I've been thinking about having robotic miners for about 20 years, but one thing I think about is the loss of high-paying mining jobs to the local economies. Even in emerging countries mining pays many benefits. On the other hand, labor is very expensive, and most of the machines could easily be converted to automatic operation. Plus robots don't have a union, never need a smoke or piss break, or steal gold when they are supposed to be working. Think of the advances in sensors and computers within just the last 10 years. Raw resources, which we all require, could be had far cheaper than they are today. Likewise, exploration could be done by robots, especially using a UAV with sensors built in, like the Mars project I read about recently. Then, robots could follow up by collecting samples from targets located by the UAV and analyze them on the spot. This would eliminate bias, and reduce other errors and salting as well. We already use the software we need, and most of the hardware is off-the-shelf stuff.
I would welcome robotics in mining, but I have a job no matter what.
You can, in fact you can turn lead into gold. But, like getting gold from seawater or from sewage sludge (people was a lot of gold out of their bodies), the old-fashioned way is still superior, at least less expensive, for now.
Even if it were possible to create artificial gold that you could competetively price against 'mined' gold, there will always be an intrinsic value to gold nuggets and specimens.
I have often thought that if I came up with a way to cheaply extract gold from seawater, or find large deposits and extract them very cheaply, I'd never have to bother using in after I filed for a patent, as Newmont and the other Big Gold Companies would send me a check every month to keep quiet. And I'll still keep mining gold.
Diamonds are hard, it is true, but they are also brittle. You can smash one easily. They also burn. Not something you want in your engine, unless it's fuel.
-cp-
Here's the google cache of his website
on
Blaster Writer Caught
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Here's his page, which I see says its powered by trend micro.
Perhaps, here's the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner although I can tell you when we had the 7.something quake last November the power here didn't blink at all.
Interesting that there is no story about the battery there, and I read it every day.
I live in the Matanuska-Susitna valley a couple of hundred miles south of Fairbanks, and we get power glitches too. Sometimes all it takes is someone driving into a power pole or the frequent strong winds knocking over a tree. No battery backup would help us then, and that's why I long ago invested in alternate sources of heat and power.
It seems to me that the interruptions to power have been more frequent of late, but I used to work in the Bush a lot more, so maybe I didn't notice it, being so far from The Grid.
Speaking of which, I was glad to hear we (Alaska) aren't hooked up to the rest of the U.S. or Canada, so if they have a massive grid failure we might be ok. Or so they say...
Very nice. I'd love to get over there some day and try it out. We've had visitors to our mine from all over. If you're ever in Alaska stop on by. For me, it's the finding as well as the looking.
The situation is exactly the same here in Alaska: another dry summer follows a series of dry summers, and the good side is a reduction in the mosquito population. The bad side is lots more forest fires and reduced crop production.
with gold, if it's a piece found in (for example) lapland it's much more expensive than "it's weight in gold" literally as it's more rare than pieces found on other areas where gold is found in large(r) quantities.
That's pretty close.
Actually, the most valuable gold specimens are nuggets, where ever they are recovered, because that is by far the rarest form of gold. Something like 99% of all gold currently mined is recovered from rock by mechanical and chemical processes (leaching, for example), and the gold is very small. Only when the final pour is made can the gold even be seen.
In contrast, many placer deposits contain pieces of gold, the larger of which are referred to as nuggets. It takes a very unique set of circumstances, geological as well as chemical, to form a nugget, and for that nugget to be released fron its parent rock and preserved for tens of millions of years. Usually, the larger the nugget, the more valuable it is, but unusual shaped nuggets and also valuable to collectors. Some pieces have sold for over a million dollars. A chunk of quartz vein with visible gold is very rare and valuable.
My friend has some pictures of Alaskan gold nuggets and gemstones at this page and other pages on there.
I looked out my bedroom window the other day and, having never seen Mars so bright and large, thought it must be an aircraft doing something weird. Except after a bit, I noticed it wasn't moving. It's pretty low in the sky, but we don't have any factories, billboards, and few cars or cities, so the pollution is very low.
Fortunately it's starting to get dark around 10 or 11 p.m. now, and just the other night I got both Mars and the Northern Lights in one show.
If you ever come up in the winter, and go to a cold part of Alaska, you'll see stuff in the sky you've probably never seen before. I still spend a lot of like outside just staring up at the sky, even after being here for years.
As other's have pointed out, it really isn't a secret.
There are places you can download all sorts of information from, some for free and some for pay, information which you can then put into a GIS (Geographical Information System), and make very detailed maps and plans. Satellite and aerial photography to GPS surveys of water, power, and other infrastructure, as well as parcel maps and TIGER census data. And more data are being added every day. The amout of data available is truly staggering, and the quality is constantly improving.
I know, I've put together some very detailed and targeted GIS projects for private companies and local governments. Some were accurate to a foot or less, and worked with modern GPS. And we've come a long way just in the last few years.
I work for a small mineral exploration company. A few years back we got a job to search for Hafnium/Niobium/Zirconium. After we found some in placer deposits, we were tasked again to find some so-called Rare Earth Metals (which is an inaccurate name for them). They seemed especially interested in Yttrium.
I have no idea what they were up to, and haven't heard from them again.
Interesting. Let me know when you get some pics and descriptions, I'll be glad to help. If you want you can contact through the company web contact form.
I get queries like this, and it's not always easy to answer, even if I am holding the rock. But, I'd hazard a guess, based on your description, that it is a type of granite. Look closely and see if there are some shiny flakes (mica), and some quartz (usually small clear-to-gray blebs), and feldspar (in the advanced state of oxidation you describe, it will probably be pretty soft, and dull). Then again, it could be a sedimentary rock. See if it looks like a concrete mass. What did you say you found it in?
-cp-
Re:I knew this was coming
on
The Diamond Age
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
You have to distinguish between known deposits, and undiscovered. Diamonds have been found (and have been or are being mined) in Russia, the U.S., South America, Africa, Canada, and Australia.
Diamonds will never be free, as someone still has to find them, and mine them. Think of it this way: most everyone could grow tomatoes or Habanero peppers in their home, but how many do? Likewise, in mining, (a much more difficult proposition than growing vegetables) you have to buy equipment (even if it is just a pick, shovel, pan, and sluice), get transport to the area, feed and clothe and provide shelter, medicine, and personal protection for yourself, and break rocks and wash dirt to get a stone (or a nugget, or whatever it is you're mining for). You will have to move many tens of tons of rock and dirt to get one stone, and that's in a fairly rich deposit. Then there is the cost of licensing, claim ownership, bribes, fees, lawyers, etc. And of course, all this presumes that the person knows what to look for, where to look for it, and how to recover it.
I agree. Gemstones are purely of scientific interest to me. Likewise, the larger gold nuggets have a value to me far beyond the spot price, as do a nice geode. In fact, I became a geologist so I could get paid while collecting minerals for my collection.
I was just thinking, trying to answer your second question, and I realize I can't recall any good books on life in rural Alaska. I don't know if it's because I live in rural Alaska, or if it's just not something I read about. Most of the books about Alaska I have read are about adventure, or historic mining stuff, like I don't get enough of that every day.
I'm a geologist for a small exploration company, and have spent 4 months alone in the Brooks Range, 400 miles northwest of Fairbanks in the Arctic. I've also lived in Los Anchorage. I even lived in a Tipi in the Chugach Range for a year (my friends had to come and visit just to see if it was true). So, maybe that (rural life) will be my next book (I've just completed a Field Guide to Alaska Rocks and Minerals).
My friend Roberta Sheldon in Talkeetna has written quite a few books on Alaska life, and she has the real Pioneer Pedigree. Her work is excellent. Try doing a search for her titles. I knew a writer years ago, leo something or some thing leo, anyway he came here from NYC, some well-known writer back there, chucked it all and moved to the Bush. I met him at my mine, but I'll have to dig in my brain to remember his name. He had a very good book on the subject. Otherwise track me down off/. and I'll help you find something. Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance yet.
-cp-
I knew this was coming
on
The Diamond Age
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
As a geologist working for a company that explores mostly for metals, I recently worked on a diamond project here in Alaska. I've known for a long time that the whole diamond scam (see DeBeers) would come crashing down eventually, and have been warning that we (the company) should not be getting too excited about diamond finds, because unlike metals, diamonds are controlled by a monopoly and are useful for few applications. Not to mention the fact that diamonds aren't as rare as the DeBeers Cartel would like everyone to believe. This might finally put a crimp on the so-called 'blood diamonds', and I'll look for emeralds, gold, and platinum-group metals instead.
I live in central Alaska, and it's about 800 miles from my house to the coast of Russia. Maybe you'd like to walk, but I sure wouldn't. You might want to come up here sometime and try a short walk first, say Fairbanks to Deadhorse via the Dalton Highway.
A road is being started that will go from Fairbanks and follow the Yukon River, eventually ending in Nome. Until then, you'd have to follow the Iditarod Trail, and cross several major rivers. Best time to walk that trail is the winter.
I was wondering how this compares to Knoppix STD, which I run from time to time.
The Knoppix STD (Security Tools Distro) ISO is about 612MB. So it would appear this one is much smaller. I'm going to try it out when the traffic dies down.
I had a job as a private detective, and for awhile my job was to see what I could get out of a store (major retailers) without being caught. The short answer is: anything I wanted. I won't say how I did it, but I will say as technology got better, the job was easier.
Afterwards they'd have a meeting with their department heads and 'loss prevention' people. They even had this tired old video they showed, then I gave a little talk.
I think it's a safe bet to say there are professional thieves out there, and they cost us all something extra when we buy something. And stopping it is like stopping 'drugs' (or whatever your government has decided is bad for you)-you may as well try and turn back the tide with a teaspoon.
Look at some laws, you'll get your hand cut off if convicted of theft. The second time they cut off your other hand. Obviously getting your hand cut off is not a sufficient deterrent to theft.
I never say I speak English, I always say "I speak American Slang". (Sometimes I say that with a Southern accent, drawling out the 'slaang', especially after a few whiskies).
I know Russian and a couple of others, but have long ago given up on English. If you know what I mean, then it's "good enuf".
I remember an episode when Spock was frustrated by the bearskins and bone knife technology of the mid 20th century?
And didn't he once fabricate a laser from a crystal in his arm, and using a piece of steel from his prison bed with something from the cell light, to burn through the lock on their cell? Sorry, that was like a hundred years ago, to my dog anyway.
Slashdot Mirror
I would welcome robotics in mining, but I have a job no matter what.
-cp-
Even if it were possible to create artificial gold that you could competetively price against 'mined' gold, there will always be an intrinsic value to gold nuggets and specimens.
I have often thought that if I came up with a way to cheaply extract gold from seawater, or find large deposits and extract them very cheaply, I'd never have to bother using in after I filed for a patent, as Newmont and the other Big Gold Companies would send me a check every month to keep quiet. And I'll still keep mining gold.
-cp-
-cp-
-cp-
Interesting that there is no story about the battery there, and I read it every day.
-cp-
It seems to me that the interruptions to power have been more frequent of late, but I used to work in the Bush a lot more, so maybe I didn't notice it, being so far from The Grid.
Speaking of which, I was glad to hear we (Alaska) aren't hooked up to the rest of the U.S. or Canada, so if they have a massive grid failure we might be ok. Or so they say...
-cp-
The situation is exactly the same here in Alaska: another dry summer follows a series of dry summers, and the good side is a reduction in the mosquito population. The bad side is lots more forest fires and reduced crop production.
-cp-
That's pretty close.
Actually, the most valuable gold specimens are nuggets, where ever they are recovered, because that is by far the rarest form of gold. Something like 99% of all gold currently mined is recovered from rock by mechanical and chemical processes (leaching, for example), and the gold is very small. Only when the final pour is made can the gold even be seen.
In contrast, many placer deposits contain pieces of gold, the larger of which are referred to as nuggets. It takes a very unique set of circumstances, geological as well as chemical, to form a nugget, and for that nugget to be released fron its parent rock and preserved for tens of millions of years. Usually, the larger the nugget, the more valuable it is, but unusual shaped nuggets and also valuable to collectors. Some pieces have sold for over a million dollars. A chunk of quartz vein with visible gold is very rare and valuable.
My friend has some pictures of Alaskan gold nuggets and gemstones at this page and other pages on there.
-cp-
I looked out my bedroom window the other day and, having never seen Mars so bright and large, thought it must be an aircraft doing something weird. Except after a bit, I noticed it wasn't moving. It's pretty low in the sky, but we don't have any factories, billboards, and few cars or cities, so the pollution is very low.
Fortunately it's starting to get dark around 10 or 11 p.m. now, and just the other night I got both Mars and the Northern Lights in one show.
If you ever come up in the winter, and go to a cold part of Alaska, you'll see stuff in the sky you've probably never seen before. I still spend a lot of like outside just staring up at the sky, even after being here for years.
-cp-
A farmer goes to the outhouse, and sees a quarter down in the hole. He takes out his wallet and throws a $5 bill in the hole.
His friend says "What the hell did you do that for?"
And the farmer says "I'm not sticking my hand in there for a quarter".
What I got out of it is that you can condition or convince yourself to do anything.
-cp-
There are places you can download all sorts of information from, some for free and some for pay, information which you can then put into a GIS (Geographical Information System), and make very detailed maps and plans. Satellite and aerial photography to GPS surveys of water, power, and other infrastructure, as well as parcel maps and TIGER census data. And more data are being added every day. The amout of data available is truly staggering, and the quality is constantly improving.
I know, I've put together some very detailed and targeted GIS projects for private companies and local governments. Some were accurate to a foot or less, and worked with modern GPS. And we've come a long way just in the last few years.
-cp-
I have no idea what they were up to, and haven't heard from them again.
-cp-
-cp-
There's a lot of stuff about Roberta on the web, I'm sure you've already googled her. If you need any help let me know.
-cp-
-cp-
Diamonds will never be free, as someone still has to find them, and mine them. Think of it this way: most everyone could grow tomatoes or Habanero peppers in their home, but how many do? Likewise, in mining, (a much more difficult proposition than growing vegetables) you have to buy equipment (even if it is just a pick, shovel, pan, and sluice), get transport to the area, feed and clothe and provide shelter, medicine, and personal protection for yourself, and break rocks and wash dirt to get a stone (or a nugget, or whatever it is you're mining for). You will have to move many tens of tons of rock and dirt to get one stone, and that's in a fairly rich deposit. Then there is the cost of licensing, claim ownership, bribes, fees, lawyers, etc. And of course, all this presumes that the person knows what to look for, where to look for it, and how to recover it.
-cp-
-cp-
Me, I believe I can do it, and that's why I always do.
-cp-
I was just thinking, trying to answer your second question, and I realize I can't recall any good books on life in rural Alaska. I don't know if it's because I live in rural Alaska, or if it's just not something I read about. Most of the books about Alaska I have read are about adventure, or historic mining stuff, like I don't get enough of that every day.
I'm a geologist for a small exploration company, and have spent 4 months alone in the Brooks Range, 400 miles northwest of Fairbanks in the Arctic. I've also lived in Los Anchorage. I even lived in a Tipi in the Chugach Range for a year (my friends had to come and visit just to see if it was true). So, maybe that (rural life) will be my next book (I've just completed a Field Guide to Alaska Rocks and Minerals).
My friend Roberta Sheldon in Talkeetna has written quite a few books on Alaska life, and she has the real Pioneer Pedigree. Her work is excellent. Try doing a search for her titles. I knew a writer years ago, leo something or some thing leo, anyway he came here from NYC, some well-known writer back there, chucked it all and moved to the Bush. I met him at my mine, but I'll have to dig in my brain to remember his name. He had a very good book on the subject. Otherwise track me down off /. and I'll help you find something. Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance yet.
-cp-
-cp-
A road is being started that will go from Fairbanks and follow the Yukon River, eventually ending in Nome. Until then, you'd have to follow the Iditarod Trail, and cross several major rivers. Best time to walk that trail is the winter.
-cp-
The Knoppix STD (Security Tools Distro) ISO is about 612MB. So it would appear this one is much smaller. I'm going to try it out when the traffic dies down.
-cp-
Afterwards they'd have a meeting with their department heads and 'loss prevention' people. They even had this tired old video they showed, then I gave a little talk.
I think it's a safe bet to say there are professional thieves out there, and they cost us all something extra when we buy something. And stopping it is like stopping 'drugs' (or whatever your government has decided is bad for you)-you may as well try and turn back the tide with a teaspoon.
Look at some laws, you'll get your hand cut off if convicted of theft. The second time they cut off your other hand. Obviously getting your hand cut off is not a sufficient deterrent to theft.
The problem lay in the desire.
-cp-
I know Russian and a couple of others, but have long ago given up on English. If you know what I mean, then it's "good enuf".
-cp-
And didn't he once fabricate a laser from a crystal in his arm, and using a piece of steel from his prison bed with something from the cell light, to burn through the lock on their cell? Sorry, that was like a hundred years ago, to my dog anyway.
-cp-