mining

How to make sustainable batteries that won’t wreck the planet

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The batteries we need to power the transition to 100-per-cent renewable electricity require rare metals, and that means destructive mining – but researchers are working on alternatives Technology 2 March 2022 By Katharine Sanderson Graham Carter If we are going to stop burning fossil fuels, it is critical that we have access to electricity from … Read more

Rare earth elements for smartphones can be extracted from coal waste

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Recycling rare earth elements from the ash left over from coal burning is cheaper, easier and more environmentally friendly than digging them out of mines Environment 9 February 2022 By Alice Klein A microscope image of tiny glass spheres in coal fly ash that contain rare earth elements Rice University Rare earth elements that are … Read more

Gold Mining Is Poisoning Amazon Forests with Mercury

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Small-scale gold mining has been going on in the Amazon for decades, with huge expansion of this activity since the early 2000s. It is often done via river dredging, in which miners excavate sediments in search of small pieces of gold. To separate the gold, miners mix liquid mercury into the sediment, which forms a … Read more

Kazakhstan unrest: Internet shutdown hits a fifth of global bitcoin mining network

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The second largest bitcoin mining nation in the world has cut off internet access, slashing the amount of computing power dedicated to the cryptocurrency Technology 7 January 2022 By Matthew Sparkes Riot police gather to block demonstrators during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan Vladimir Tretyakov/AP/Shutterstoc​k Nationwide internet outages in Kazakhstan amid civil unrest have knocked … Read more

Australian wildlife: Newly discovered millipede has a record-breaking 1306 legs

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A millipede with 1306 legs has smashed the world record after being discovered 60 metres underground in Australia   Life 16 December 2021 By Alice Klein A 10-centimetre-long female Eumillipes persephone millipede with 1306 legs Paul Marek, Virginia Tech A millipede with over 1300 legs has smashed the world record for the most limbs, … Read more

Amazon rainforest: Brazil approves gold mining exploration in pristine region

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Gold mining in the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira would drive deforestation and increase mercury pollution, say ecologists Environment 16 December 2021 By Luke Taylor An Indigenous village in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Brazil Paulo Lopes/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News The Brazilian government has approved gold exploration in a pristine expanse of Amazon rainforest that … Read more

Deep sea mining: Race to exploit the sea floor puts ecosystems at risk

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Governments are meeting in Jamaica this week to decide how rules for commercial mining of metals on the ocean floor will be thrashed out, but there are big sticking points Environment | Analysis 8 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan A field of manganese nodules in deep-sea waters near Hawaii NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and … Read more