering and Its Importance
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Sustainability is part of who we are and what we do every single day" Caterpillar provides employee equipment training on job sites, supplying aftermarket parts and service support and offering e-business and equipment management solutions. Where are these products made or manufactured? Our products are manufactured globally.
The Trends What are the latest trends in equipment and machinery industry? Caterpillar has spent over 90 years committed to innovation and technology that help our customers succeed. Most of this
innovation has been, “in the iron.” Now, our focus has to be on making the iron smart. What will be the future of equipment and machinery industry? How will the products look like? “Making the iron smart,” means bringing digital solutions designed to improve productivity, efficiency, safety and profitability to our customers. This is not technology for technology’s sake. It is technology that’s focused on solving, and even anticipating, customer problems. We’re taking the machines, locomotives, engines and parts we’re so well known for and making them
smarter, while also equipping the people who operate them with data that makes them more productive, enhances safety and improves sustainability. This includes harnessing technology like augmented reality, autonomy, connectivity and light. At Caterpillar, we win when our customers can make more money with our products, services and solutions than they can with any competitor. And that’s what Smart Iron is all about.
Caterpillar’s Social Impacts Describe the CSR history and philosophy of the company? The Caterpillar Foundation started in 1952, and has invested more than $650M in communities worldwide. Part of our Corporate Social Responsibility is also our focus on sustainability. Sustainability is part of who we are and what we do every single day. We recognize that progress involves a balance of environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic growth. What are the causes? Who do you fight for? What do you
stand for? Our Foundation's mission is to alleviate poverty and put 50 million people on the path to prosperity. How many employees are involved? Giving back and being proactive members of our communities is a natural part of who the company and our employees are. We encourage our employees to give back to their communities via volunteering, and the Foundation matches employee and retiree donations dollar-for-dollar to the United Way, colleges/universities, arts & cultural, environmental and policy organizations. We also match their donations to the Red Cross for disaster relief. When did the company start in this endeavor? The company has given back to our communities since before the Foundation was created in 1952 - philanthropy is a part of our DNA. Most recently, we pioneered Corporate Social Innovation (CSI) work. This is beyond Corporate Social Responsibility-we believe this work is more than something we ought to do,
Trivia Caterpillar can give customers visibility to their global, mixed-fleet of assets through an asset management portal that delivers real-time data on location, shift-based utilization, idle time, fuel consumption and more. This information helps contractors improve efficiency and drive unproductive time, or non-utilized time out of their business.
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COVER STORY return on investment. We run the Foundation like a business. We focus on the root causes of poverty, which is why we added policy work to our portfolio. The best grant cannot achieve efficient and effective success if the policies behind it don't support the work. For example, if we invest in education in a developing country, but there are laws that exist making it legal for girls to marry when they are 8 years old, it makes it almost impossible for them to get an education. So we invest in policy in addition to our other initiatives. We cannot do this alone - we need foundations, corporations, governments and non-profits working collaboratively to address the world's issues. We call this approach "Together. Stronger."
but indeed something that can address real human needs with our innovation via products and philanthropy. Giving back is not an afterthought. The company builds the physical and societal infrastructure (roads, bridges, energy access and more) and the Foundation builds the human infrastructure - ensuring people have their basic needs
met (food, shelter, water, energy and disaster relief), education (literacy/numeracy, workforce readiness and mentoring/ leadership) and environment (restoring natural infrastructure as it relays to poverty alleviation). Which organizations or individuals do you support? Do you have a partnership with
other non-profit organizations, government, international agencies or schools? If yes, why? What are the objectives? Starting in 2009, the Foundation moved from a transactional model to one where we measure outcomes (changes in knowledge and behavior) in addition to measuring outputs. We have to measure our PROI - philanthropic
What are your most successful CSR initiatives? Why were they a success? There are many different investments we have made which are very successful in alleviating poverty. Policy investments can affect millions and support larger initiatives. We have invested in policy work with: • One Campaign: investment in Agriculture policy in Africa called Do Agric! which has been highly successful to ensure African heads of state maintain or increase their commitments to investment in agriculture • One Campaign: investment in energy policy - The Electrify Africa act recently passed, impacting more than 100 million on the continent of Africa, to help them get access to energy. • United Nations Foundation: Girl Up policy grants - the Girls Count legislation passed to ensure children in developing countries are registered at birth regardless of their gender • Global Poverty Project: The Water for the World Act passed, helping millions get access to water and sanitation • Global Poverty Project: the Global Food Security Act recently passed, helping ensure basic
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COVER STORY
Agile is the methodology and discipline to harness innovation and drive, quickly, to a commercialized solution for customers"
needs are met. All of these investments help alleviate poverty and make our other grants more effective. What are the social impacts of your CSR initiatives? Can you quantify them? We have an outcome-based measurement process that helps us measure the impact of our investments. And we expect a philanthropic return on investment. What are your future CSR initiatives? We hope to continue on the path to alleviating poverty. And, ultimately, we hope future generations ask "What was poverty?"
Advice to the Young Engineers Always remember who rings your cash register! This may
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sound silly, but as careers have shifted from the storefront to the office, engineers have lost sight of what the customer needs to be successful. Whether you’re designing heavy equipment or kitchen sinks, you have to stay focused on what the customer wants and what they are willing to pay for. One tool that has helped us in this focus is Agile development. Agile is the methodology and discipline to harness innovation and drive, quickly, to a commercialized solution for customers. Crossfunctional Agile teams collaborate – leveraging their diverse knowledge, experiences and skill sets – to deliver products, in small increments, to customers and use their feedback to learn whether the solutions are delivering the desired value.
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THE ROLE OF MINING IN SOCIETY By Engr. Prince Joseph Erneszer A. Javier and Engr. Mae Lean I. Langcay
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Photo by RiskManagementMagazine
Mining as a process is arguably one of two key foundations of modern society -- the other one being agriculture.The same way we get crops and meat from agriculture, we get raw materials needed to create a whole range of products that we use from mining. Even during the stone age, people have been collecting stones and sharpening them to make various tools and weapons. Today, our demand for stones, metals, and other mined materials is higher than before due to the technologies we use -- cars, computers, appliances, cell phones, houses, you name it. Virtually everything we use today need raw materials from mining -- either as their components or as components of the machines
that are used to make them. Beyond this, mining can contribute to social development and development of science and technology, while mitigating its environmental impacts. Many modern mining operations contribute to national economies, community development, and environmental enhancement. Satisfying the needs of communities, following local and national regulations, while implementing environmental programs to mitigate and even improve the environment are the hallmarks of what is called "responsible mining." Science and technology benefits from mining as well. This is because the challenges encountered in mining operations encourage creative
thinking in order to come up with innovative solutions. Mining also opens up opportunities for more detailed study of the Earth especially the crust. These solutions can spill over to other industries and aspects of our lives. Society depends on mining on plenty of things. What is mining and how did the materials from mining end up in our smartphones? SME Mining Engineering Handbook defines mining as "the set of the processes, the occupation, and the industry concerned with the extraction of minerals from the earth." It involves four major steps namely, exploration, development, production, and finally, closure and rehabilitation. The first step in any mining
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Photo by InfoMine
project is to conduct geologic investigations to locate the deposit. This stage, called exploration, involves surveying of rocks on the surface and drilling for rocks that are hundreds of meters below the surface, among other things. Based on the information gathered, which are called geologic data, a 3D model of the mineral deposit can be generated by a computer. The possible economic value of the mine based on all the geologic data will then be evaluated. The next stage of mining is
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Afterwhich the ore will undergo a series of processes of mineral concentrating, melting, and refining until the final product is produced, like copper plates, or gold bars. This product will then be used by manufacturers to make various tools, electronics, and machines. A mine can operate for decades until it runs out of economic mineral reserves. When the mine closes, it must be rehabilitated into the pre-mine environmental conditions or into sustainable income-generating projects like resorts, agroforests, or parks. development which involves Mining deals with extracting construction of surface minerals from the earth. The raw infrastructure, initial clearing materials dug up from the mine of mining area, and initial undergo a series of processes until excavation or tunneling to reach the final products are produced. the ore deposit. Production will These final products are finally commence after fully developing used to manufacture various the mine. During the production things that we use everyday. stage, either a large hole is Mankind has been mining for gradually opened up on the materials since tens of thousands ground creating an open pit of years ago. In fact, mining or the minerals will be mined and the development of human from underground tunnels. The civilization and culture are so excavated ore will be transported intertwined that major stages to the processing plant on in human history are identified the surface near the mine. by various minerals or their derivatives: Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Steel Age, and Nuclear Age. During the Stone Age, man used wood, stone, bone and ceramics for shelter, weapons and utensils. Other materials such as ceramics, clay, salt and meteoric iron were used as ornaments, decoration, jewelry, coinage, and components of cosmetics.People eventually used minerals to make various components for shelters as well as transportation equipment. Photo by ALS Global Copper, discovered in Cyprus in 2700 BC, became a sought-after component of tools, weapons, and kitchen utensils. Uranium, which was first extracted from the Habsburg silver mines in Bohemia in the middle ages, was initially used to color glass and ceramics. The radioactive properties of uranium were then discovered, eventually leading to the development of the nuclear bomb and eventually nuclear power plants in the 20th century, Photo by TheAusIMMBulletin signalling the beginning of the
NOVEMBER 2016 Mining Engineering and Its Importance
nuclear age. Metallurgy, the process of separating or mixing metals, began as early as 7000 BC with copper being melted and cast into objects, followed by lead, silver, gold, and iron. Advancements in metallurgy made it possible to mix metals into their alloys forming bronze, iron and brass. During the 18th century, iron metallurgy made great strides and made Industrial Revolution possible, a period during which the economy of an underdeveloped country could be transformed into an industrial economy, stimulated by the availability of energy and metal sources. This developing technology was accompanied by a revolution in science and engineering. The machine age, a product of the industrial revolution, needed certain minerals as raw materials and as a source of energy, making industrial power a measure of nation's political and military power, and economic wealth. Today, our modern society needs these raw materials for machineries used in various industries, electronics for computers and communication, and nuclear fission for warfare and electrical power generation. The demand for raw materials from mining is ever-increasing in order to sustain our growing needs for infrastructure, goods, and services. Virtually all things we use today are products of mining. Copper, for example, is used to make various kinds of products like electrical wire, cookware, pipes, car parts, paint, and electrical appliances. Iron is a common component of paint, cosmetics, and fertilizers, and when mixed with carbon forms steel. Nickel when mixed with steel produces stainless steel which is used for various objects like sinks, kitchenware, and musical instruments. Gold is primarily used for jewelry but is also used for electronics and electrical appliances. Chromite is used for stainless steel production and also in the tanning process of
Photo by Expatch
leather. Aluminum is used for cans, kitchenware, and airplane parts, among others. Calcium carbonate, fluoride, and titanium are used for toothpaste. Lithium is an integral component of the batteries of our smartphones. Plenty of things we use have components that came from mining. We can go on for hours enumerating them all. The raw materials that we need to manufacture various products come from several mines around the world. Copper for example comes from mines in more than 50 countries, the largest of which is the Escondida Copper Mine. The Escondida Copper Mine in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile, had an estimated 32 million tonnes of copper reserves in 2012. In 2013, the mine produced 1.1 million tonnes of copper, equivalent to around five
percent of total global copper production in that year. Aluminum comes from the rock called bauxite, with Australia as the biggest producer, producing almost 80 million tonnes of bauxite in 2014. This is equivalent to around 30% of the world's total output for that year. The largest bauxite mine in the world is the Huntly Mine in Australia, which produced 18 million tonnes of Bauxite in 2006. In the case of the Philippines, copper, gold, and nickel are mostly mined and exported. The largest gold producers in the Philippines are Masbate Gold Project in Masbate Island, Didipio Copper Gold Project in Nueva Vizcaya, and Padcal CopperGold Operation in Benguet. The Toledo Copper Operation in Cebu, meanwhile, is the largest copper producer in the country. And the largest direct shipping nickel ore producer is the Rio Tuba Nickel Project in Palawan.
There are more mines for different materials around the world including mines for coal, diamond, graphite, gypsum, lithium, natural gas, platinum, salt, selenium, sulphur, talc, titanium, and uranium, to name a few. Since mining involves intensive earth excavation and use of various chemicals for ore processing, mining, if haphazardly done, can negatively impact the environment and local communities where it operates. But such impacts can be avoided by practicing responsible mining. A responsible mine follows the law and uses best international practices for its operations, social programs, and environmental management. Responsible mines exist and they play a major role in economic improvement and community development. Three examples of responsible mining companies in the
Philippines are OceanaGold Philippines Inc. (OGPI), Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. (RTNMC) and Silangan MIndanao Mining Co., Inc. (SMMCI). OGPI, an open pit gold-copper mine in Nueva Vizcaya, focuses on improvement of local education opportunities, community health and infrastructure, cultural preservation, business and development opportunities, conservation of the environment, and local employment support through its 'We Care" Program. "OceanaGold is now ready to construct our 18-classroom building. They also provide us with instructional materials, and other supports such as special trainings. With the support of OceanaGold, I believe that ENVHS will become a very good school. We will meet the standard given to us by the Department of Education.", Osmundo Espejo, school principal of Eastern Nueva
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Photo by Phys.org
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Photo by TIBCO
Vizcaya National High School. With its exemplary efforts to implement development programs for the community and environment, OGPI received a gold award for best workplace practice at the 7th Annual Global CSR Summit and Awards held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. RTNMC, a nickel ore mine in Palawan, implements community initiatives to modernize health centers, eradicate malnutrition and decrease infant and maternal mortality rate. The mine also regularly conducts sanitation and health awareness campaigns, and medical missions. The company allotted funds for its Indigents and Indigenous Peoples’ hospitalization program, giving 45,944 individuals free hospitalization and treatment at the company’s hospital; Other social projects include coffee farming projects that provide a stable source of income for farmer-members from eight impact barangays, financial assistance to improve school facilities, and provision of education-related materials. RTNMC restores mined-out areas as close as possible to its premining condition or develop them for other uses, where the surrounding communities will benefit. Because of these initiatives, RTNMC was awarded the Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award for environmental excellence in 2015. SMMCI, a pre-operating mine in Surigao del Norte, administers its community assistance program by involving the impacted communities in activities that enhance quality of life, imparting them with entrepreneurial skills, providing seed capital in smallscale livelihood projects, and creating organizational forums to inform people about the positive and negative effects of the mining project. Narcita Ajoc, a member of a People's Organization in the province and one of the beneficiaries of the program said, "SMMCI provided us with financial literacy, bookkeeping, entrepreneurship
and leadership training." In 2015, SMMCI selected and funded 11 academic researches, sponsored 80 out-of-school youths in their Technical-Vocational training, and built eight school buildings benefiting 4000 students in the province. SMMCI also donated dormitory buildings, medical equipment and ambulance to the communities, while at the same time improving their water systems. Among the recognitions and awards SMMCI received are the Safest Mine Award (Exploration Category) and First Runner Up for Best Mining Forest (Exploration Category) for its reforestation efforts. According to the Philippine Mines and Geosciences Bureau, as of January 2015, mining companies in the country have committed a total of around $130 million for social and community projects, which will benefit 711 barangays. And around $660 million have been committed for environmental management and rehabilitation programs. 95 companies participated in the government's Mining Forest Program, successfully planting around 21 million trees over 20,000 hectares to date. Responsible mining also exists in other parts of the world. Sullivan Mine, located in Northwest Canada, developed a ski hill and provided low-cost land for a golf course, which were later bought by the local government after mine closure. The previous mining area then became a yearround resort, attracting major investments. Another is a bauxite mine, Alcoa of Australia Ltd, which was listed for fifteen consecutive years on the UN Global 500 Roll of Honor for Environmental Achievement for its rehabilitation works on the Darling Plateau. Its rehabilitation works averages to 600 hectares yearly, and involves best practices for landscaping, pre-ripping, soil return, fauna habitat return, final contour ripping and seeding, recalcitrant planting, fertilizing, ongoing monitoring, and management of rehabilitated area. Finally, BHP Billiton launched in its
Science and Technology also advances through mining Mozambique operations in 2014 the Leadership Enhancement and Development (LEAD) Project, pledging $8.8 million over five years to the new agricultural initiative to benefit farmers from three districts in the area. The project aims to work with more than 50 producer organizations that represent farms to increase their income and business opportunities, improve production capacity through farm-level training and provision of facilities, access to financing, BHP's project is expected to directly benefit 6,500 households in the area. To date, around 30 farmer field schools have already been established. Responsible mining, defined as mining that utilizes best practices in community development and environmental management and rehabilitation exists. Some governments are now acknowledging their role in enforcing responsible mining in their countries by ratifying and implementing laws that require companies to allocate funds for social development, environmental management, and environmental rehabilitation. In the Philippines, the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 requires that companies implement social development, environmental management, and rehabilitation programs as applicable during the exploration, development, production, and closure stages. During the development stage, mines are required to allocate 10% of its total cost for environmental management programs. Mines in the production stage must allocate 1.5% of their total operating cost for social development
programs as well as 3% of their mining and ore processing cost for environmental programs. Governments should be partners in making responsible mining a reality, through the laws that they pass and implement. Mining provides jobs that improve the economies and quality of life in the nearby communities. According to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Philippines, around 235,000 workers are employed in the minerals industry in the country. With a multiplier effect of 4, which means that for every job generated four more jobs are indirectly created in the upstream and downstream sectors, roughly 940,000 jobs are indirectly generated by the mining industry. A research paper published in 2014 examined employments generated by mines in three other countries, namely Escondida Mine in Chile, Tenge Fungurume Mine in Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo, and various mines in Zambia. The study found that 2810 workers were directly employed in Escondida Mine in 2003. And around 11,500 jobs were indirectly created by the mine. In 2012, the Tenge Fungurume Mine in Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo, directly created 6,600 jobs and indirectly created 10,500 more jobs. In Northwestern Province, Zambia, mining companies created around 18,000 direct jobs and 26,000 indirect jobs. Thousands of jobs generated directly and indirectly due to large scale mining operations can contribute to poverty reduction. The paper concluded that "the transformation of a subsistence economy into one that is at least partly monetary also creates the conditions for
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economic diversification and empowerment of the poor." Aside from creating jobs, implementing community development programs and implementing environmental management and enhancement programs, mining also tangibly contributes to the national and local economy through various taxes and royalties. In the Philippines, companies are required to pay an excise tax equal to 2% of revenue and corporate income tax equal to 30% of net income, on top of many other local and national taxes. The taxes and fees collected from mining amounted to around $450 million in 2014. 40% of this fund goes to the local government while 60% are kept by the national government. In Brazil, 3% of the net income arising from sales of mineral products constitute the Financial Compensation for the Exploration of Mineral Resources (CFEM). The CFEM is distributed to the states, municipalities and federal government directly affected by the mining industry. Mining contributes to society by providing jobs that can add wealth to the communities, by implementing social and environmental programs using best practices, and by paying various taxes and fees to the national and local governments. Science and technology also advances through mining. The challenges encountered in mining encourage creative thinking to develop innovative solutions to overcome those challenges. Such solutions can propagate to other industries and to our daily lives. Take for example the the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Europe and paved the way to the modern combustion engine. This technology was initially used to quickly and cheaply pump water out of British underground coal mines in the 17th century -replacing horses traditionally used in dewatering systems. Because
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Photo by PhilippineLifestyleNews
of the challenge of dewatering the mine, some people came up with inventions to effectively and cheaply drain the mines, starting with a man named Savery who invented the first steam engine for water pumping. The steam engine design was further improved by others, most notably Watt, who coined the term "horsepower" when he was calculating the number of horses replaced by one steam engine. In the 1800s, the steam engine became portable enough to be used in the first steam-powered locomotive in Britain. The use of the steam engine for locomotive was then followed by the use of steam engine to propel ships in the United States. Initially used as a water pump to drain water from coal mines, the steam engine quickly gained popularity in other industries, especially in transportation, which quickened the trade of goods and propelled the industrial revolution. Mining opens opportunities to gather information about underground regions of the Earth's crust either through drilling or through excavation. Such information can help us better understand how the world works. For example, geologic data can help improve our
NOVEMBER 2016 Mining Engineering and Its Importance
understanding of how magmas move and cool or how minerals are deposited in the Earth's crust. Exciting archeological and paleontological findings are sometimes unearthed because of mining operations. In 2011, a three-dimensionally preserved fossil of an armored marine dinosaur (either plesiosaur or ichthyosaur) was discovered in the Millennium Mine in Australia while an excavator was digging oil-rich sand. And just this year, Namdeb Diamond Corporation in Namibia unearthed a gold-laden Portuguese ship that sank around 500 years ago by draining the part of the sea where the ship was submerged -- a feat made possible because of the mine's access to large equipment. Mining can contribute to science and technology by imposing challenges that encourage innovation, by opening up opportunities to study the Earth, and by sometimes excavating artifacts and fossils that can help archeological and paleontological research. Besides agriculture, mining is arguably a foundation of modern human society. We depend on its products to maintain and advance our quality of life. Since the stone age, we have been
relying on mining to acquire raw materials that we need to make the products that we use.vIn the modern world we live in, our demand for raw materials is ever increasing. We need to mine for materials to make our tools, weapons, gadgets, appliances, vehicles, and communication infrastructure, among others. Mining also contributes to the local and national economies by generating jobs and paying taxes and royalties. Beyond these contributions, mining advances science and technology by encouraging innovation and by aiding geological, archeological, and paleontological research. We can expect society to continue to depend on mining for years to come, with more mines opening up to meet the world's demands. The vision then is a much more responsible mining industry that is increasingly disposed to ensure mitigated impacts and sustainable enhancement programs in the communities and the environment around it; supported by fair and effectively implemented government regulations.
Do you think we can rise to the challenge?
IS MINING ENGINEERING FOR YOU? Photo by GurukulVidyapeeth
When choosing the course you’ll be taking in college, there’s a lot to consider before you finally settle with an answer for yourself. First, there’s your interest in a certain field. Then you have to consider the opportunities available once you graduate. Mining engineering involves extracting different metals and minerals in the most efficient way possible. Given the concerns people have for the environment nowadays, mining engineers not only have to think of the efficiency, one must also consider finding the process which least affects the environment negatively. Lastly, mining engineering involves safety as well. So if you decide
to be involved in mining, your role as a mining engineer involves finding the safest, most efficient and responsible mining methods for your company. However, before you worry about those things, you may want to ask yourself these questions: 1. Do you like being outside the walls of an air-conditioned building? 2. Do you excel (or even understand) different math and science lessons? 3. Are you curious on how things work? 4. Do you love solving problems? 5. Are you interested in natural resources? 6. Would you even consider
working underground? 7. Can you communicate well with other people? If you’ve thought long and hard and answered “Yes!” to all the questions mentioned above, then mining engineering may be for you! Mining engineering can be fun if your interest generally leans on math, sciences and outdoors. For more details about the course, you may want to ask the local mining engineers in your area or ask your guidance counselor to help you decide whether you should pursue this or not.
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CANADA’S URANIUM MINING CONSIDERED CLEANER THAN MOST
Photo by Cameco Canada is one of the world’s largest producers of uranium with an estimated 582,500 tonnes of it found in the country. Most people would give mining a bad name. Mining uranium has always been looked down on by environmentalists due to the bad reputation of producing high amount of greenhouse gases. However, researchers from the University of Saskatchewan believe that the amount of greenhouse gases produced from uranium mining and milling
is little compared to the total emissions produced by nuclear power generation. The study states that only a gram of greenhouse gases is produced from mining and milling uranium for every kilowatt-hour of power from the power generated by uranium. According to the author of the paper David Parker from the University of Saskatchewan, "This is the first rigorous look at greenhouse gas emissions from uranium mining and milling in Saskatchewan. And it’s more
detailed than the few studies that have been done before.” If compared to the production of power from coal and natural gas, uranium produces 12 grams of CO2 emissions per kilowatt hour from nuclear power, while coal produces 800 grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour and 500 grams from natural gas. This study was presented and published last July 29, 2016. It’s supported by the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation.
THE SEARCH IS ON FOR CONCRETE WITH RECYCLED AGGREGATES Almost every material now is being utilized to be recycled. From paper, plastics, tin, and wood, these materials compose new products that are useful to mankind. But how about recycled aggregate for concrete? That we haven’t found yet. Well, until the research led by Yahya “Gino” Kurama, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and earth sciences from the University of Notre Dame will produce significant results in finding alternatives for recycled aggregate, civil engineers will have to deal with the conventional structural concrete with natural
aggregates. Much has been developed about partial replacement of the binding element in structural concrete, which is cement, with industrial by-products such as fly ash, slag, and silica fume. But no research has been forwarded towards the replacement of coarse aggregates, which Kurama and his team have found ground on. Their concern lies on the conservation of coarse aggregates such as crushed rock and gravel, which composes a large part of a given concrete volume. The mining, processing, and
transportation operations for these aggregates consume large amounts of energy and adversely affect the ecology of forested areas and riverbeds. They are devising ways to find a substitute for natural aggregates. Of course this won’t be as easy as it looks. Initial research of the team had studied 16 recycled aggregate sources in the Midwest of the United States to evaluate their capacity as a structural material, but to no avail. The study has to be expanded to many more sources from the eastern, southern and southwestern U.S. with the help of the University of Texas at Tyler and
New Mexica State University. Factors like durability and lifecycle costs are being looked at to ensure this upcoming new aggregate as a viable alternative. More importantly, it will be tested to its effects in pre-stressed concrete and also in pre-cast. There are already existing applications of recycled aggregate in concrete but they are merely used in non-structural construction like sidewalks and roadways. That’s an old age development. What we’re looking for now is a new material to be used as an alternative aggregate for structural concrete, to be used in buildings and bridges.
Photo by WikipediaCommons 22
NOVEMBER 2016 Mining Engineering and Its Importance
Photo by TwisterSifter
WORLD’S LARGEST LAND VEHICLE If you think you’ve seen the world’s largest land vehicle and it’s not an excavator, think again. Currently holding the world’s biggest land vehicle is the Bagger 288 excavator which is built by Krupp (now ThyssenKrupp) of Germany and now owned and operated by RWE AG, a large utility company. The bucket wheel excavator is intimidatingly humongous at 311 feet in height, 705 feet in length and 46,600 tons – in contrast, Titanic was 46,328 tons. It takes five people to operate it having a 70-foot diameter bucket wheel, with 20 buckets that can scoop earth material of over 530
cubic feet. In a day, the Bagger 288 can process 100,000 cubic yards of material equivalent to 2,500 truckloads. The original function of this earth digger is to work in open-pit coal mines in Germany, which might be in halt with country mandating a shutdown of all German coal mining by 2018. Its design and manufacture took five years, not including the assembly which is another five years, totalling to a cost of $100 for its production. Being a huge vehicle has its downsides – it can only go onethird of a mile per hour on 3 rows
of caterpillar track assembles. Moreover, every highway it crosses needs to be fully rebuilt because of its weight, basically destroying everything that is in its path. It needs tons of people for its mobility too, a good 70 men to prepare the way. Its preferred transferring was through caterpillar treads rather than disassemble-and-reassemble because it is less expensive. The Bagger 288 replaced NASA’s Crawler-Transporter in the throne of the world’s largest land vehicle.
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10 BEST YOUTUBE CHANNELS THAT FEATURE THE MINING INDUSTRY In the millions of videos uploaded to YouTube everyday, there is that very small percent dedicated for people who like to study and know more about mining. Companies and groups involved in the mining industry have taken to YouTube to educate and reach more people through presenting videos containing information, operations, initiatives and future plans. If you’re one who likes to discover the world of mining, this list of YouTube channels is for you (all embedded videos are owned by the respective channels:
Newmont Mining This YouTube channel features videos that range from their involvement in the news, the history of mining ad Newmont, and more importantly the economic impact of mining.
Barrick Gold Corp. Being the largest gold producer in the world, Barrick Gold has got to spread the news through videos. They have a small collection of video features that might interest
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mining enthusiasts.
The National Mining Association If you are looking for Mine Expo coverage over the years, this is it. The National Mining Association has a rich collection of videos, including CoreSafety Modules that will help you in mining management, and personal interview that will make you understand more about mining.
NSW Mining Making it in this list is another association called the NSW Minerals Council. It is the leading mining association for New South wales in Australia, with a YouTube channel filled with videos on a variety of mining topics, with focus on women in mining, new technological advances and updates for mining in Australia.
International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM) With more than 40 videos in their channel, International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM) is true
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to its commitment in meeting mining with sustainability. Its YouTube displays a variety of workshops, programs and updates on the mining industry, which reflects the organization composed of 22 large mining companies and 32 most distinguished association in the sector.
World Gold Council The YouTube channel of World Gold Council boasts of insights about the gold market, empowered by interview with members of the council. This is your go-to channel when it comes to gold trends.
Joy Global Joy Global takes their manufacturing of mining equipment to YouTube. Featured in their channel are videos about their products and systems that can be eyegasmic –worth mentioning is the conveyor systems.
Sandvik Mining This YouTube channel by Sandvik
Mining is rich of uploads about mining processes. One could learn so much through their channel with their lots of videos, plus it’s more engaging because of the organized selections.
Anglo American Probably one of the most important YouTube channels about mining in this list, Anglo American presents videos that justify their mark in the world of mining. They claim to be one of the largest diversified mining companies in the world, and their uploads align so well with that.
Caterpillar Mining Save the best for last, they say. Caterpillar Mining provides YouTube users the finest viewing experience there is for followers of mining, with their growing video collection. This channel just proves how Caterpillar leads in this industry, through their videos featuring new equipment, updates, and innovative videos.
3 SIMULATION GAMES ABOUT MINING WORTH A TRY Mining is known to be a dangerous and dirty work, usually involving long shifts. Some people might be interested in exploring this world regardless of that, but it can be unsafe because of the unfamiliarity of work environment. So what better way can mining be more of a personal experience? Simulation games, of course! Plunge into the underground or open-pit deposits using simulators that will give you an idea of how life is like being a miner or a mining engineer. These three games will definitely help:
Underground Mining Simulator
Published by Excalibur Publishing, the Underground Mining Simulator explores mining of coal, iron, salt and gold mines. In this application for PC, one can experience mining through explosives, drilling equipment, and face tunnelling machine.
Mining and Tunneling Simulator
rocks and drill tunnels. You are going to excavate materials through a shovel dozer, with other operations involving cranes and trains. You also have to steer all vehicles like the maintenance van, crane, tunnel drilling machine or the fire brigade. This is made by Libredia.
Photo by StartSelect
Surface Mining Simulator
This PC application embarks you on tasks involving mining on the surface of minerals like coal, turf, gravel, sand and rocks using wheel loaders, bulldozers, crushing machines and conveyors. You are allowed to create, edit and exchange machines, if you like; but the greatest takeaway of this Ingress simulator game is you will feel like you’re running your own mining business.
Photo by Youtube
Photo by Youtube
Also available on PC, the Mining and Tunneling Simulator focuses on blasting
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Photo by youtube
FILIPINO ELECTRONICS ENGINEER MOTIVATES FUTURE ENGINEERS THROUGH SONG By Cielo Panda So, how bad do you want that engineering license? You’ve done your best in engineering school and finally graduated, but it doesn’t end there. After that, there’s another challenge to face that will complete the first step towards professionalism—taking your licensure examination. Reviewing for your licensure examination can be very stressful mentally. This isn’t just any normal exam wherein you could procrastinate reviewing for a week or two. Usually it takes a few months to cram 4 (or more) years of your engineering knowledge into your brain before you can say that you’re ready to take the licensure examination. The anxiety is real! That’s why Emanuel Gabriel, a Filipino engineer, created a cover
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of Travie McCoy’s and Bruno Mars’ hit song, Billionaire, to motivate future licensure examination takers everywhere. Engr. Emanuel got the top spot in the Philippines’ 2014 Electronics Engineering Licensure Examination, and was one of the 5th placers in the 2013 Electronics Technician Licensure Examination. He was also Magna Cum Laude in the course BS Electronics Engineering at the Polytechnic University of the PhilippinesMaragondon. Currently, he is an instructor at Excel Review Center, a licensure examination review center in the Philippines. According to Emanuel, he already had the feeling that he would pass both exams, and he was aiming to be at the top—and he succeeded
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on both examinations. He created the cover because he was inspired by his students. “I also did it to lessen the nervousness of all engineers-in-the-making who will take the exam, especially my students,” Emanuel said. “I want to be part of an engineering student’s success that’s why I’ve decided to choose a teaching career. I feel very happy that I will always be part of their success.” He added. Here’s a piece of advice from Emanuel for the future batches of engineers around the world: “Always have a timeline, put more effort on your studies, but make sure that you also have your leisure time. Always take notes, it will surely help you.”
Photo by TEDTalks
A BIOLOGICAL EXTRACTION FOR MINING AND BIOENERGY Juan Enriquez, a futurist who professes the changes that genomics will bring in business, technnology and society wants us to change how we approach fuel or bioenergy. Genomics, or a branch in genetics that deals with the analysis and sequencing of an organism's genome, is a way in order to deal with how bioenergy should be utilized. Bioenergy on the other hand, is what you get when you use agricultural or forest residues, organic wastes and crops as a means of extracting energy to produce heat, electricity and fuels. And genomics come into play when the DNA component and the biology of the biomass resources are altered to produce energry instead of the usual massive extraction (and destruction). According to Enriquez, mankind has always resorted to brute force in acquiring natural resources and it would be better if the thinking jumps from an engineering approach, to a chemical and to finally a
biological one. Let's say for example the works of the Nobel Prize and Congressional Medal of Honor winner Norman Borlaug. He developed and taught people a more efficient war of growing grains as part of the Green Revolution. So in order to grow plants with just massive land cultivation and employing machineries for faster production, the biology behind the grains must be utilized first. Enriquez said that a huge part of the destruction brought about by coal mining will be lessened if a more biological way of extracting it is developed. How is coal produced? How can the gases be collected? Bioenergy should transition from a brute force method of acquiring biomass resources into a biological force.
Photo by Minicab
HUGE GOLD NUGGET FOUND BY LUCKY AUSTRALIAN Imagine having the shock of your life when you find a real gold nugget using a metal detector. This Australian prospector thought he was just looking at an old horseshoe when he saw a 4.1kg gold nugget at the southern edge of Central Victoria’s Golden Triangle. It is located in South Australia. He said, “I thought it was rubbish at first, maybe an old horseshoe. About 12 inches below the ground, I could just barely make out the top of something.” Later on, he realized it was real gold as he dug deeper. “It wasn’t an old piece of steel in front of me. I had just unearthed a colossal gold nugget – a once in a lifetime find! (…) I didn't think nuggets of this size were still around.”
The lucky Australian has been doing this during weekends for the past ten years. As soon as he discovered the gold, he went out for a few drinks with his friends (whom he’ll be sharing the money they’ll get with), wrapped the gold in foil and placed it inside an oven. How much do you think the discovered gold will sell? Minicab reports that it is expected to sell for more than US$190,000. It was a lucky find indeed.
He then named the gold “Friday’s Joy.”
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Photo by komatsu
$30 BILLION MARKET FOR CONSTRUCTION ELECTRIC VEHICLES Electric vehicles for construction, agriculture and mining will be a $30 billion market in 2025. Komatsu, John Deere, Caterpillar, and others manufacture the big vehicles - mainly hybrid - while other manufacturers offer smaller, pure-electric versions. Pure electric is a legal requirement indoors. Outdoors, fuel saving and better performance attracts. Cranes and man lifters have many applications. Their production volumes are larger
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than most people realise. So it is with the electric versions set for 253,000 to be sold in 2025. This is an industry about to change radically. For example, in mining, over 90% of the world's mines are open cast. They are often in remote places up to 4000 meters above sea level, where shipping diesel can cost more than buying it. Consequently, there is now a move to have 350 kW giant haul trucks working the floor and separately the top of the mine with electric rail-veyors
lifting the ore from bottom to top. In an all-electric solution new pollution laws can be met, image improved and money saved, the electricity coming from the mine's own wind turbines and photovoltaics. Battery swapping and fast charging of those batteries means 350 kWh batteries suffice - big but no larger than those in other EV sectors.
Photo by CleanAgency
SCOTTISH RESEARCHERS FOUND BETTER WAY TO RECOVER GOLD FROM E-WASTE Gold can be found in today’s printed circuit boards (PCBs) so it makes sense that researchers would find a way to extract them from used PCBs.This recycling method is crucial in today’s gold recovery processes as mining companies are having a hard time in exploring new sources of this precious metal. According to researchers, around 7% of the electrical waste the world produces is gold. Now, Scottish scientists from University of Edinburgh have released their new findings on a
better way to extract gold from old gadgets. Published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, their method of recovering gold is safer and more effective than current techniques. They have estimated a total of 300 tonnes of this precious metal recovered from used electronics each year if implemented. Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the method involves dissolving the metal parts of the PCBs in a mild acid, then adding
an oily liquid, which contains a chemical compound from the team. This allows the gold to be extracted from the other metals. Professor Jason Love, the research leader, said, "We are very excited about this discovery. We have shown that our fundamental chemical studies on the recovery of valuable metals from electronic waste could have potential economic and societal benefits.”
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FIND OUT WHAT DRONES SEE WHEN FLYING THROUGH A MINING STOPE Drones find another purpose as miners develop their own mining drones. by Cielo Panda
Photo by Rio2016 Photo by Youtube
Newmarket Gold has designed their own drone to inspect open stopes for misfires and to map the surrounding walls inside a mine. Ion Hann,Mine Manager of the Fosterville Gold Mine, said that the mine had already been built and developed last year and is providing remarkable advances in mining today. They hope to reach the stage where drones enter the mining industry as a standard for emergency responses, which includes search and rescue scenarios underground. There are numerous possibilities of this type of technology being introduced in the mining
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industry. It can be used to aid with operator training during field work, where a live feed can be sent to the trainer while operator plans a heading. Hann commented that their ultimate goal is to get the drones into an autonomous state so the risks of site inspections and re-entries would lessen as operators would be able to do it on the surface.
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WHAT THE 2016 RIO OLYMPIC MEDALS ARE MADE OF What you see is not always what you get. The most-coveted medal for the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is not exactly what its name implies: the 500-g gold medal barely contains the precious yellow metal, only about 6 grams, with the rest, 494 grams, as silver. But its maker assures that the gold is to have a certain amount of purity and of very high quality amid the lustrous coat. This medal costs US$568.02. The other medals also have the same weight. The silver medal is 92.5% pure silver, according to the production manager of the Olympic medals at the Brazilian Mint, Victor Hugo Criado Berbert. It is worth about $315.
The bronze medal, on the other hand, is made in part from the same copper that are in Brazilian coins. The gold and silver medals have their silver coming from mirrors and plates. A total of 1.6 tonnes of silver was used in 812 gold medals and 812 medals. On the other hand, about 172 ounces of gold were used to create all 812 gold medals. In total, the makers Brazilian Mint spent over $228,000 worth of gold and over $1 million worth of silver at current prices. Best of the best athletes in this year’s Rio Olympics will take home medals 85 mm in diameter, 11 mm high in the center and 6 mm high on the edges.
25 AWESOME THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT GOLD by Cielo Panda
Gold was used as a currency of choice in the past, but even though it isn’t used as currency anymore, it still retains its value. Here are 25 awesome things you didn’t know about gold. Gold is one of the substances that are equated with extreme value. Have you ever wondered why? Why is gold considered one of the most valuable metals in the universe? One of the reasons could be because it’s one of the rarest metals on earth, but there are other metals that are even rarer. So what’s the deal? Well, out of all the rare elements like silver and platinum, gold has one distinction that makes it stand out—it’s yellowish. Also it doesn’t react with other elements so it doesn’t tarnish. All the others are grayish. Gold was used as a currency of choice in the past, but even though it isn’t used as currency anymore, it still retains its value. Here are 25 awesome things you didn’t know about gold. #25 A ton of old cell phones will give you more gold than 1 ton of gold ore #24 If all the gold in the ocean was taken out, there would be enough for every person on Earth to have 9 pounds. #23 Hungarian chemist
George de Hevesy melted down the gold Nobel Prizes of German physicists Max von Laue and James Frank so that Nazis wouldn’t confiscated them. They were recast after the war. #22 Have you ever wondered why sailors often wore gold earrings? It’s so that if they drowned and washed up on the beach, the earrings would serve as payment for a proper Christian burial. #21 The Olympic gold medal is only 1% gold. #20 In Dubai, there are ATM’s that dispense gold bars! #19 Most of the gold that is found in the Earth’s crust was placed there by asteroid strikes. #18 Most of the gold on Earth is in the core because it sank to the center while the Earth was being formed. #17 In 1859, gold miners in the Rocky Mountains woke up at 1am to eat breakfast because the aurora was so bright that they thought it was morning. #16 Did you know that
ice cream testers use gold spoons so that they would avoid the after taste of using regular spoons? #15 Roman politician Gaius Gracchus has a bounty put on his head of its weight in gold. The head was delivered but the bounty wasn’t paid because the person who captured the head filled it with lead. #14 Did you know that aluminium used to be the most valuable metal on Earth? Rich people would eat using aluminium cutlery will poorer people would use gold! #13 Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire, spent so much gold in Egypt that he devalued it and almost destroyed the economy. #12 According to list25, Chinese prisoners are forced to mine gold in the game World of Warcraft. There are sources that report nearly 100,000 virtual gold farmers throughout the country. #11 LEGO used to give a 25.65 gram brick of gold to its employees who completed 25 years of service.
#10 Did you know that gold is actually edible?
#9 Gold can be found on
every continent. #8 Gold is usually forcibly extracted from water during earthquakes because of the pressure deep within the Earth’s crust. #7 The leaves of the eucalyptus tree have been found to contain some traces of gold. #6 All the gold ever mined in human history can fill up three Olympic-sized swimming pools. #5 Almost half of the gold came from Witwatersrand, South Africa. #4 The fear of gold is called Aurophobia. #3 Indian housewives hold almost 11% of the world’s gold. That’s more than the US, Germany, Switzerland and the International Monetary Fund combined. #2 The largest gold bar in the world weighs 250 kg or 551 pounds. #1 Your body contains around .2mg of gold which is mostly found in your bloodstream.
Photo by MIT
Photo by Envirotect
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WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE T LARGEST GOLD RESERVES?
Photo by Mining 32
NOVEMBER 2016 Mining Engineering and Its Importance
THE ?
“Who owns most of the world’s gold?” When this question was asked by the people behind Karus Chains, which obviously uses so much gold that asking where most of the gold comes from matters so much to them, it only opened to more questions about our resources of gold. Should it be a question of which countries mine the most gold and not just who, as if a person? Or a question of which countries buy the precious metal? Maybe of the export and imports of gold? But when the company who offer high quality silver
and gold chains for men got to their senses, they found the perfect question: which countries have the largest gold reserves? And so they also found the best answer. With data coming from International Financial Statistics 2016, Karus Chains detailed a map to that will determine which nations hold the most gold reserves. In the map, one can find 20 countries, which hold 88% of the total gold reserves, with their corresponding share in the world’s gold. Check the map:
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Photo by IndustrySA
LATEST TRENDS IN THE MINING INDUSTRY Latest Trends in the Mining Industry GineersNow Feature Admin 28.03.2016 76 Share minus Via Mining Your Future TV Show The new Certiq machine monitoring system from Atlas Copco Rock Drills AB is now the standard for the company's construction and mining machines. The Certiq system is based on telematics, i.e. wireless data transmission. It allows the owners and operators of above and belowground drilling equipment for example to monitor the performance of their machines at any time and from any location. With the real-time data available, owners and operators can optimize their machines' equipment to ensure that they achieve maximum productivity and profitability. The Certiq software collects and records a huge amount of data while a machine is operating. These data are then shown on a special web portal in the form of easyto-understand graphics. Users can easily log on to the portal with their unique login data in order to monitor an individual machine or an entire fleet. The system not only tells users how a machine is currently being used or was used in the past but also gives details of machine availability rates, maintenance requirements and much more. The system even produces performance reports automatically and sends them via e-mail to the owner or operator of the machine. Bell Equipment has complemented its E series generation of articulated dump trucks with a total of four new models. With the current Bell B25E and B30E dump trucks, the new mid-range B35E and B40E models and the new B45E and B50E large dump trucks, Bell continues to focus on the “classic” categories and still offers the world's largest 6x6 program. The Bell B35E and B40E models are following the general market trend with considerably higher nominal loading capacities. Bell Equipment has made the step towards EU4/Tier4 final with new six cylinder engines from
Mercedes-Benz optimized by MTU for offroad operations. Trackman rubber caterpillar tracks from Continental AG help to ensure safe driving in the construction sector. They resemble closed drive belts with a tread profile on which heavy equipment and traction machines such as transporters or road building machines run. Thanks to the new Armorlug technology, the rubber caterpillar tracks offer even better performance and last longer. A number of layers of material embedded in the drive studs strengthen the material and thus increase its durability. The conveyor belt solutions for the efficient transport of goods are reliable, economical and environmentally friendly too.
Photo by Siemens
Visitors to the trade fair will be able to find out about the latest product solutions in the area of inclined conveying, closed belt systems, heat-resistant conveyor belts, energy-optimized transport or lightweight PVC belts. Cummins Inc., Columbus, Indiana, USA, will present the next generation of ultra-clean engines which meet the EU's Stage V emissions regulations for construction machines and mining/materials handling equipment which are due to come into force in 2019. The engines which produce anything from 55 to 300 kW not only satisfy the “virtually zero emissions” requirement of the Stage V regulations but also offer an increase in power and torque of up to ten percent. The improvements in engine power for Stage V are achieved thanks to an innovative approach when it comes to combustion, airflow and fuel injection systems which allows Cummins to exploit the full potential of the four-cylinder QSF3.8 and QSB4.5 as well as the six-cylinder QSB6.7 and QSL9— with no increase in cubic capacity. Zetros is a range of HGVs from Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz brand. They are primarily designed for heavy off-road use. With their
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conventional bonnet design, they offer very good off-road performance and are low in height. To allow easy maintenance, the engine is accessible without having to tip the driver's cab. The Zetros has a long-bonnet design and is available exclusively with permanent all-wheel drive. Its standard wading depth is 800 mm, while 1,190 mm is optionally possible. The Zetros features an OM 926 LA six-cylinder diesel engine with a cubic capacity of 7.2 l and a power output of 240 kW. Engines with Euro3 and Euro5 emissions values are available. The drivetrain has permanent all-wheel drive as well as a transfer case with an off-road gear ratio of 1:1.69. The Zetros comes as standard with a ninespeed manual gearbox. However, it is also available with a fully automatic gearbox from Allison. Construction machines, vehicles and equipment as well as mining machines are the principal applications for engines from Deutz AG. The manufacturer will unveil its newly developed TCD 2.2 diesel and gas engine as well as the established TCD 2.9 in a gas version. With up to 55 kW, the TCD 2.2 is a further option for materials handling and compact construction machine applications in particular. Unusually, the engine will be launched in both a diesel and a liquid gas (LPG or fuel gas) version. The gas version will produce 42 kW and is an innovation within Deutz's otherwise dieseldriven product range. The TCD 2.2 will go into production in 2019 to coincide with the EU Stage V emissions norm coming into force. All TCD 2.2 and 2.9 models use the same engine platform. This means
numerous synergy effects for customers when it comes to integration, for example with regard to connections or the supply of spare parts.
using an HRS 2638 roller screen.
With the LF-21H, GHH Fahrzeuge GmbH is launching a high-performance LHD with a 21 t loading capacity. The so-called Efficient Drive System (EDS) was optimized specially for mining applications. The environmentally friendly Deutz engine satisfies the highest EU Stage IV emissions norm, as a result of which the need for underground ventilation is minimized. In addition to the standard version, the LHD is available in various cab versions, thus allowing it to be used even in situations with a roadway height of just 2.5 m. A Z linkage designed for ore mining allows the very highest breakout forces and is designed for loading corresponding dump trucks.
Herrenknecht AG supplies tunneling machines with diameters of 0.10 to 19 m for all geologies worldwide. The company also supplies deep drilling rigs and drilling machines for vertical and inclined shafts. One innovation which is to be presented at bauma is a slant directional drilling (SDD) rig. Slant directional drilling is an alternative drilling technique which allows shallow, conventional or unconventional oil and gas deposits to be exploited. It is a symbiosis of horizontal (HDD) and vertical directional drilling (VDD). While the entry angle with HDD is between eight and 18 degrees, it is 90 degrees with respect to the earth's surface with VDD. Deposits at low depths for example can be reached quickly using an angle of 30 degrees, while the angle allows a horizontal deflection for further drilling.
The Hazemag Group develops and manufactures machines and other systems for the construction and mining industries. The products and systems are used to prepare and enhance raw materials in the construction industry and to travel underground routes in coal, salt, potash, ore, platinum and diamond mines for example. The Lehigh Cement Company (Heidelberg Cement Group) has ordered a semi-mobile limestone crusher from Hazemag for its Union Bridge site. The system will process up to 2,500 t of limestone per hour—with a feed size of up to 2,000 mm. The material is discharged from a 400 t feed hopper using an HAF 25160 apron feeder. The fines in the feed material are screened at 100 mm
Keestrack N.V. will present the new H4 caterpillar mobile cone crusher (35 to 50 t transport weight). At the heart of the model designed for high-quality secondary or tertiary production with a handling capacity of between 120 and 200 t/h is the proven cone crusher technology which was optimized specifically for mobile use. According to Keestrack, the innovative crusher control and monitoring solutions which have a direct influence over the output capacity and product quality are particularly groundbreaking. As the successor to the Galleon range, the Keestrack H4 has a completely new frame design which allows not only highperformance pre- and post-screening
Photo by ResolveImmix
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Photo by Africa equipment but also the use of innovative drive technologies. As a result, the Keestrack H4 is the world's first mobile cone crusher to offer a highly efficient three-deck postscreening module with an oversize material recycler for the production of three highgrade end products in one pass. Keestrack is offering a choice of two economical drive combinations: direct diesel drive of the crusher with electrical or electro-hydraulic peripherals (conveyors, screen units etc.) or the fully hybrid/“plug-in” version with an electrical crusher drive system powered by an on-board diesel generator or mains electricity. With the Mobicone MCO 11 PRO mobile cone crusher, Kleemann GmbH, a Wirtgen Group company, is heralding the launch of its newly developed PRO Line. It offers quarry operators particularly robust machines for high-performance applications. The machine is driven by a powerful yet economical diesel-electric drive system which allows operation with an external power supply. The cone crusher with a maximum feed capacity of up to 470 t/h is equipped with the innovative Continuous Feed System (CFS) which ensures efficient use of crushing capacity. The MCO 11 PRO is also ideal for use in linked combinations
of machines. In addition, the machine can be transported in one piece and can be quickly put into operational position thanks to hydraulic moving machine components. Kögel Trailer GmbH & Co. KG will present the new Kögel Multi. This versatile trailer is particularly suitable for transporting building materials and for weather-resistant freight. The platform semi-trailer has a reinforced chassis and a semi-trailer load capacity of 15 t to meet the heavy-duty requirements in the construction industry. Depending on the application, the trailer's aluminum walls can be removed. This makes the Multi ideal for transporting various building materials. In response to customers' requirements, Komatsu Mining developed the new PC7000. Komatsu designed the 677 t machine with a view to creating the safest and most efficient large hydraulic excavator in its class. The PC7000 is powered by two 1,250 kW diesel engines and is optionally available with an electric drive system. With its 36 m³ shovel or backhoe bucket, the PC7000 is designed for use in a range of conditions. The PC7000 is tailored to the 240 to 290 t 830E and 860E dump trucks from Komatsu. Drivers will notice the machine's improved control system. After
all, Komatsu has optimized both the shovel design and the hydraulic system. As a result, the machine can swing around more quickly and the shovel can penetrate the material more easily. To coincide with bauma, LiebherrInternational Deutschland GmbH will launch the Liebherr PR 776, the first infinitely variable hydrostatically powered crawler tractor in the 70-ton category. Designed for the most demanding mining and quarrying applications, it is powered by a Liebherr twelve-cylinder diesel engine with a maximum power of 565 kW. It has a maximum operating weight of 74 t and can be equipped with blades with a capacity of 18 m³ (semi-U blade) or 22 m³ (U blade). Thanks to its modern drive concept, the new PR 776 crawler tractor is extremely economical. The infinitely variable hydrostatic drive system which is used in all Liebherr crawler tractors is an innovation in this class of machines. Another advantage of the modern drive concept is the needs-based feed pressure supply. If, for example, the full feed pressure supply is not required during operation, this is automatically returned.
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WHAT ARE THE MOST MINERALS AND META While there are people who object to mining, those who support it are actively campaigning for responsible mining in their areas. The world is full of resources that we can use to advance our technology and provide a supply to our daily needs, so people should see that there is importance in mining. However, governments and private companies should only allow practices that includes rehabilitation of the mine. If they tolerate mining companies who just leave mines as they are after all the resources have been taken away, communities will have to suffer from different consequences later on. Minerals mined are used for different purposes, but they all have one thing in common: everybody needs them. These minerals are mined and processed later on so that the public can use them for the production of the latest technology, for vanity purposes and even for the toothpaste we use to brush our teeth with. You see, mining is crucial for human kind and these minerals mined have played important roles in our lives now.
Gold Photo by MarketWatch
Silver Photo by Wikipedia
In this list, we’ll be giving you the minerals commonly mined in Africa.
Quartz Photo by UniversityOfPittsburgh
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T COMMONLY MINED ALS IN AFRICA? Cobalt Photo by Roger'sMinerals
Tin, tantalum and tungsten Photo by Emaze
Bauxite Photo by Geology
Platinum Group Metals Photo by SpecialtyMetals
Fluorspar Photo by Minmat
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AUSTRALIAN MINING ACTIVITY INCREASES URANIUM CONCENTRATION IN THE ANTARCTIC
Photo by ABC 40
NOVEMBER 2016 Mining Engineering and Its Importance
Researchers from the University of Maine believe that the increasing mining activity in Australia causes the increase of uranium concentrations in the Antarctic today. The mining activity involved is the open pit mining in Australia. The results of this study will be published later on in the next issue of Atmospheric Environment Journal. Australia has around 40% of the world’s uranium reserves but despite the high percentage of reserves, this industry is not a major employer in Australia. The
country exports almost 7,000 tonnes of yellow cake annually. According to the lead researcher Mariusz Potocki, who is a doctoral candidate and research assistant with the Climate Change Institute: “Uranium concentrations in the ice core increased by as much as 10^2 between the 1980s and 2000s, accompanied by increased variability in recent years.” He and his team also adds: “Since other land-source dust elements don’t show similar large increases in the ice core, and since the increased uranium
concentrations are enriched above levels in the Earth’s crust, the source of uranium is attributed to human activities rather atmospheric circulation changes.” If the uranium concentration continues to increase, this will surely affect a lot of health issues including genetic mutations, cancer and other major health problems.
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10 ISSUES AND TRENDS THAT AFFECT THE MINING INDUSTRY by Dion Greg Reyes
Photo by Decanter The mining industry has been in a complicated position in recent years. Several mining companies have been affected by many trends that have been inconsistent, causing fears that the business might collapse anytime. Some days, there is hope for them; but mostly they fall to the downward spiral. That is the reality in mining right now. Down cycles in the industry have been endless, with commodity prices getting weak, declining grades, and demand falling off. This causes companies to come short in capital and
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slow down in exploration spending. On top of that are the regulations, tax burdens and stakeholder expectations which are nowhere near the end. Yet amid all that weight on the shoulders of these mining companies, they continue to operate. They look at opportunities of growth, and track the trends to change the way things are. Deloitte, a company that provides business insights, listed the top 10 issues mining companies had and still to face with the rest of this year. It tackles
trends that cover all aspects affecting the mining industry.
Operational excellence
If mining companies want to survive, they have to maintain the good parts in their industry. They need to push strategies including energy efficiency programs, adoption of lean practices, investment in innovation, and data integration. Efforts should also be done in supply chain optimization, back office outsourcing, operating model review, improved capital allocation, working capital efficiency,
greater collaboration, and accountability.
Innovation
There is new technology everyday and mining companies seem to not embrace modernization. But when they do, if at all, they don’t engage with it externally and only adopt with the old techniques. Mining companies need to take advantage of networks, machine learning, genomics, wearables and hybrid ships that will drastically improve operations. In the manufacturing side, it’s possible to have collaborative ecosystems, digital workforce engagement, improved asset management, 3D printing and modularization.
China’s pivot
Being a powerful nation with a global impact, China has domestic trends that change the miners’ markets – especially now that they decided to change the way they manage currency value. Large-scale mining companies should be aware of the repercussions of China’s decisions, and develop plans relative to China’s investment initiatives and leveraging Chinese expertise in design, construction, and financing.
Adjustment to the new normal
It’s likely that the trends won’t change for a while, so miners should be able to adopt somehow. One way to do that is to ramp up in production, in an attempt to reduce unit costs and to consolidate market shares. Finding that balance between current and future demand factor require the ability to scale production, labor and other inputs and outputs.
Photo by Bolour Kavir
Global energy mix
The biggest threat for mining companies is renewables. Its flourish has been apparent in recent years, losing the gains of miners. But ironically, fossil fuels are needed in the production of alternative power sources. What mining companies could do is pay close attention to global energy demand patterns and shift to the likely stronger demand for uranium (for nuclear generation) and commodities used in battery storage (to address the intermittency of renewable generation).
Stakeholder dialogues
Miners are also affected by the increased expectations from stakeholders, making it harder to survive in the thriving industry. The challenge is to find a way for new tactics that work, because the old ones will no longer do. They need to explore a new form of stakeholder engagement to meet demands of multiple groups
Capital crisis
For an industry going downwards, it’s difficult to attract capital. Mining companies will be at risk if they don’t seek for alternative sources of financing to push through their operations. They have to be creative for sure in finding new financing options. Suggestions include commercializing dormant assets, pooling resources, pursuing debt reduction strategies, considering crowdfunding, and seeking government funding.
Tax management
There are new regulations that change the tax implications associated with a range of business activities. This affects miners through heightened scrutiny of their tax compliance, substance and transfer pricing policies. Miners could assess their operational and corporate structures, on top of understanding the financial implications of the new tax rules.
Mergers & acquisitions
Contrary to predictions, the mining M&A has been disappointing. Deals in the mining industry are mostly divestments and rescue-type deals in the recent years. But amid the situation, today is the best time to make acquisitions, especially uncontested assets.
Safety, health
security,
and
Workers should never be discounted in the equation. Actually they have to be empowered, through expanding their safety, security and health. Mining companies need to enhance safety records and security postures, by strengthening their safety analytics, adopting more robust mental health policies, improving their security protocols, employing risk monitors, conducting risk assessments and improving crisis management.
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FOUR INCREDIBLE OPEN PIT MINES
Mining is a demarcated topic. Do you know the reason behind it? Just because on one hand mining provides you with all the essential materials that are needed for the civilization to move forward, while on the other hand, it can lead to some damaging effects on the environment. No matter what effect it has, you will just be awed if you take a look at some of the mines that have been listed here.
The Moab Mine This mine is situated 20 miles west of Moab in Utah. This is a distinctive mine. You might ask why. Because it has a unique method to extract out potash. This mine began operating in 1965 as a conventional underground mine which later transformed into an amalgamating solution mining in order to extract potash. It also uses solar evaporation in order to re-crystallize the product that was taken out.
Photo by jpgmag
Diavik Diamond Mine This mine started its production in the year 2003. What’s incredible about this is its location. It is situated in the island just in the center of Lac de Gras. You will be able to travel to this mine through the seasonal winter road only for two months of the year. The amazing fact is that this winter road is build over a frozen lake. If not by road, you can access this mine through air.
Photo by Mining.com
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Bingham Canyon Mine This mine is in operation since 1906 in USA and has a pit of more than 0.6 miles depth and about 2.5 miles width. It is absolutely hard to believe that this mine covers an area of about 1,900 acres. This is such a significant development of USA that it has been designated as a National Historic Landmark in the year 1966.
Photo by SquareSpace
Mir Mine This is an open pit diamond mine which is presently inactive. This mine located in Mirny of Russia covers an area of 525 meters and has a depth of 1,22 ft and width of 1,200 meter.
Photo by AmusingPlanet
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Why Engineering Students Hate Losing Their Calculators Photo by PicsArt
Photo by PaulAllenEngineering
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If it was just an ordinary day for a student who majors in business or art, it really wouldn’t ruin his day if he left his calculator with him. In fact, if there’s any calculations he needs in the university, he really wouldn’t need a calculator. He can just pull out his smart phone and tadaaa, he can move on to the next problem easily. But if you ask an engineering student what he/she can’t survive without, without a doubt one will answer a scientific calculator. Amazing how one scientific calculator can make or break an engineering student’s academic path. One wrong input and boom! you’re going to have to tell your parents that they will have to wait for the next year to see you march. Clearly, engineering students are synonymous to a scientific calculator. I remember taking an exam once. Before the exam started, I was outside the room panicking heavily as soon as I figured out that I wasn’t able to bring my calculator with me. I could feel myself sweating hard because failing this exam was going to take a toll on my academic status. If I didn’t bring a calculator with me, I was doomed. And just like any engineering student
who badly wants to pass an exam, I started running around the halls and randomly asked people if they have a “handydandy” calculator they can let an unfortunate student borrow. Luckily for me, most students that day knew what one’s fate will be if one forgets a calculator in an engineering exam so people were willing to let me borrow theirs. Of course, I was able choose one. You see, our scientific calculators are considered the most important thing we can ever have in our bags. We all know we cannot leave and start the day in class without one. This is why every engineering student absolutely hates it when it’s left in the house. This is why engineering students dreads losing it. Scientific calculators are LIFE. The more complicated the buttons are, the better the chances of an engineering student gets in passing… maybe. But it doesn’t give away the fact that a scientific calculator is an engineering student’s best friend. So if you happen to see a poor unfortunate soul looking for a calculator to borrow, pity the student and let him/her use yours. Remember, it could happen to you and you need someone to help you as well.
THE SIX ENGINEERS THAT WE ALL HAVE TO DEAL WITH
Photo by SheKnows
by Randy Williams
Working at an engineering firm is like living in a tiny microcosm of society filled with unique and unusual characters. No matter where you work, we’ve all experienced these folks. Some weird, some funny, some goofy, some brilliant, some annoying, some adventurous, some opinionated, and the list goes on. Here are some of the most common caricatures that you’ll find at the office.
1. The young, overachieving, go getter. We’ll call this person Arnold. This guy is new to the working world having recently graduated from college or a graduate program. He takes his work VERY seriously. His hobbies include studying, asking questions, and working unpaid overtime. Regardless of how much his boss puts on his plate, he asks for more. This person is always on the phone, always gets flustered when you interrupt his critically important train of thought, and never misses an opportunity to suck up to management. 2. The overpaid, lazy, one foot out the door retiree. This lady’s name is Cathy. You know this person very well because you’re always having to do her work. She overpromises and underperforms. But what does she care. She’s about to retire and play with her grand kids all day. She’s only hanging around the office
to collect that sweet life insurance and those delicious health benefits. Only one more year until she reaches full pension and then SHE’S GONE. No one is quite sure why the supervisors don’t demand more from Cathy. She no doubt collects one of the largest paychecks, but the value she adds just isn’t there. Who can blame her? She’s been working at the company for over 30 years. She’s put in her time. She knows exactly what she needs to get done and doesn’t do a lick more.
3. The oversocial, oversharing, chatty Cathy is actually not named Cathy. This person’s name is Gary. Have you ever been crushing your work, getting things done, feeling motivated and full of energy from that Starbucks you treated yourself with, then everything comes to a screeching halt. In comes Gary. Well at least you got a lot done this morning because now you find yourself in a never ending conversation with the guy that doesn’t know when to stop. No matter how many ways you try to exit the conversation, this guy just won’t take a hint. How can he continue to weather through the storm of your one word responses? Wait, what’s he doing now? Oh no, he’s busting out family pictures of their most recent trip to the Colorado Railroad Museum… Let’s see if I can text someone
and have them call me so I can escape the torture that is this conversation.
4. Harold is the office weirdo. No one is quite sure what’s going through his mind. He’s creepily quiet and never speaks up unless directly spoken to. It’s painful to go to his office because you know there will be at least three and a half awkward silences every time. His empty stare is haunting and often causes you to avert your gaze and look at the ground. Everyone wonders what this guy does in the evenings or on the weekends. Is he sitting quietly reading on the couch, playing dungeons and dragons with a Meetup group in his basement, or simply watching Game of Thrones reruns with his wife. He is the mystery man of the office. The only mystery is that you don’t want anything to do with him. 5. Then there’s the cool guy. He knows the office gossip and knows how to work the system. This guy’s name is Nick. Nick is a great coworker. You get along, work well together, and you’ve even hung out a couple of times on the weekend. One time you even went on an overnight camping trip with his wife and a handful of their friends. It seems like everyone in the office likes Nick. How could you not? He’s friendly, funny, adventurous, and always
comes into the office on Monday with entertaining stories. It’s funny that on one hand you wish everyone in the office were as cool and easy going as Nick, but what a boring world it would be if that were the case. Weird coworkers are the spice of life.
6. Rounding out the list is the over enthusiastic parent. This lady’s name is Barb. Barb loves her life, but mostly loves her family. She works the minimum hours so she can always pick up her kids from school, take sick days whenever it’s needed, and participates in all of her children’s activities. In addition to fondling over her kids, she also enjoys taking care of her fellow coworkers. She’s the office mom. She sets up the lunch platter whenever food is brought into the office. She refills the paper in the printer. She makes sure everyone is having a great day. There’s nothing better than having a kind and loving office mom around. Disclaimer: All characters and events portrayed here are entirely fictional. No feelings were hurt during the creation or reproduction of this article. About the author: Randy Williams: Student of Life. Professional Engineer. Skeptic. Explorer. Reader. Listener.
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Photo by Wikipedia
THIS IS MINING IN HELL ON EARTH by Robert Bagatsing Can you imagine yourself carrying 90 kgs of sulfur three to four kilometers away from the mining area everyday? Nope, I don’t think so. In Java, Indonesia, miners put their lives in danger in order to collect sulfur at the Kawah Ijen Volcano. These miners place long pipes to allow the liquid sulfur to drip out of the volcano and solidify once it comes in contact with the air. There is smoke almost everywhere in this place. Using crowbars and metal poles, they break off huge chunks of solidified sulfur and place them in baskets using only their hands. They carry these baskets down to the base of the volcano twice (or thrice a day) to earn $8-15 each day. The sulfur collected is commonly used for different manufacturing companies such as production of
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batteries, sugar, cosmetics and insecticides. The working environment in this mining site is so dangerous that the average life expectancy of a miner only reaches up to 50 years old. Lack of personal protective equipments may contribute to the poor health of these miners. It has been reported that around 70 miners have died in the past four decades due to work-related accidents. If you reach the age of 70 working here, consider yourself lucky. How about this: Can you imagine yourself taking a dip in the largest (very) acidic lake on Earth? Of course not! Nobody in his right mind would swim in a pond with a pH of 0.5. Inside the volcano, a sulfuric acid lake can be found in the middle of the crater. This lake is said to be
NOVEMBER 2016 Mining Engineering and Its Importance
highly acidic that the pH obtained is around 0.13 – 0.5. What makes it more interesting is the turquoise color of the lake, which makes the place look very picturesque. If you want to know how dangerous this lake can be, imagine a tin can soaked in the lake. It can be easily dissolved in less than thirty minutes. Now, imagine yourself swimming in the lake for thirty minutes. Nope, just don’t. Despite its hazardous environment, the Kawah Ijen Volcano attracts a lot of tourists daily. You must be thinking, why would anybody want to go to ‘hell’? This volcano, despite its terrible working conditions, produces a bright blue glow (only obvious when seen during night time)
due to the reaction of the sulfuric gases emerging at high pressure and the air at a temperature of 360oC. At night, this sight would leave anyone at awe. So, if you still want to visit this place, go ahead. Be very careful thoughl. Avoid taking selfies.
RICHEST DIAMOND MINES IN THE WORLD As the saying goes, “Not all that glitters is gold”, but it may very well be a diamond, or a diamond mine. There are quite a few diamond mines in the world. However, how much do you know about them? There can be some pretty fantastic stones waiting to be found in some of the richest mines of the world. India was once home to the richest mines in the world. This is no longer the case. Now, the richest mines are located in Africa and Russia. Want to know about the richest mines in the world? Read on then.
Mir Mine Photo by Amusing Planet
Photo by SEALSwimSafe
Udachny Mine Photo by Mining
The Catoca is located in Angola, Africa and it comes fifth in the list of largest diamond mines in the world. It has been estimated that the mine contains 130 million carats of diamonds that can be mined. Sounds a whopping quantity? That’s nothing compared to the rest. The mine in Argyle, Australia supposedly contains more than 140 million carats. Production started in 1983 and it’s set to continue till 2020. Russia, on the other hand, is home to the top three largest diamond mines in the world. The Mir mine was once the largest in the world but it has dropped to the third largest. Estimates put the carat count at 141 million. The second largest in the world is the Udachny mine, with an estimated capacity of more than 152 million carats. The trophy for the largest diamond mine in the world, goes to the Jubilee Diamond Mine which contains more than 153 million carats of diamonds. In 2012 alone, 10.4 million carats were produced by this mine. That’s a lot of shiny stones for sure!
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AUSTRALIA ADVANCES CHANGE: FROM MINING TO DINING A multitude of people attended a lunch meeting at Sydney’s Randwick Racecourse on Saturday to discuss China’s demand for Australian produce and Australia’s desire to supply it. This event was hosted by the Australian Turf Club (ATC), as part of its inaugural Chinese Racing Festival, a new strategy to attract the lucrative Chinese market for its long term viability. According to the ATC Executive Darren Pierce, Chinese like luxury experiences and fashion. While watching the racetrack, Australia-China Primary Industries Council headed the discussions between the two countries’ government dignitaries and businessmen,
they also included Federal Trade Minister, Andrew Robb. Since the mining resource industry in Australia has come to a halt, a kick-start for the Australian economy is needed. Their next best bet is agriculture. According to organizer Edmund So, Australian farmers have the capacity to produce more but aren’t, because they don’t know how to sell overseas. He added that the key concerns from the Chinese perspective were secure supply chains so buyers can depend on a constant flow of produce and secure prices. This will be a great opportunity for the Australian economy. More job opportunities will be available for the masses.
Photo by AustralianTurfClub
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MAN-MADE DIAMONDS: TURNING THE DEAD INTO GEMS
“The diamond’s evolution has ended” says the successful company behind the manmade diamonds now trending in the market. In the Forbes interview of the company’s leader, Harry Burl, he detailed how he have come up with the business idea and shared a quick overview of the company. In 2010, while looking for domains to purchase and engage lucrative ventures, he came across to a not yet registered domain – manmadediamonds.com. From there, he researched a lot about it and figured out to keep the domain for himself. After six years, he is running the most successful business in the diamond making industry in the country. As we all know, diamonds are purely carbon based crystals and we can get it naturally from diamond mines mostly in Africa. But did you know that we can now make diamonds in
the lab that are as pure as the natural ones? Yes! You will need a carbon seed and blast them with hydrogen and methane gas to grow the crystal. Voila! Diamonds produced will be just like long lost twin of the mined ones! These synthetic diamonds can be grown in the laboratory for about eight to twelve weeks. Some say that these diamonds also cost 30 percent less than that of the natural ones. But what if we say that they get these diamonds from the dead? Would you wear it? Harry Burl says that the company gets its feed from the cremated ashes from the funeral homes. Basically, we can extract carbon from our hairs and dead ashes. In fact, it is more economical and environment friendly especially to anti-mining movements. It is also more ethical than the blood diamonds made out of
child labor and exploitation. Although creating diamonds from our loved ones is a sensitive market, Burl said that they have a special approach that us both intellectually and emotionally appealing when it comes to their customers. They are cautious in the process with the customer’s peace of mind as the uppermost priority. Diamonds should be as pure as their own content, the company says. They are also producing diamonds for wedding and engagement rings. You can also order a conflict free ring with no personal carbon ashes. Designs and orders of these diamonds are available on their website. And I can say that they really protrude adamantine luster. Indeed, diamonds are forever.
Photo by forbes
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NICKEL VALUE TO LESSEN IN 2017, BMI REPORTS
Photo by flickr
Experts predict the decline in nickel value in the next 3 months. Business Monitor International or BMI released a research report indicates that the nickel market will loosen in 2017. They also predicted that refined nickel prices will reach $10,000 - $11,000 per tonne in the upcoming quarter. This is due to the shortage of 3.1 thousand tonnes from the Philippines and other contributing factors from high Chinese imports. Analysts commented that the best price that nickel would reack then would be at $12,000 - $13,000 per tonne. That said, BMI forecasts that as soon as 2017 starts, the value will start to lessen as the global market moves into
27.2 thousand tonnes over. The study also mentions that China’s consumption will grow lesser in the next year for two reasons. First, nickel pig iron from Indonesia serves as a more economic alternative as compared to refined nickel. Second, the effects of the losing hype from the housing stimulus in 2017 will cause deterioration in steel production causing it to revert to its previous lows.
Photo by flickr
QUEBEC SAYS ‘HELLO’ TO THEIR FIRST DIAMOND MINE Curtains rise as Quebec welcomes their first diamond mine.
Photo by Imgur
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Stornoway Diamond Corporation has announced the opening of their Renard diamond mine in Quebec last week. Although the mine has already been in the production stage since midJuly, it wasn’t until Thursday, Oct 20, when they opened their curtains officially. The ceremony was attended by Quebec’s minister of energy and natural resources, Pierre Arcand, who is also responsible for the plans of revitalizing northern Quebec’s infrastructures, Plan Nord. The ceremony marks the 20
years of work on the Renard Project, which started from a green-field exploration to a full operational mining system for diamonds. Other dignitaries that attended the event were Richard Shecapio, Chief of the Cree Nation of Mistissini, Manon Cyr, mayor of Chibougamau, Jean Boucher, member of the Quebec National Assembly for Ungava, and Steve Gamache, mayor of Chapais. The mine is situated 250km north of the Cree Nation of Mistissini and 350km north of Chibogamau in northcentral Quebec.
Photo by ABCAustralia
The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission is positive that South Australia’s uranium exports could triple by 2040, if they could simply maintain its market share of the global uranium supply sector. The commission also predicts that it would potentially increase by a factor of three as nuclear energy had doubled. The findings of the commission indicate an increase in uranium mining and milling would add more than $300 million to state GSP; and despite that increase, job generation would go high as much; only
Photo by LucaraDiamond
Last year, Lucara Diamond - a Canadian mining company - was able to discover the three-billionyear old diamond at the Lucara’s Karowe mine. The diamond was called “Lesedi La Rona” which means “our light”. The diamond was said to be the largest type IIa diamond discovered in 100 years. It’s a huge 1,109-carat stone that is the size of a tennis ball. The company expected
URANIUM EXPORTS IN AUSTRALIA MAY TRIPLE BY 2040 about 800 jobs on a fulltime basis are expected to be created over the next 14 years. If the growth in value of the uranium mining industry steadies at 32% by 20292030 in South Australia, it would represent significant growth in activity in regional areas, but little effect on real gross state product on an economy-wide basis. South Australian uranium production in 2014-2015 amounts to about $346.5 million, with associated royalties of $15.9 million.
Photo by AustralianInvestmentEducation
NOBODY WANTED TO PAY $70 MILLION FOR THIS DIAMOND to earn $70 million from it however, the bid was lower than what was expected during a Sotheby’s auction in London last Wednesday. The highest bid it received was only $61 million. Reports say that trading with Lucara was 16% down in Toronto recently.
Photo by LucaraDiamond
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Will Hodgman Photo by TheAdvocate
The Tasmanian government has seen a new opportunity to bring back to life an Australia’s oldest mine. In an interview with NDTV, the premier of Tasmania Will Hodgman announced that the Tasmanian government plans to restart a copper mine that was once the property of Australia. This announcement came after Hodgman's trade mission to India. The Mt Lyell copper mine is set to restart next year. He said, "It is a sizable operation and at its peak could employ well over 300 Tasmanians. So it is an important opportunity for us to demonstrate our
TASMANIAN GOVERNMENT WILL TAKE OVER AUSTRALIA’S OLDEST MINE support to Vedanta, the Copper Mines of Tasmania.” The copper mine started operating back in 1896 as a gold mine. It has produced around 62 tonnes of gold, 1,300 tonnes of silver and over 1.8 million tonnes of copper. Hodgman said the mine has the capacity to produce around 30,000 tonnes of copper per year. The Mount Lyell mine has been under maintenance two years ago due to the accidents which led to the deaths of three workers. One died from a mudslide while the other two were killed in a mine shaft accident.
Photo by TheMercury
TURNING ASTEROIDS INTO SPACECRAFTS FOR MINING Since our mineral resources are starting to run out, a lot of companies are looking into the possibility of asteroid mining. But wait, it’s not that easy. There are still a lot of challenges ahead as companies develop the right technologies for outer space mining. At least the US has already worked on the legal aspect of mining in asteroids though. But how is it possible for asteroid mining to occur when it’s not very economical for companies to send spacecrafts to space and collect minerals? A 3D printing company (based in Mountain View, California) just had a brilliant idea. Made In Space suggested that we’d let the asteroids come to us instead. According to Mike Wall from Space.com, this concept is called
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Reconstituting Asteroids into Mechanical Automata, RAMA. This technology uses 3D printing that turns asteroids into selfflying vehicles. An unmanned spacecraft would be launched into space and goes to an asteroid. It’ll mine minerals and uses these samples into a 3D print simple propulsion, then sends them to our planet. As soon as it’s done with the asteroid, it’ll move on to the next one. NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts program gave $100,000 to the concept to provide funds for its feasibility studies. We’ll just have to see if this becomes a reality for all of us.
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Photo by Space.com
10 SURPRISING TRIVIA ABOUT THE MINING INDUSTRY When people hear about the mining industry, the first thing that comes into their mind is, yes, you’ve guessed it—gold and diamonds. Well, you’re not wrong, but it isn’t simply limited there. Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals, and other useful geological materials from the earth that our world uses for different applications. It’s a profession that has helped and given work to countless countries for hundreds of years. The mining industry has a rich history, and there are a lot of aspects about the mining indu`stry you might not yet be familiar with.
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Mining has been proven to have occurred as far back as 4000 B.C.
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Along the Lake Superior are, there are several early copper mines that are estimated to be around 5000 years old.
The oldest mine in the world, “Lion’s Cave” is located in Swaziland. By using radiocarbon dating, they were able to find the age of this iron oxide mine—43,000 years old.
#3
The gold mines of Nubia were not just the largest in ancient Egypt, it was also the most extensive.
3-ton copper nugget found in Lake Superior Photo by Blogspot
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Did you know that Spanish gold was not necessarily from Spain? There was a great deal of gold and silver that came from the colonial Americas and then was brought to Spain.
#9 Gold mine to expand in Nubian Desert Photo by Blogspot
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The Romans were the ones to develop mining on a larger scale. They devised methods such as hydraulic mining and hushing.
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The most commonly used form of excavation type in mining today is surface mining.
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The Bingham Canyon Mine located in Utah is the largest man-made excavation in the world. Its pit is greater than 0.75 mile in depth and it is 2.5 miles in width. It was turned into a National Landmark in 1966.
The first record of the usage of black powder for mining was in the year 1627, in what is now Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia. Back then, the location was called Selmecbánya, Kingdom of Hungary.
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The first academy for mining was established in in Selmecbánya, Kingdom of Hungary in 1762. Bingham Canyon Mine Photo by Wikimedia
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MECHANICAL ENGINEERS WHO SHAPED THE MECHANICAL INDUSTRY OF TODAY Mechanical engineering is known as one of the oldest and broadest disciplines that applies and connects the fields of engineering, physics, and material science to be used in design, manufacturing, analysis as well as maintenance of mechanical systems. This field of engineering requires a deep understanding of mechanics, kinematics, thermodynamics, material science, structural analysis as well as electricity. Here are some notable mechanical engineers who shaped the mechanical industry of today.
James Watt FRS FRSE
1736-1819 James Watt, was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, chemist and scientist who significantly improved Thomas Newcomen’s 1712 Newcomen steam engine with the Watt steam engine in 1736. His new team engine was a very important to the changes that were brought about by the Industrial Revolution in both Great Britain and the whole world. He is now called the Father of the Steam Age, as well as the Founder of Mechanical Engineering. He is responsible for the concept of horsepower, and the SI unit of power, Watt, was coined after him.
James Hall Nasmyth
1808-1890 James Hall Nasmyth was a Scottish engineer, artist and inventor who is well known for his development of the steam hammer. He was the co-founder of Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company manufacturers of machine tools. Photo by TodayInSci
Photo by Britannica
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William George Armstrong
1810-1900 William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong CB FRS was an English industrialist, scientist, inventor and philanthropist who is the founder of Armstrong Whitworth manufacturing concern on Tyneside. He worked together with the architect Richard Norman Shaw in building the Cragside in Northumberland, which was the first house in the world that was lit by hydroelectricity. He is the inventor of modern artillery, the hydraulic crane, hydroelectric machine, accumulator, as well as the Armstrong Gun. Photo by WondersOfWorldEngineering
Nikola Tesla
1856 –1943 Nikola Tesla is more well known in the field of electricity, but he is a great mechanical engineer as well. He is also an electrical engineer, physicist as well as a futurist. He is well known for his contributions in the design of the modern AC (alternating current) electricity supply system. He has designed and invented numerous machines that has helped the world, some of these are the induction motor, rotating magnetic field, the Tesla coil, as well as the Radio remote control vehile (torpedo). Photo by Wikimedia
Kate Gleason
1865-1933 Kate Gleason is known as the first female member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. She did not have any detailed training in the field of engineering, but she was able to make a name for herself as one of the very few accomplished women engineers in her era. She is also known to be a successful businesswoman, and is a role model for many other career women in the 19th century America. Photo by EngineerGirl
Gustaf Dalén
1869-1937 Gustaf Dalén was a Swedish Nobel Laureate who is responsible for the invention of automatic regulators, AGA cooker, the Dalén light, and many others. He founded the AGA company, an industrial gas company which later was combined into Line AG. His automatic regulators were used with gas accumulators that were used for illuminating lighthouses and buoys. He then was called "the benefactor of sailors." In 1912, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work.
Aurel Stodola
1859-1942 Aurel Stodola was an engineer and inventor in Slovakia. A lot of his work centered on thermodynamics and has contributed to several scientific fields. He spent almost half of his life teaching at the Institute of Technology in Zurich and during that time was consulted for help on the improvement of the gas turbine. His work as an educator has helped a lot of young minds into engineering, including those of the greatest minds of our age.
George Stephenson
1781-1848 Known as the ‘Father of Railways’, George Stephenson was a pioneer inventor in the fields of civil and mechanical engineering. The British inventor led to the creation of the world’s first inter-city railway line that ran using steam locomotives which was available for public use. Aside from that big innovation, Stephenson is also credited with the creation of Rocket, the most famous railway locomotive of his era. Photo by History
Photo by Wikimedia
Photo by Wikimedia
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JHARIA, THE HOME OF INDIA’S BLACK DIAMONDS Jharia, The mining central of India in the Dhanbad district of Jharkand, is responsible for the highest concentration of coal in India. Although this region is considered one of the wealthier parts of the country due to the quantity of natural resources, the locals who live here are one of the most underprivileged in the country, and are trying to adapt with the consequences that India’s rapid growth has brought.
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According to state government, because of Jharia’s uncontrollable coal mine fires, the town of Jharia will be shifted. These coal mine fires have led to loss of property and lives. The government thinks that shifting the town will help in exploiting coal, which still remains unmined, worth around RS. 60,000 crores ($12 Billion) Since the fire started burning in Jharia, the whole town has been shrouded in
a cload-mix of toxic fumes. This has put the lives of nearby villages and towns in danger. A number of people have already died and been displaced, but some are still stubbornly staying in the town. Photographer Seb Heseltine visited Jharia town in 2015, to complete his photo portfolio project for London College of Communication. His photo shows the lives of the towns people in Jharia. Photos by SebHeseltine
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WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT by Dion Greg Reyes
Photo by WalleniusWilhelsemLogistics
Every Caterpillar, Komatsu, Case, Volvo, and Deere equipment in use at construction sites today are products of a careful developmental study in manufacturing. Ever since
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industrialization began, builders and engineers sought for advanced construction equipment and machines that will render smooth site operations at minimum costs. Today, we have all the basic
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construction equipment we need. Using excavators, backhoes, loaders, cranes, and rollers, among others we have formed and built engineering marvels. Engineers always find a way to maximize the use of these equipment. And yet, we could take advantage of modern technology to further exploit the use of these equipment, and to develop more machines that will help in forwarding construction methods. There are essentially three areas which are the focus of construction equipment manufacturers in relating its past, present, and future. Once these three – hydraulics, engines, and computer
systems – are engineered to be better than its current state, they lead to lower maintenance costs, decreased operation costs, improved efficiency and reliability, and longer machine life. Excavators, backhoes, and loaders have hydraulics embedded in them to lift, load and unload materials and objects. Mobility of these equipment relies in this system. What emerging hydraulic technologies can do is optimize both hydraulic flow and pressure, including the ability to modulate both. They will largely affect the equipment’s efficiency, versatility, and lifting capabilities.
Photo by HSCBSG
There are still so much to forward with engine controls, fuel injection systems, and the engine combustion process. When engineers work to improve these areas about the engines in construction equipment, it will yield increased fuel efficiency and decreased amount of harmful emissions into the air. The greatest impact in redesigning the engine is in the environment, being a critical issue in the construction equipment industry. Computer systems are only a recent integration with construction equipment, but they make waves for enhanced site performance.
Digitization, including GPS navigation, allows more effective monitoring in machine operations, more analyzed fuel efficiency, much controlled hydraulics, and reliable reporting of machine performance – all of which are in the end part of the construction process. While these three are existing areas that seek improvement, there is also a room for creativity in the manufacture of construction equipment by producing hybrids and using 3D printing. There are already existing hybrid excavators and hybrid bulldozers, which will continue to flourish as manufacturers look in this area to accelerate
site operations. But there’s a more current technology, the 3D printing or additive manufacturing, which takes production of construction equipment to an entirely new level. It allows modelling of equipment parts like cabs, booms, and buckets, as 3D printing provide design allowances not found in conventional manufacturing. Efficiency, quality, and safety are the cores of construction equipment. And they remain to be so in the future, just catching up with modern technology.
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Photo by SaskatchewanPolytechnic
GETTING TO KNOW: THE WORK OF A MINING ENGINEER The field of mining engineering is all about searching for deposits of natural resources and extracting them efficiently while minimizing risks. It is that discipline in engineering where natural resources like gravel, coal, copper, iron, tungsten, gold, and silver are unearthed. Other than what the name suggests, it is the job of mining engineers to ensure the safe and efficient development of mines and other surface and underground operations. Mining engineers should be familiar of these structures on their surrounding environment paired with the technical knowledge and management skills. The scope of work of mining
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engineers covers assessment of mining ventures up to the site operations, and even distribution. Mining engineers undertake feasibility studies, model or design potential mine sites, and prepares plans for mines like tunnels and shafts for underground mines. In the operations, mining engineers are tasked to ensure that procedures run smoothly, activities are being monitored, and more importantly the safety of the workers and the site or mine is upheld. This job has high risks especially when underground, so mining engineers have the responsibility to oversee underground issues like lighting and ventilation. Being able to work as a mining
engineer, one needs to have a degree in one of these courses: civil engineering; geology; mine and quarry engineering; minerals surveying; and mining and mineral engineering. Mining engineers can be employed in mining companies, mining finance and consultancy companies, environmental consultancies, quarrying and extraction companies, and major manufacturing and construction companies. They can earn a median annual salary of $90,160 in May 2014 according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Most Dangerous Engineering Jobs All jobs have its potential dangers, and with developing technology and computers in our workplaces, injuries and accidents at work are decreasing. However, some jobs in the engineering and technology field are more dangerous than others. Many engineering jobs still involve huge machinery which needs to be used safely to avoid accidents. Here’s a list of some of the most dangerous engineering industries.
Construction Photo by Linkedin
The construction industry is known for its strict approaches to health and safety. If proper safety rules are not followed or are taken for granted, accidents may happen and this can lead to injuries or even death. In the construction industry, one has always have to be alert when working. Most injuries and deaths was due to falling from heights and being trapped by something collapsing.
Manufacturing
Photo by SRMax
The manufacturing industry can be dangerous if process manuals are not followed or if manufacturing machines are not operated properly. Accidents like electrocution, falling debris, and machine overload could lead to injuries or worse, death. Such accidents can also happen if employees do not wear proper protective equipment.
Mining and quarrying This sector can be considered as one of the most dangerous jobs for engineers. Different accidents can happen, such as cave-ins, flood, gas explosions, chemical leakage, and even electrocution. These days, it is important to be able to work proficiently with both heavy machinery and computers while making sure that health and safety in the workplace is a top priority. Photo by FirstPeopleSolutions
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Photo by ETHZürich
THIS IS HOW MUCH A MINING AND / OR GEOLOGICAL ENGINEER EARNS What exactly is the difference between a mining engineer and a geological engineer? What does each one of them do? Do they get paid enough? How much do they earn annually? Does working as a mining or a geological engineer mean working in isolated areas in mountains? Will one still have a social life when working? A geological engineer usually does the research in order to locate where the possible mineral deposits are. They go to these sites and evaluate them. If any of the places becomes a site where they can extract valuable minerals, a geological engineer plans how to extract them in the most efficient and most environmental friendly way. The mining engineer specializes in one particular mineral and also does the same job as the geological engineer in finding the most efficient way to extract the minerals from the mining site. Their work may sound easy but in real life, the work is hard and dangerous. Mining sites can go deep down under the ground. With lack of ventilation, power and water,
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it’s the engineer’s job to plan also a safe way of getting the work done efficiently. These engineers also work with geoscientists and metallurgical engineers. To become a mining and /or a geological engineer, one must earn a bachelor’s degree in an accredited engineering program and pass the licensure exam (which vary from state to state and country to country). There are states that require engineers to continue earning education credits to keep their licenses. One must hone in on their analytical skills, decision-making and problem solving skills. These engineers also use a lot of advanced math principles, so that’s a lot of math for them. They also need to develop their writing skills since they must prepare reports and instructions for everyone in the company. These engineers work in offices of consulting companies or mining firms so they most likely live in urban areas. Some of them have to work in remote areas where minerals are usually found. Don’t worry, locals from the community will entertain them.
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How much are they earning? Engineers earn different annual wages in different fields. For those who offer engineering services, the median annual wage is around $78,560. Those who are part of the metal ore and coal mining industry, they earn around $85,000. While engineers who work in the oil and gas extraction field are earning the most with $115,860. For the mining and geological engineering students, the future is bright for them because by the year 2024, many engineers will retire by then. Also, not everyone can easily become one because of the educational and licensing requirements, so there won’t be too many competition in the field.
HOW DO I BECOME A MINING ENGINEER? Mining engineering is one of the smallest fields in engineering but it is one of the most important jobs in our world today—and it is still growing.
Photo by forbes
Mining Engineering jobs are projected to rise in the next years, that’s why many are pursuing a course in this field. Relatively, mining engineering is one of the smallest fields in engineering but it is one of the most important jobs in our world today— and it is still growing. To understand the nature of this field more, here is a short description about mining engineering. What is a Mining Engineer? Mining engineers are responsible for designing safe and efficient mines for removing coal and metals. They are responsible for optimizing mines for extracting resources in the most efficient and effective way that is possible. They also make sure that they extract as much of the resource as possible. Mining engineers, more often than not, have their own specialization in a certain metal or mineral. There are those that work together with geologists so they will be able to find and evaluate new ore deposits. On the other hand, there are those that specialize in developing or improving mining equipment, manage
processing operations that segregate and refine minerals. There are mining safety engineers as well. They implement the best practices in the field, conduct mine and equipment inspections, monitor the air quality, and make sure that their company complies with all the safety regulations to keep the workers safe. What do Mining Engineers Do? Mainly, mining engineers design underground mines as well as open-pit mines, they supervise the construction of structures in the mines, planning of transportation of minerals to processing plants, monitor production, and do reports as well. These professionals assess the geological characteristics of mining sites to find the best structures and equipment as well as process that fit the mine best. They also make sure that the operations conducted are environmentally sound. Get a Mining Engineer Degree To become a mining engineer, the first step you have to take is
to finish a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering or geological engineer. Since there are very few schools around the globe which offer mining engineering programs, students who do not have access to a university that offers such may need to specialize in this area from within general engineering programs. Some programs in mining engineering include geology, mine design and safety, physics, and mathematics. Where do Mining Engineers Work Many mining engineers work in mining operations in locations that are remote. However, there are some that work in sand-andgravel operations that are found nearby cities. As time goes by, some may work their way up to officebased positions in mining firms or consultation companies which are in business districts or metropolitan areas. Most mining engineers work full time. Those who work in remote locations have schedules with different shifts that exceed 40 hours per week.
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CIVIL ENGINEERS WHO SHAPED THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OF TODAY From sturdy bridges to enormous skyscrapers, all these are here in our modern world thanks to the efforts of civil engineers. Civil engineering has been one of the oldest professions in the world, their roots date back to between 4000 and 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley Civilization, as well as Mesopotamia, when nomadic people decided to settle and build permanent homes as their shelter. Many civil engineers have revolutionized the world with their creations, and though a lot of people take these creations for granted, everyone should recognize that almost every modern day structure you see today are all thanks to the genius of these engineers. Here are some civil engineers who shaped the construction industry of today.
John Smeaton
Benjamin Wright
Squire Whipple
1724 – 1792 John Smeaton was an English civil engineer (the first self-proclaimed civil engineer) who was responsible for the design of numerous bridges, canals, harbours as well as lighthouses. He is commonly called as the Father of Civil Engineering. Thanks to his research and innovations on waterwheels and windmills, he was able to contribute to the efficiency of the industrial revolution. Smeaton was also a mechanical engineer and a well-known physicist.
1770 – 1842 Benjamin Wright was an American civil engineer who was the chief engineer of the Erie Canal and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. He started his career as a surveyor and planner before being the chief engineer of these canals’ construction. In the year 1969, the American Society of Civil Engineers declared Wright as the "Father of American Civil Engineering". He had 9 children, wherein 5 of them followed his footsteps and became civil engineers as well.
1804 – 1888 Squire Whipple was a civil engineer who was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts, USA. He has become wellknown as the Father of iron bridge building in America. His designs have been used across the globe, including Benjamin Wright’s Erie Canal. His patents are as follows U.S. Patent 2,064 – Bowstring iron-bridge truss (1841) U.S. Patent 134,338 – Lift draw bridge
Photo by Wikimedia
Photo by ConnecticutHistory
Photo by Oneidacountyhistory
Isambard Kingdom Brunel 1806 – 1859 Isambard Kingdom Brunel, an English mechanical and civil engineer, has been considered to be one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th century engineering giants", and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, [who] changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions". He built dockyards, the Great Western Railway, numerous steamships which include the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and a number of important bridges and tunnels. His designs have revolutionized public transport as well as modern engineering. In 2002, a public poll named Brunel the second greatest Briton. Photo by PrimaryFacts
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Ellen Swallow Richards
Dr John Job Crew Bradfield
Emily Warren Roebling
William LeBaron Jenney
(1842 – 1911) Ellen Swallow Richards was an American pioneer in engineering. She was the first woman ever to be admitted into a school of science and technology she was also the first woman to earn a degree in chemistry. She was a key founder of environmental engineering. Her contribution in the field of civil engineering is her efforts in research on soil quality.
1867 – 1943 Dr John Job Crew Bradfield is a prominent Australian engineer who supervised the design and construction of the famous and iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.
1843 –1903 Emily Warren Roebling is considered as the world’s first female field engineer. She is known for her contribution to the completion of the famous Brooklyn Bridge after her husband, Washington Roebling, had developed caisson disease. Her husband was a civil engineer, as well as the Chief Engineer during the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. Emily, who studied alongside her husband and capable of the task at hand, took over as chief field engineer of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.
1832 – 1907 William LeBaron Jenney, an American architect and engineer, is wellknown for building the first skyscraper in the year 1884. He became to be known as the Father of the American Skyscraper. In the year 1998, he was ranked as number 89 in the book “1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ranking the Men and Women Who Shaped the Millennium”.
Photo by What-when-how
Photo by Newsapi
"Kate" Gleason 1865 – 1933 Catherine Anselm "Kate" Gleason was an American engineer and entrepreneur who is known for being an accomplished woman in the engineering field where males were dominant. She is responsible for inventing massproduced, low cost housing built out of concrete. Photo by Wikimedia
Catherine Anselm
Photo by Pinterest
Photo by Wikipedia
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Photo by: Express
EXPLORING THE DEEP SEA FOR MINERALS We already have lots of mines on land to meet the demands of mankind when it comes to mineral resources. But it seems that they are not enough, and so many countries and companies now look at the deep seafloor as new sites of mining. Seabed mining is perhaps the youngest form of mining. There are only few technologies that explore the deep seafloor, under the permission of a special body concerned in seabed mining exploration called the International Seabed Authority. This organization is created by the United Nations to control the activities of countries interested in mineral riches in the ocean. It has so far granted over one million square kilometers of claims for mining exploration in the high seas of the Pacific,
Atlantic and Indian Oceans to at least 16 countries. There are parts of the seas, most of which have the minerals and biodiversity, which are outside the legal jurisdiction of countries and therefore considered heritage global resources over which we are all trustees. The group is responsible for delegating the protection of these areas. Deep sea mining is a relatively new industry, and there are fears that this will be abused. With the use of robotic bulk cutters and other heavy mining machines, it is likely that the marine environment will be affected once the seabed mining activities will not be regulated or monitored. The worst things that could happen with the marine ecosystems are the loss of unique species and the destruction of sensitive deep sea habitats. But ocean scientists around the world are suggesting
precautions, like explore current and future areas of mining interest as to identify proactively which species are at risk; plan out which mining regions need to be preserved at most; and carefully observe the intensity and scale of the disturbances caused by seabed mining once they start operations. If mining companies will not be careful with the rich, fragile marine life that exists deep in our seabeds, the damages are irreversible. The challenge is to take out the minerals from the seabed, while still preserving the marine life – and that can only be done if we understand how species and ecosystems on that part of the Earth work.
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THIS COMPANY WANTS TO MINE GOLD AND PLATINUM ON ASTEROIDS 70
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Photo by PlanetaryResources We all know that our resources of gold and platinum are only limited so scientists and engineers want to mine these elements inside asteroids. Yes, you read that right. People are planning to mine asteroids! The Deep Space Industries (DSI) is teaming up with the Luxembourg government to work on its project, Prospector-X. This project involves designing and deploying a hunting spacecraft for mining explorations. Although the project doesn’t have a specific date for release, the people
behind the project wants it to launch soon. Prospector-X isn’t exactly the giant space vehicle you’d expect it to be. It’s as small as a size of a loaf, about 30 cm long. It really wouldn’t be landing on any asteroids though. What scientists and engineers plan to do is to have Prospector-X spend time around a lowEarth orbit and tests the system designs provided by DSI. Equipped with a dualcamera optical navigation system and an electrothermal thruster, it will test the technologies developed by DSI.
Aside from Deep Space Industries (DSI), another popular company known for its space projects is Planetary Resources. It launched a similar project called Arkyd 3R from the International Space Station last year. Although both companies don’t have the technology to mine from an asteroid yet, it is legally prohibited to do so as well. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 bans countries from launching weapons of mass destruction on space.
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Photo by ProjectsIQ
WORLD’S 40 BIGGEST MINING COMPANIES Listed in PwC’s report called Mine 2015 showed the largest mining companies in 2015. Not only that, the report also presented devastating statistics about the mining industry. Mine 2015 indicated that the top companies suffered their first collective net loss in history which accounts to $27 billion; a decline in collective market capitalization of 37%; the lowest return on capital ever; asset impairment
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totalling $53 billion; record high leverage of 46%, and operating expenditure cuts of $83 billion. The top 40 list is composed of re-entries, that moved up and down, and new entrants. The market capitalization threshold of the companies remained consistent at $4.5 despite the said declining statistics. Twelve Chinese companies are on the list and six are from Canada. Two notable companies that fell
off the list are Canada’s First Quantum and Teck Resources. It’s not entirely bad news though, as there is a sector that had an increase in market value, which was the rare earths with the world's top producer of the 17 elements jumping 23 places in the ranking. Here are the top 40 biggest mining companies as of 2015:
Photo by PwCMine2015
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INSIDE THE WORLD’S LARGEST UNDERGROUND MINE
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In the Chilean community of Machali in Cachapoal Province, in the Andes mountain range, lies the world’s largest underground mine. Called the El Teniente, it holds underground copper operations, which is the sixth biggest in the world by reserve size. Codelco, the stateowned copper miner and the world’s largest copper producer, owns and operates El Teniente. As of 2015, the underground mine has more than 3,000 kilometers of tunnels and about 1,500 kilometers of underground roads. It yields more than 400,000 metric tons of refined copper per year – in 2013, they managed to reach a 450,000tonne output; and in January to November of 2014, about 423,100 tonnes of copper were mined. It comprises six mining blocks around the Braden Pipe at different elevations including the Esmeralda, Reservas Norte,
All Photos by CodelcoViaMining.com
Diablo Regimiento and Pipa Norte. The operations of Codelco are divided into seven, namely Chuquicamata, Radomiro Tomic, Ministro Hales, Andina, El Teniente, Salvador, and Gabriela Mistral. Massive ores are hauled daily through a railroad system, leading to the surface. They are crushed in plants and conveyed to a concentrator where a copper concentrate is produced. This is sent to a nearby smelter. This underground copper mine boasts as one of the first mines to deploy a semi-automated load haul dumpers for ore extraction. They did it in 2004. El Teniente’s huge copper deposit was discovered early in the 19th century. It was in 1905 when U.S.-based Braden Copper Company started operations on the site, with block caving used for extracting ore.
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OLD COUPLE WOKE UP TO SINKHOLE CAUSED BY OLD MINING SHAFT What if you wake up one day to find out that your simple garden had a huge sinkhole on it? That is exactly what happened to a retired couple’s backyard one Monday where a sinkhole suddenly appeared and grew to a diameter of 15 meters on Tuesday night. This was the result of an old mining shaft which wasn’t used for decades already. Lynnette McKay and her husband had people from the mines department review the sinkhole to find out who should be responsible in repairing the hole. According to McKay, people were bringing in pumps and other things to check the situation. She adds, “ “We were seriously shocked. It was 1885 apparently all the mining started out around these areas. I just got that bit of information from a person [whose] father worked in the mines.” While the sinkhole happened because of a shaft used for mining below the ground, this isn’t the first time that sinkholes and collapsed surfaces have occurred in Ipswich. The place used to be known for its underground mines but has been a residential suburbs for some time already. According to Jim Leggate, a former mines department environmental officer, “The engineering of those mines was pretty good but part of their operations was the collaptive roof supports [timber pillars and beams that inevitably rot] and in certain locations that would cause surface subsidence. And it was an inevitability that was conveniently ignored in the [mining leases].The problem is a lot of those underground mines there were operated under mining leases that didn’t extend to the surface.” These days, Ipswich no longer has a mining industry. But it definitely shows everyone that the past finds a way to haunt us.
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Photo by QuietCorner
Photo by BrisbaneTimes
LITHIUM DEMAND BOOMS AHEAD by Farrel Pinto
Photo by EarthsPhysicsTeaching
Photo by Weebly
Lithium Australia mulls deeper project and funding in lithium as potential demand grows in the emergence of renewable and portable storage technology. The Pilgangoora project in Western Australia is expected to expand its scope for mining lithium as the area was confirmed to be a pegmatite zone. Pegmatite is the ore containing lithium “I think we’re talking about a paradigm shift in the way people think about power”, Adrian Griffin, Managing Director of Lithium Australia, said pertaining to renewables and storage like lithium-ion batteries. The company recently completed a $6.55 million share replacement
in one of the worst weeks in the trading history. This however added potentials to its business model for a $29 million fundraising drive. Lithium Australia’s stock trading jumped 13.3% higher, representing 80% more since the mid-January. The company’s confidence for plan expansion was led by its recent successful production of lithium hydroxide. Lithium hydroxide is an added chemical used in production of batteries and represents a big market at the back of increased electric car manufacture. Adrian Griffin believes that lithium can be traded either as carbonate or hydroxide and that the market is hungry for both.
He also added that the lithium carbonate is at $10,000 per ton and the lithium hydroxide at $14,000 per ton spotting a very significant price increase in the late 2015. For instance, Lithium carbonate was at low trade in early December for $10, 0540 but increased highly late in December at $14,362. It is expected that more companies will be investing in lithium production as stocks have been increasing due to forecasted demands of lithium batteries in the future.
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Photo by ResolutionPossible
Photo by SMI
Photo by BritanniaMining
Photo by RoyalBafokengPlatinum
How Mining Companies Give Back To Communities Mining companies get a bad reputation for most people who do not understand the importance of what they are doing. For anti-mining activists, the extraction of minerals and metals from different lands lead to the destruction of the environment. This is what some people would like to believe. Forget the importance of the metals and minerals extracted to supply society’s demands - mining is bad for the environment, mining is bad for us. That’s exactly what anti-mining organizations want us to believe. But through responsible mining and proper information dissemination, mining companies can shed some light on the benefits of the activity and how it’s not necessarily bad for the environment at all. Another thing they do is to involve the communities where mining companies are located in their activities through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. These are voluntary actions that will help benefit the communities
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involved. Whether it benefits the locals socially, economically or environmentally, mining companies would take the initiative to offer programs that could help people and have a better relationship with them. As we all know, the future of a mining company depends on the relations between the company and the locals. If the locals don’t support a mining company, chances are there will be delays on future projects and problems in getting permits for an operation to push through. So what exactly do these companies offer in their CSR programs? There are a lot of choices for different communities. The most common program involves development of different infrastructure. Roads will be built to provide better transportation while hospitals and schools will become available for the community as well. Since mining companies are found in rural areas, electricity may also be prioritized for the
community. Jobs are also given to the locals. Not only are the jobs available to provide people with income, some companies offer jobs that involve training to prepare these people for a sustainable living. These programs may be beneficial to the community even if mining companies leave them after operation. Lastly, CSR programs may involve building social capital. To give back to communities, companies can provide free education for the children to go to school to. They can provide families on different types of information including family planning, HIV prevention, proper hygiene and many more. While some people still question the ulterior motives of mining companies in having the initiative to do these programs, we really can’t help but approve of these CSR programs. After all, they still get to help different communities improve their way of life.
South Africa Photo by 911Metallurgist
France Photo by Wikimedia
MINING DISASTERS YOU NEVER WANT TO WITNESS Working in a mining site is not an easy job. In fact, working in one means knowing you may never get to live to see the bright skies and your families if you’re not too careful at your job. Sometimes, unfortunate accidents happen and cause a lot of consequences to different mining companies. Given the risks involved in mining, a lot of companies make sure that they practice safe work ethics. Of course, one still couldn’t avoid an accident. The world witnessed a lot of horrifying accidents that caused a lot of lives. If there’s one thing people can learn from these events, it’s that companies should invest a lot on making sure everyone who works for them are safe in the workplace. It also pays to hire the best crisis management team in case of emergencies. In this article, we list down some of the mining industry’s worst accidents that ever happened:
In South Africa
China Photo by 911Metallurgist
The mine disaster in Coalbrook, South Africa urged the South Africans to change the way companies dealt with the work safety issues. Back in 1960, 437 miners were trapped in a section of the Coalbrook mine because of a rock fall. Due to methane poisoning, only 20 people survived because no equipment was able to take the workers out of the mine. This lead the companies to invest on a suitable rescue drilling equipment.
In France
Around 1099 people died when a coal-dust explosion destroyed the Courrieres mine in 1906. Two-thirds of the miners working there died. Children also died in the explosion. Those who survived suffered from burns and got sick by the gases.
In China
In the Benxihu Colliery, a coal-dust explosion occurred back in 1942. The accident cost 1,549 lives and it took around 10 days to remove all the bodies.
In Wales (United Kingdom) Wales (United Kingdom) Photo by WalesOnline
Back in 1913, the famous Senghenydd Colliery disaster happened. A methane explosion occurred which ignited a coal dust. Around 439 miners were killed and is considered the most deadly mine accident in United Kingdom.
In Japan
An accident occurred in the Japanese Mitsubishi Hojyo coal mine. Back in 1914, a gas explosion killed around 687 workers. Another accident occurred in 1963 which killed 458 miners in the Mitsui Miike coal mine from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Japan Photo by 911Metallurgist
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BEAUTIFUL MINERALS AND STONES YOU WANT FOR YOUR COLLECTION Contrary to popular belief, not everything you dig out of land is dirty and ugly. Some of the jewelry most powerful men and women wear came from the ground. Before it went through all the refining and polishing processes, miners, scientists and engineers had to use different processes to extract these minerals and gemstones from the deepest parts of Earth. Back in college, we had to identify different types of
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minerals and stones in order for us to pass. What was once an assumption that these types of classes would be boring turned into one of the best classes we’ve ever had. You see, most of us believed that these minerals and stones would only be boring to look at. We expected to see different shades of gray and black. When the professors started showing us the minerals and stones they’ve collected around the world, we were
amazed at how beautiful they are. Some of my classmates even wanted to steal them given their value and beauty. Now, we see more of them on the internet. As we surf the internet and search for beautiful minerals and stones, we see beautiful ones that really exist! Here are some of the most beautiful minerals and stones we found on the internet.
Azurite Photo by BoredPanda
Rose Quartz Geode Photo by BlazePress
Opal Fossil Photo by BoredPanda
Bismuth Photo by BoredPanda
Titanium Quartz Photo by BlazePress
Opal Photo by BlazePress
Uvarovite Photo by BlazePress
Amethyst Geode Photo by BoredPanda
Fluorite Photo by BoredPanda
Tourmaline Photo by BoredPanda
Chrysocolia in Malachite Photo by BoredPanda
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