Minerals Archives - Page 6 of 7

Antacids cure more than just belly aches

By Emily Lehmann What rhymes with stalactite (well, kinda) and can put your heartburn at bay? Hydrotalcite. Believe it or not, an antacid – hydrotalcite – is the key agent used in a new treatment our scientists have developed for removing contaminants from mining wastewater. Like hydrotalcites can reduce acidity and indigestion in sour tummies,...

Minerals

CSIRO goes outback

We all know what stereotypical scientists look like. They’re clad in white lab coats and safety glasses, stirring a bubbling beaker or transferring something from one test tube to another using one of those squeezy things, but not all scientist look like these guys and – gasp – not all of them work in a...

Minerals

A new approach to managing mineral resources

Most Australians appreciate that our wealth of mineral resources supported our economy during the global recession, but others believe this industry is damaging our country. According to a report released this week, Advantage Australia: resource governance and innovation for the Asian Century, it is time for Australia to re-think how it manages its mineral resources...

Taking humans out of hazardous situations

Underground mines can be hazardous places for humans, which is why the industry is investing in robots and automated vehicles to keep workers safe. We developed a system for load-haul-dump vehicles, commercialised by Caterpillar and now called Minestar-Command-Underground, which takes humans out of the equation and allows the vehicle to react to its environment all...

Can you legislate a social licence to operate?

By Justine Lacey, Social Scientist, Earth Science and Resource Engineering The concept of a ‘social licence to operate’ (SLO) is not new. It has been used widely in the mining and minerals industry for some 15 years where it has generally described the informal acceptance or approval a local community extends to a mining operation or...

Smart SQUIDs sense underground ore bodies

By Nola Wilkinson As surface mineral deposits become ‘mined out’, increasingly mining companies are looking for ore bodies located deeper in the earth’s crust. Which poses a challenge – how to pinpoint the location of useful ores deep underground? Enter LANDTEM, a portable exploration tool developed by CSIRO. LANDTEM uses SQUIDs to tell the difference...

Supersonic magnesium

Did you know that magnesium is the lightest of all metals – about one-third lighter than aluminium? That it is non-toxic, non-magnetic, has high-impact strength, is castable and resistant to denting? All of which makes it a great fit for the global auto industry looking to find new ways to make cars lighter and more...

New sensor detects bombs on sea floor

We’ve developed a sensor to detect undetonated explosives on the sea floor, based on a technology used to find mineral deposits underground. The sensor was developed as part of a project with US Government agency, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and US-based research organisation Sky Research. The method for finding undetonated underwater explosives...

Minerals

Explorer of the year? It’s not Dora that’s for sure

Our Centre of Excellence for 3D Mineral Mapping was announced Australian Mining’s ‘Explorer of the Year’ last night. The team, led by Dr Tom Cudahy, developed the world’s first suite of maps that show the mineral composition of the surface of an entire continent. The maps are helping mining companies increase the efficiency and viability...

Nickel is worth more than a five cent coin

By Emily Lehmann Nickel seems to be the underdog of the metal world. While we have all heard of it, a casual ask-around among friends tells me that most people know little about its value and what it’s used for. Nickel is versatile because it mixes well with other metals to form alloys. It’s also...

Minerals

Megatrends: do we really need more from less?

By Stefan Hajkowicz, CSIRO This article is part of The Conversation’s series on megatrends. What are the compelling economic, social, environmental, political and technological changes Australia must grapple with over the coming decades? This series is based on the release of the CSIRO Futures report, Our Future World 2012. Today, Stefan discusses food and water...

Minerals

Worth the weight

For all of our readers sporting a wedding ring, here’s an interesting little tid bit you may not know – if it’s gold, it could weigh upwards of four tonnes – that could be how much ore, or rock, was dug out of the ground and processed to produce it. Now that the value of...

Minerals