mining

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skozzii, in Alberta coal mine moves ahead without permits federal officials say are needed

Why would anyone spend money on coal in 2024.

troyunrau, in Sio Silica mining project rejected
@troyunrau@lemmy.ca avatar

Mixed feelings on this one. As a scientist, I think the water issues were totally overblown. But once the narrative starts, you can’t shut it down. That said, the company was also sleazy as hell in their public comments, so maybe we dodged a bullet.

Track_Shovel,

The EA is available online. There’s legit concern. On top of it, they were going to add 7,700 wells - that’s not a small amount of surface disturbance, no matter how you slice it. What if they go under? Cries in Albertan

troyunrau, in Record-Breaking 7,525-Carat Chipembele Emerald Unearthed in Zambia, Sets Global Benchmark
@troyunrau@lemmy.ca avatar

Doesn’t look very gem quality raw, but maybe… I would love to have that as a paperweight in my office though ;)

Track_Shovel,

You and I both! My rock collection is seriously lacking. Best I got right now is a big iron ball concretion from the Rockies.

troyunrau,
@troyunrau@lemmy.ca avatar

I used to have a substantial collection. I had everything bagged and labelled – ore samples from every mine I had ever visited, and then some. But it was sitting in 5 gallon buckets taking up space, and everytime I moved (you move a lot as a geo – “go where the rocks are!”), they’d just stay in the buckets and increase my moving costs haha.

So I gave my rock collection away a few years ago – to my business partner, who is a geologist, so at least it went to a good home. He put them in glass display cases which are cool.

rdyoung, in Mining company can't tap water needed for Okefenokee wildlife refuge, US says

Good. Fuck them for wanting to destroy that habitat.

Track_Shovel,

Their project will likely get approved but will have regulators watching water balances like a hawk

rdyoung,

That doesn’t actually mean much these days.

Track_Shovel,

I get the sentiment, but that’s not entirely the case (at least in my jurisdiction), especially through the approval process. In my experience, regulators can really hammer mine operators. In most cases, they are required to submit annual activity reports that encompass all environmental disciplines as well as engineering and production components. This is on top of any in person visits from regulators themselves.

My point is that it’s very easy to paint with a broad brush (and we all do it) but there’s often a lot more to it than we think, and it’s on us to check our assumptions/statements if we wish to be accurate.

rdyoung, (edited )

I’m talking about the age old technique of doing whatever you want and then “going bankrupt”. These companies have no scruples and if you give them an inch they take a mile and always run on the ask forgiveness rather than permission.

For the record. I grew up in Tampa and that swamp covers a good chunk of both states. I have a fondness for swamp and similar habitat.

Track_Shovel,

I very much see this as a win for biodiversity, and it’s cool to see them stick to their guns on this front for a change.

You are absolutely right on the mine abandonment issue. This is why I harp on reclamation security, because it makes it a lot harder for proponents to walk away and provides at least some funds if they go under.

The point I was trying to make is that there are things in place to both protect the environment and allow (responsible) mining.

rdyoung,

I get what you are saying and I guess I’ve just seen enough of the corporate bullshit with gov agencies just bending over because they are either paid to or don’t have the resources to enforce anything.

Personally, I’d rather see stuff like this be publicly owned, especially if whatever they are mining will benefit everyone, ie lithium for batteries.

Track_Shovel,

Public ownership of a lot of things is sorely needed. We’re slaves to capitalism at this point and it’s horseshit

Sludgehammer, in Illegal sand mining is big business for organized crime
@Sludgehammer@lemmy.world avatar

Of all the dystopian shit I was expecting from the future, a “sand shortage” with “sand theft” were not on my list.

Track_Shovel,

It’s a thing. Criminals do what is most profitable and the rest be damned. I found the charts showing how it’s stacked up against other traditional forms of organized crime. Very interesting.

There’s a project proposed in Manitoba that would use 7,700 wells to suck up sand from 50 m below ground.

cbc.ca/…/springfield-silica-referendum-results-1.…

Actually read a bit on this their project environmental assessment is online I think and I dug into it. The reason that they are going after the sand is because It’s highly uniform and it’s composition and therefore valuable for its engineering properties

troyunrau, in New gold rush flattens Johannesburg's famous mining dumps (2014 Article)
@troyunrau@lemmy.ca avatar

Storytime. I was working in my first industry gig, still a student – the exploration office for a major nickel mine. I had been hired for the summer along with a bunch of other students. The following happened to another student.

She was a Master’s student who was given the job of sending drill core coming into the exploration warehouse to assay. Not cutting the core – but selecting the samples, doing the paperwork etc. Her supervisor, however, immediately went on vacation, so she didn’t have enough training. Worried that she wasn’t checking the right assay boxes, she just checked all of them. The samples came back so high in platinum and palladium that the nickel would have been a smelter credit. No one at the mine had ever done an assay for platinum or palladium before in the 60+ year history of the mine. This triggered a huge flurry of activity while they assayed a bunch of other things, including their tailings. 2008 happened (and the exploration economy faltered) so I don’t know what came of it because I moved on. But, yeah, mine waste isn’t always waste ;)

Track_Shovel,

I don’t want to say this happens ‘a lot’ but it’s not uncommon. I have a site on my roster where they re-mined their tailings for beryllium… in the 80s. That said, while remining does happen, we need to be careful of buying into greenwashing and the argument that since a couple mines have had success with remining, that it is sufficient reason not to conduct progressive reclamation or advance closure efforts. A lot of mines have not planned for closure, and 70% of mines do not complete their mine plan (in that they sell to someone else or go bankrupt, resulting in an abandoned mine).

EvacuateSoul, in Hallstatt mine is the oldest mine in the world

The second picture is similar to some steps at National Parks done by the Civilian Conservation Corps that I’ve seen.

rbesfe, in [OC] Living the life on the bleeding edge of mineral exploration

Northern Canada?

troyunrau,
@troyunrau@lemmy.ca avatar

Yep. This in is from my archive, so it was actually taken in spring. It would be about 66°N above the tree line in NWT.

troyunrau, in [OC] Living the life on the bleeding edge of mineral exploration
@troyunrau@lemmy.ca avatar
Rentlar, in A new era is dawning for mining in Canada's prairie provinces

Your effort is appreciated, but I’m not going to click a google drive link to access an article, sorry.

Track_Shovel,

I put the main link in the text. You’re welcome to try and sign up there

Rentlar,

I did with my burner email, definitely informative of future investment in mining of North Sask. and 'toba.

Cobrachickenwing, in Fired.

Constructions combining.

Rentlar, in Fired.

Excavator operator moments before being fired: “Found the rocks, boss!”

PeriodicallyPedantic, in Fired.

Well there’s your problem

KingJalopy, in Fired.

Subbed. Don’t know what this is but I like it.

IDatedSuccubi,

I think a bucket excavator that was loading up rocks into some sort of rock collector unit tipped over and fell into it

Track_Shovel,

Yeah, excavator fell into the crusher (vital part of production). Most sites only have one or two crushers, so this guy just TANKED productivity for the entire mine

YeastyCodpiece, in Fired.

Just back er right out, bud!

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