Posts tagged as:

mining

Six-legged miners strike gold

10 December 2012

Termites and ants are stockpiling gold in their mounds, new CSIRO research has found. Australia’s smallest and most numerous mining prospectors can show us where new gold deposits are.

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Bacteria munch up alumina impurities

19 July 2010

Previously unknown species of naturally-occurring bacteria have the potential to save the alumina and aluminium industries millions of dollars while helping to reduce their impact on the environment, microbiologist Naomi McSweeney has found in a collaborative project between Alcoa, CSIRO and the University of Western Australia.

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Ultrasound puts water back in the Murray Darling…

12 July 2010

You may not be able to squeeze blood out of a stone but—by applying the right amount of ultrasound during processing—Jianhua (Jason) Du and colleagues from the University of South Australia have been able to squeeze a considerable amount of fresh water from mining waste.

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From separating blood to separating copper

2 June 2009

The technology could help mineral processing plants to become more compact, highly efficient, and consume less of resources such as water and power, he says.

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Turning on the atom laser

12 July 2008

The first practical atom laser is a step closer today thanks to Australian researchers.

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The life and death of diamonds

8 August 2006

Could Australia rise to the top of the diamond pipe again? Macquarie University researcher Craig O’Neill believes his research could open new diamond fields across Australia.

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Filling the hole on mine safety

30 August 2004

A PhD student in QLD improves mine safety with her predictive computer program Some of the risk involved in working underground is being reduced by a revolutionary approach to predicting the collapse of mine retaining walls . “In mining, huge voids are created underground when valuable ore is removed. Voids often the size of a [...]

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Inventing new industrial crystals – with sugar

19 August 2003

An artificial mineral made with sugar could sponge up oil spills and replace cyanide in gold mining A new class of materials developed by chemists at the University of Melbourne could spawn an industry for custom catalysts, molecular sieves and materials for nanotechnology.

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Aussie arsenic-eating bacteria may save lives and clean mines

19 August 2003

Melbourne scientists plan to harness the strange appetite of newly discovered Australian bacteria to help purify arsenic-contaminated water.

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New “deperm” gives ultimate magnetic camouflage

22 August 2002

Australian scientists have developed a fast, simple and reliable method of camouflaging ships and submarines against magnetic detection by marine mines.

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Healthy ants, healthy country

26 August 2001

Ants have the answers when it comes to assessing the effects of land management on the environment. Up to 20 million ants from 100 species live in any single hectare of the Australian bush, says CSIRO ecologist, Dr Ben Hoffmann.

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Fossil molecules help to detect ET

23 August 2001

Fossil molecules from cells of bacteria and algae many millions of years old may hold the key to reading life signals from extra terrestrial sources, according to research conducted by AGSO – Geoscience Australia researcher, Dr Graham Logan. Some molecules within living cells fossilise very well and can reveal evidence of past life, environments and [...]

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More gold, less cyanide, Taking the tarnish off the gold recovery process

23 August 2001

Melbourne researcher, Matthew Jeffrey, is developing a new technique that replaces cyanide with a non-toxic chemical to recover gold from ore bodies. The non-toxic chemical, known as thiosulfate, is commonly used as a fixative in photography.

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Undersea volcanos unlock secrets of rich ore deposits

1 May 2000

Researchers in Monash University’s Australian Crustal Research Centre have made a discovery that could have important implications for pinpointing where to look for large deposits of metal. While the Earth’s crust had previously been thought to be the source of most metals, these new findings suggest that they in fact originate much deeper, in the [...]

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Computer program to build mountains in the outback

9 May 1999

Building environmentally friendly mountains in the outback: design of Post-Mining Landscapes For Erosion Control – Gary Sheridan Coal-mining has disturbed over 50,000 ha of land that requires more than $1 Billion to rehabilitate. Scott’s software is being used to design mountains that won’t wash away.

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Making Mountains: the Wonderful World of Plate Collision

6 May 1999

Searching for oil and gas on Australia’s North West Shelf using a perspex tank full of honey, putty, sand and cake sprinkles may seem a little bizarre, but University of WA geologist Dr. Myra Keep believes it may help us locate where oil fields may or may not be.

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