A method called flash Joule heating could offer a more sustainable way to source essential components of electronics from coal fly ash.
mining
Posted inResearch & Developments
Research On the Line
The renewable energy sector is booming, and as demand for clean energy rises, so too does demand for the metals it relies on—copper and nickel chief among them. As the world continues scaling up renewables to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, demand will almost certainly top supply in the coming decades. To address this future gap, an international group of researchers and the mining giant BHP teamed up to identify the processes that determine whether or not these metals make it into accessible deposits in the crust.
Posted inENGAGE, News
Coal Seam Fires Burn Beneath Communities in Zimbabwe
Underground fires threaten the health of people and livestock living near mines supporting the country’s growing coal industry.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Exploration and Evaluation of Deep-Sea Mining Sites
Two studies chart new territory for the fledgling deep-sea mining industry through advances in the identification and analysis of seafloor hydrothermal mounds.
Posted inENGAGE, News
Mining Threatens Isolated Indigenous Peoples in the Amazon
A bill in the Brazilian congress could grant a wide expansion for mining on Indigenous lands. New research shows how this could radically affect isolated peoples.
Posted inFeatures
The 2-Year Countdown to Deep-Sea Mining
A small island nation is forcing the hand of international regulators to finalize rules for deep-sea mining, but scientists say the environmental consequences are not yet clear.
Posted inENGAGE, News
What a Gold Mining Mishap Taught Us About Rivers
Miners in Alaska rerouted a river to search for gold. One hundred years later, the new channel is teaching scientists how rivers shape Earth.
Posted inENGAGE, News
Mapping Teotihuacan’s Past, Present, and Future
A new lidar project reveals how mining and urban expansion have put one of Mexico’s most iconic cultural heritage sites at risk.
Posted inNews
Satellites Spy on Sand Mining in the Mekong
Concrete, used in everything from streets to skyscrapers, needs sand, often mined from active rivers in developing countries with little oversight. Researchers can now use satellites to keep watch.
Posted inNews
Mercury-Based Gold Mining Haunts Peruvian Rain Forests
In Peru, gold mining harms rain forests and human health. Satellite data can now track forest recovery in protected areas and the migration of informal miners to less regulated areas.