The Mining News

At last, the largest diamond in the world had found a worthy contender. Under preliminary forecasts of experts the weight of the new diamond-champion is one 1.5 kg.

Before now the largest diamond in the world was the Cullinan diamond. This diamond was found in the British province Transvaal (nowadays the Republic of South Africa) in 1905. The weight of the ex-champion Cullinan is 3106 carat (621.2 gr.). The diamond was named for Sir Thomas Cullinan, who had discovered the Premier in Transvaal three years earlier. The diamond amazes not only by its size but also its cleanliness, absence of mineral inclusions, cracks, and bubbles.

The Cullinan diamond was presented to the reigning British monarch, King Edward VII, in 1907. It’s interesting that diamond represents a splinter (about 1/3 part) of larger diamond, but it haven’t found till now. Read more »

Popularity: 94% [?]

Northern Alberta, Canada is the location of a very large, rich oil sand field. The Athabasca oil sands are named for the Athabasca River, where the oil sands are easily seen from the river banks. One third of the world’s oil sands are found here in Alberta, Canada and in Venezuela. The Athabasca oil sands field is unique in that the oil sands are located very near the surface and can be easily surface mined. This makes it much cheaper to mine, and makes Athabasca the leading provider of oil sands in the world.
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Popularity: 97% [?]

Once asbestos was found to be heat and fire resistant, it has been widely used. Unfortunately, as we later found, it can cause a myriad of health problems, including cancer.

Asbestos has been in widespread use since the late 1800’s. It is heat and fire resistant, and very versatile, making it very attractive to manufacturers regardless of the long-term health risks. Limitations were placed on the manufacture of new products containing asbestos in the 1980’s but it can still be found in older homes and buildings, older products, and some new products. Symptoms of asbestos related illness often do not show up for 10 to 50 years after exposure, and once they do, illness can progress rapidly.
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Popularity: 93% [?]

Canada has been a leader in mineral exploration and extraction for over 50 years. Canada is the largest single exporter of oil to the United States, and Alberta is the #2 oil supplying region in the world. Mines in Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta extract enormous quantities of aluminum, coal, potash, copper, diamond, gold, nickel, uranium, zinc, oil, and natural gas that are shipped throughout the world. Over half of the world’s 2300 mining related companies are listed on Canadian stock exchanges, and 40% of the world’s mining companies are based in Canada. In 2006 over $440 billion dollars worth of mineral and fuel related natural resources were exported throughout the world.

Mineral exploration is the segment of the industry that is responsible for identifying new assets for mining companies to exploit. Staking a claim and moving to production is a process that can take years. Exploration workers face the most rugged terrains and weather conditions in identifying viable assets.
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Popularity: 69% [?]

As accessible coastal oil reserves in shallow waters near the shore become exhausted, alternative sources must be continually found. A synthesis of advanced technologies has opened up new frontiers in deeps sea oil and gas explorations. With over 70% of the earth covered in water there is a lot of territory to explore, which makes starting in the right place a paramount issue. Sensors aboard satellites, surface ships, and submarines have helped locate and access oil reserves in areas previously thought impossible to reach. Currently drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is taking place at depths as low as 2500m’s.

Satellite imagery is an area continually undergoing innovation. In the past satellite data has been used to identify “macroseeps”, or large pools of oil at the surface leaked from reserves below. Using advanced sensing equipment and lasers, satellites can now pick up traces of hydrocarbons in the atmosphere above suspected oil reserves. Comparing images taken at various times can help pinpoint locate the exact sources of the seeps.
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Popularity: 90% [?]