Tag: Mining
Humanity needs more rare earth elements. Extinct volcanoes could be a rich new source
Rare earth elements aren’t necessarily rare – they’re just difficult to find in economically viable deposits.
How do you make a giant gold nugget? Take a vein of quartz, add a few thousand earthquakes
Gold nuggets grow much bigger than they should – and electricity produced by earthquakes may be the reason why.
Australia’s largest iron ore deposits are 1 billion years younger than we thought
How did Australia end up with so much iron ore? What we discovered in Western Australia redefines how we think about iron deposits – and provides clues on how we might find more.
The first published results from Juukan Gorge show 47,000 years of Aboriginal heritage was destroyed in mining blast
The Juukan 2 rockshelter was blown up in 2020. The results of an archaeological dig carried out six years earlier are only now being published for the first time.
How safe are Australia’s mines? New analysis shows reform has been stalled for a decade
Mining’s high-tech transformation has dramatically increased safety – but there is plenty more work to be done.
Most pink diamonds were birthed by a disintegrating supercontinent. Where can we find more?
More than 90% of the world’s pink diamonds came from a single mine that closed in 2020. Geologists are only now beginning to understand the forces that create the rare, highly prized gems.
