Just a few summaries and links to mining and exploration stories out recently. Excuse some dorky titles. How can you tell which titles are dorky? Easy, the dorky ones are mine.From Ron Schott's Geology Picks:
Not so Good Oil and Gas Exploration in Washington state
From Geology.com:
Surprise, surprise, there's a new gold rush in CA!
Internet Addiction - do YOU suffer from it? (Oops - not mining related unless you are reading this blog post over and over again!)
Also from Geology.com:
Geologists are needed in Australia
Canada can't attract women into mining jobs according to this article - also from Geology News - although on my spring field trip, all the women geologists were Canadian, except for me.
Mining and petroleum-related jobs are still going strong - from Arizona Geology.
Space radar can be used to improve mine safety in underground mines, from EurekAlert!
Space radar can be used to improve mine safety in underground mines, from EurekAlert!
I could find no reference in the above news release to open-pit mines - I guess we're on our own! Also, the news release mentioned driving the referenced new equipment through mineshafts. Mine shafts are vertical, and no underground trucks or truck drivers drive up and down through these things (shafts). The driving is done in mine tunnels or adits, and in declines or inclines. Declines are mine tunnels or adits that descend gradually as you walk into a mine (or drive - a geologist should be so lucky!); inclines are tunnels that go uphill at a very slight angle as you enter the mine, usually for drainage purposes. Also, the article speaks of the "roofs" of underground mines, a somewhat vague term that could refer to the rocks immediately overhead while underground, or possibly to surface rocks above the entire mine - I'm not really sure which, because if you are in an underground mine, the surface over your head is called the "back." And that's because when the old-timers made their tunnels, they were typically not very high, and the miners had to bend over to enter and walk through them, thus having their backs almost in contact with the "ceiling" of the mine adit.
Last but not least, lots of things have been happening in Arizona - as usual - see these articles and more at Arizona Geology:
Last but not least, lots of things have been happening in Arizona - as usual - see these articles and more at Arizona Geology:
- Vale do Rio Doce reported to be looking at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (as a takeover target)
- Freeport is the most likely takeover target
- Drilling is underway at Tombstone
- Why Are So Many Companies investing in Arizona Mines?
- White Cliffs diatomite and zeolites
- Arizona potash looking attractive
- Vale denies takeover plans
