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By Sydney H. Ball

AMERICAN consumption of industrial diamonds has increased five fold in the past 25 years and today accounts for 15 to 20 percent of the world's sale of rough diamonds. In another decade the value of industrial diamonds sold may well equal or exceed that of gemstones. It is generally understood that industrial diamonds are one of the strategic minerals being stocked by the Government in the present crisis to ensure rapid and efficient armament production. Diamond die making is a trade largely confined to artisans in Switzerland and in certain parts of France. Today, in addition to turning out pilots, we should train expert artisans in diamond die making, for thousands of miles of tremendously small-gauge wire will be needed to make the instruments by which the efficiency and safety of these pilots is assisted.

Jan 1, 1941

Up to thirty years ago, coal preparation in western Canada, except at four plants, had not included actual coal washing. The exceptions were at Nanaimo and Royston, B.C., where tub washers and wet tables were in use; at Hosmer, B.C., using. Robinson cones; and at Leitch Collieries, Passburg, Alta., using a feldspar jig. The two last named collieries had a short life and were not operating in 1920. The industry was divided, as at the present day, into two sections, steam (bituminous) coal and domestic (largely sub-bituminous) coal, the first generally supplying industrial needs and the second householcl and other heating requirements. The two sections overlap to some small degree today as prepared sizes, chiefly stoker, and briquettes, from steam coal are shipped for house-hold use, and domestic slacks are used in certain industrial plants. The .domestic operator, for reasons shown later, was not primarily concerned with actual coal washing as a phase of coal preparation, and bent his efforts to improvement of screening and loading plants, with hand-picking of coarse sizes. The bituminous operator, on the other hand, felt it necessary by 1920 to consider coal washing. When the mines were comparatively young, coal quality could be controlled to a considerable degree by selective mining, by leaving behind some of the seam or by-passing districts in a mine where the coal was of inferior quality to that in other districts. This obviously had its limitations, and so the next step was coal washing.

Jan 1, 1952

By V. F. Parry, W. S. Landers, John B. Goodman

"INTRODUCTION The object of this investigation was to demonstrate a satisfactory method of storing slack subbituminous coal in open pits in a manner,that would minimize the cause of the physical deterioration and would have a practical application.The storage of coal by industrial plants is to their advantage, since an adequate operating supplying of fuel is available at all times as insurance against transportation delays, shortages, and strikes. Furthermore, it is possible to participate in low seasonal freight rates and mine costs by permitting the railroads to utilize idle equipment and by taking advantage of the off-peak production at the mines. For a number of years, one of the larger beet-sugar companies operating in the Rocky Mountain region has taken advantage of the lower prices and seasonal production of subbituminous slack coal during the summer months and purchased a large proportion of its requirements for the annual winter campaign. This company, operating sugar-refining plants in the 1943 campaign, used 256,613 tons of subbituminous coal. Of this quantity, 166,636 tons was purchased during the off-peak season and stored for use during the winter. It is the practice of this concern to place coal purchased through the months of January to October in underwater storage for use in the beet-sugar campaign, which lasts from October to as late as, January. The beet-sugar refining ""campaign"" period starts immediately after the beginning of the beet harvest and lasts 60 to 70 days."

Aug 1, 1946

By L. D. Eccleston

Any man-made structure will eventually decay, but we are basically concerned with the prevention of corrosion within a fairly limited time span. How corrosion can be minimized by design, the removal of oxides and a careful choice of paint systems is discussed, and mention is made of the electrical nature of most anticorrosive systems. Also discussed are the characteristics of certain paint binders and how mechanical properties will differ for various environments. Corrosion of a substrate by acidic breakdown products of some paints is mentioned in conjunction with a discussion on convenience versus ultimate performance. A brief mention is made of the three main components of a paint system, and the principal types of paint are placed in broad categories, with the main strength and weaknesses of each type listed.

Jan 1, 1979

By William P. Blake

THE use of diamonds upon a large scale in drilling rocks, and the substitution to a certain degree of rotary diamond drills for the ordinary steel percussion drills, marks a new era in the art of mining. Since the invention by Leschot of the diamond drill, it has steadily advanced in its utility and range of application, and in the appreciation of miners and engineers. It must be claimed as one of the many gifts of science to the arts ; and it is, in particular, one of the fruits of the scientific education given at the Ecole Centrale, at Paris. Members are all, doubtless, more or less familiar with the construction of the drill and of the machinery by which it is applied in boring. It is, therefore, my present purpose only to direct your attention to some recent marked improvements, made by the American Diamond Drill Company, by which the economy and efficiency of the machines have been increased. Form of Bit. The annular or ring form of the drill-head or bit was, I believe, the earliest; and it is still in use, without essential modification, wherever it is desired to obtain a sample "core" or specimen of the rock traversed. But for mere drilling, regardless of the preservation of a test-core, a solid-head bit is preferred, except for very large holes. Until recently, these solid-head bits were made with a pointed cutting face shaped like an obtuse cone. This form was assumed to be the best, being most in accordance with the experience obtained with percussion drills. It is found, however, that the exact reverse

Jan 1, 1873

By J. C. Irvine

A recent development in underground drilling has been the introduction of the down-the-hole drill, an old and very familiar tool to the surface operator. The idea of moving such a rig underground is not new. Tests were conducted at INCO in Canada and Mt. Isa, Australia in the early 1960's, and St. Joe used one for underground exploration in their Missouri lead mines in the mid-1960's. However, the trend to full scale production programs did not start until the mid-1970's. The first successful North American test was at INGO in early 1973. This led to a large-scale pillar recovery and open stoping program which en¬compassed 25 drilling units by mid-1976. Meramec Mining Company tested a unit using air boosted up to 200 psi (140, 000 kg(m2) in the summer of 1973 which by 1976 led to an open stope and pillar drilling program using 12 units. By mid-1976, production units using boosted air were also in use at Pilot Knob in Missouri and at St. Joe in Balmat, New York. Experimental and utility units were in use in several other mines and down-the-hole drills were being seriously considered for at least one major new underground mine.

Jan 1, 1976

By Mark A. Koestel

Cobalt-sulfide mineralization can he found in potentially economic quantities where permeable, basal Cambrian formations "pinchout" against Precambrian pal eotopographi c highs. These environments are common around the Saint Francois Mountains of southeastern Missouri and they share many similarities with the geologic environments of Zambia and Zaire in South Africa. Exploration for this type of deposit involves test drilling targets identified by trend analysis from past drilling, geophysics, geochemistry and a comprehensisve study of regional geology and isopach maps. Innovative ideas, new exploration concepts and insoluble residue geochemical methods may provide the necessary "edge" needed to complement basic geologic understanding leading to ore discovery.

Jan 1, 1987

By Siyu Song, Yanhong Wang, Guohua Gu, Linbo Huang

In this study, the effect of cations, Na+ and Mg2+, in saline water on copper flotation in the presence of calcium bentonite was investigated. It was found that as the concentration of NaCl was increased, the copper recovery initially decreased and then increased to above 99%, while the copper grade initially increased and then decreased. In contrast, as the concentration ofMgCl2 was increased, the copper recovery continuously increased, while the copper grade continuously decreased. The variation of copper recovery and grade was mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of pulp rheology and flotation solution chemistry. The underpinning mechanisms are the compressing electrical double layer and ion-exchange interaction between saline water and bentonite, which occur at the same time. Using salinewater slightly affected the pulp rheologywith a decrease in copper recovery at low NaCl concentration. Increasing the concentration of cations in saline water might even facilitate the flowing out of exchangeable cations, especially divalent cations, from the interlayer space of bentonite to the solution, resulting in the decrease of copper grade at high salt concentration.

Sep 10, 2020

By A. Delgado-Jiménez, O. J. Restrepo-Baena, G. Aristazabal

"Mining industry as a source of raw material is essential to society however, it lacks of good reputation due to the type of management historically applied to many of its social and environmental impacts. It is argued that this situation has hampered the obtaining of social license to operate of a lot of mining projects around the world. The last considerations are very common in Latin American countries. As a result, the mining sector has understood that the viability of the business long term is associated with more profit for the shareholders but also with activities that improve the livelihoods of local communities, enhance the capabilities of local governments and preserve the ecosystems around the projects. Nevertheless, recent studios have shown that most of the current advances to incorporate sustainability concepts in mining have been mainly focused on control and the prevention of environmental and social impacts of extractive activities. Thus, contributing to the development of territories around mining projects constitutes a fundamental aspect of the business competitiveness through reducing cost and risks of stopping projects, innovating new ways of relationship with stakeholders, improving the level of reputation of the industry as well as its position in the market. However, this contribution requires formal strategies and models that enable companies understand the different resources in the territories where their mining activities are developed and those resource transformations, in order to establish the best way to articulate the project with the territory, pursuing an effective contribution to its development, truly sustainable over time even after the mine closure. CONTEXT Currently in the world but especially in developing countries such as Latin Americans, different stakeholders are increasingly vigilant of how mining companies carry out their activities in terms of socio-economic and environmental management of territories, not only for its impact on the livelihoods of the communities that inhabit them, but also because many demanders of raw materials -both countries and companies- have set sustainability standards as a prerequisite to establishing business relationships with mining companies, such as the recently declared Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 (UN, 2015). Accordingly, decide underinvest or not to invest in sustainability issues carries risks for mining companies. However, invest much in the wrong way may involve the same risks. Managers are concerned to ensure profits, and therefore they decide carefully how to invest in the areas of production, R & D or marketing. Likewise, they should think strategically about investing in initiatives related to sustainability. This if they really want that those investments in fact help to improve the competitiveness of the company. The mining industry benefits from natural capital that extracts, so it should implement strategies that lead to remunerate such benefit to the territories (Almaguer, 2007). One option is through the transformation of natural capital in other types of non-existent capital or poorly developed in their areas of influence. In this way, the value generated by the extraction of underground resources is shared and additionally contributing to improving the quality of life of the communities. Historically, mining industry has been into several problems to achieve this, which represents one of the aspects that has most influenced the current reputation of mining industry in some regions of Latin America. Many communities, local governments and civil society organizations continue to associate this activity with the destruction of the social fabric and ecosystems in the territories, and their opposition against companies working in the areas has led to affect the operational continuity of many projects (Hamann, 2003; Prno and Scott, 2012; Slack, 2012)."

Jan 1, 2017

By Steve Kral

The third edition of the Underground Construction Association of SME?s (UCA) Cut-ting Edge series of conferences focused on a challenge every underground construction and tunneling project faces: controlling ground water. The conference, held in New York City in November, is a partnership between the UCA and The North American Tunneling Journal. It featured more than 20 technical presentations by professionals from around the world. Each described specific challenges unique to their projects and the solutions employed. More than 175 professionals attended the two-day conference that included an exhibition featuring 17 companies. In addition to the technical program, the Cutting Edge conference featured a site visit to the $10.4 billion East Side Access Project. Sponsors of the meeting included Soil Freeze, Traylor Bros., Kiewit, Skanska, Moretrench, Aecom and The Robbins Co.

By M. Amani, A. Akbarinasab, M. Bazmandeh

The fourth iron ore production plant at Golgohar mining and industrial company consists a ball mill and wet medium intensity magnetic separators (3500 Guss). The ball mill product applies directly into MIMS and the MIMS concentrate directly transfers to the low intensity magnet separators (LIMS). The thickener is used for dewatering of MIMS and LIMS tailings. By sampling from streams of ball mill and separators, it was defined that the grade and iron recovery were 60% and 80% respectively while they would be 66% and 90% respectively based on the designing documentation. The average of P80 in the ball mill was 342 micron in a month that is coarser than optimized value. This problem was related to unsuitable operation of grinding. For optimization of grinding efficiency, the amount of charge volume was investigated as a variable. The measurements illustrated 32% charge volume. For increasing grinding efficiency, the charge volume was increased 1% and 1.6% in two stages. The results showed ball mill power draw average reached from 3650 kw to 4120 kw and the average P80 reached to 329 micron. All of parameters calculated about 35 day before and after change. Average of Ball mill feed iron ore grade before and after change was 49.24% and 50.32% respectively. This change caused an increase in efficiency of MIMS, where the enrichment ratio and concentrate grade increased 2% and 1.9% respectively. For increasing the iron grade of the MIMS concentrate; the orifice of the tail flow exit pipe changed from 4 inch to 6 inch and the concentrate grade increased 2%.

Jan 1, 2014

By J. Kretschmann

Southeast Asian countries cannot maintain their economic growth rate without the development of their mining industries. To make this development as sustainable as possible requires sound fundamentals securing not only economic progress and environment protection but also improvements in occupational safety and health (OSH) for the miners. Mining in South East Asia is still very labor intense and dangerous. Tremendous achievements from world class mining operations in advanced mining countries can be used as role models to improve the status quo of the Southeast Asian countries in OSH management. Know-how transfer, therefore, is a key factor for major improvements. Effects of this transfer based on a multi-level approach will be discussed based on a case study. It describes the transfer from German to Vietnamese hard coal mining industry. Crucial requisites for excellent achievements in OSH in Southeast Asian mining countries are also mentioned.

Feb 23, 2014

By D. Williamson

In the post war years metals analysts and statisticians have generally tracked the demand for metals in line with changes in OECD industrial production (IP) growth rates because, undoubtedly, the correlation between IP growth and metal demand was reasonable. However the correlation was exaggerated. During times of expanding IP growth metal demand increased at a faster proportional rate than IP growth. This was probably due to industry restocking in anticipation of growing demand at the start of each economic cycle. Conversely, metal demand would slacken at a greater rate than would be suggested by negative IP growth as industry destocked in order to reduce costs. Nonetheless, overall, a reasonable correlation between IP growth, over the longer term, and metal demand could be painted. Yet, although this correlation has stood well since the last world war it has been based on the fact that the bulk of the world's IP growth stemmed from the industrialized countries of the western world, latterly including Japan. The so called "developing world" was of little consequence, whilst countries of the Soviet Union and Communist Bloc were deemed to be closed, self-contained entities which, for each metal, would either be net exporters or importers. These quantities would be used by analysts to calculate the overall supply/demand equation for the western world only and to deduce whether a commodity was in shortage or surplus. It is now believed that this method of projecting total world supply and demand for raw materials is outdated and takes little account of the worldwide political changes which have occurred since the collapse of communism and the revitalization of China, albeit under a notional communist government. It is no longer appropriate to assess global balances for raw materials on the basis of three economic blocs namely, western world, developing world and communist bloc. Rather, global balances need to be projected on a global basis. In this regard, since the collapse of communism and the removal of many other totalitarian regimes, capitalist forces are at work and are attempting to satisfy, with some considerable success, the expectations of the great mass of the world's poorer people. Such people, usually located in Asia, Africa and Latin America have aspired to the same standard of living as people living in western Europe, North America and Japan. Now, with free market forces at work their aspirations will start to be met. Consequently, the demand for metals and other raw materials will now rise at a much faster rate than at any other time in the world's history. Not only will the production of raw materials have to keep pace with rising IP in the developed world but will also have to keep pace with the demands associated with the rising expectations of rapidly increasing populations in the developing world, as well as from within the old communist bloc countries. This paper sets out to argue the case that metal demand could well increase at a rate faster than the world's mining companies, governments and financiers can deliver.

Jan 1, 1997

By E. F. Loiseau

(Read at the Philadelphia Meeting, February, 1878.) UNTIL June, 1868, it had not been attempted, either in this country or abroad, to manufacture by mechanical means, from anthracite coal-dust, artificial fuel for domestic use. Several attempts had been made to utilize coal-waste by converting it into a fuel for manufacturing purposes, but none of the processes were original, and they were merely applications of the well-known European processes and machinery, slightly modified by American ingenuity and mechanical skill. With one exception all those attempts have been failures. The great difficulty in the application of European processes and machinery has always been the limited production, and the excessive cost of the manufactured product, as compared with the cost of mining and preparing the ordinary anthracite coal for the market. The only serious and intelligent attempt to manufacture, on a large scale, artificial fuel for manufacturing purposes, has been made by the Anthracite Fuel Company, whose works are erected at Fort Ewen, near Rondout, New York. This company, organized under the auspices of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, had to go through the usual course of difficulties, breakages, and disappointments, which seems to be the lot of every new industry. Thanks, however, to the energy and perseverance of Mr. L. L. Crounsse, a gentleman of means, from Washington, D. C., the enterprise succeeded, and it is to-day established on a permanent basis. In order to increase the production, and to reduce its cost, the Anthracite Fuel Company was compelled to change most of its plant, and to erect more powerful machinery, producing lumps of a larger size, almost twice the size of the lumps made previously by the same company. This increase in the size of the lumps has been resorted to in Europe as well as in this country, in order to increase

Jan 1, 1878

By E. F. Loiseau

Until June, 1868, it had not been attempted, either in this country or abroad, to manufacture by mechanical means, from anthracite coal-dust, artificial fuel for domestic use. Several attempts had been made to utilize coal-waste by converting it into a fuel for manufacturing purposes, but none of the processes were original, and they were merely applications of the well-known European processes and machinery, slightly modified by American ingenuity and mechanical skill. With one exception all those attempts have been failures. The great difficulty in the application of European processes and machinery has always been the limited production, and the excessive cost of the manufactured product, as compared with the cost of mining and preparing the ordinary anthracite coal for the market. The only serious and intelligent attempt to manufacture, on a large scale, artificial fuel for manufacturing purposes, has been made by the Anthracite Fuel Company, whose works are erected at Fort Ewen, near Rondout, New York. This company, organized under the auspices of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, had to go through the usual course of difficulties, breakages, and disappointments, which seems to be the lot of every new industry. Thanks, however, to the energy and perseverance of Mr. L. L. Crounsse, a gentleman of means, from Washington, D. C, the enterprise succeeded, and it is to-day established on a permanent basis. In order to increase the production, and to reduce its cost, the Anthracite Fuel Company was compelled to change most of its •plant, and to erect more powerful machinery, producing lumps of a larger size, almost twice the size of the lumps made previously by the same company. This increase in the size of the lumps has been resorted to in Europe as well as in this country, in order to increase

Jan 1, 1879

By Park Wright

THE fact that granite has been encountered by the drill by those in search of oil and gas in Kansas is becoming more and more a matter of interest, not only to the oil producer but to everyone directly and- indirectly connected with the oil business. It is, therefore, time that someone should offer an explanation for its presence and form a definite opinion based on all the data available in regard to the effect it will have on the future prospects of the area affected as probable oil- and gas-producing territory. At present there seems to be no consensus of opinion. To the writer's knowledge, only one attempt has been made to explain; by Erasmus Haworth, State Geologist of Kansas, in a paper entitled Bulletin, Number Two on Crystalline Rocks in Kansas. The purpose of the present paper is to offer a theory for the presence of the granite and to draw conclusions which will aid in determining the prospective oil and gas value of the area in question. In taking up this question it will be well to consider first the tests in which granite has been reported, with a general history of each. The accompanying map (Fig. 1) shows the location of all wells described. The first well in which granite was reported was that drilled just south of Zeandale in section 27, township 10 south, range 9 east, by a local company which had taken up a block of leases in that vicinity. At a depth of 958 ft. (291.99 m.) granite was encountered. Drilling was continued to a depth of 1,093 ft. (333 m.) in the same formation, at which depth the hole was abandoned. Another well was started 1 mile east of the first well and the same rock was found at a depth of 945 ft. (288 m.). Drilling was continued to a depth of 1,200 ft. (365.76 m.) with the bit in the sane formation. Samples of the drill cuttings have been examined and they are undoubtedly crushed granite. The next well in which granite was found was that drilled by DeLaat and Shepard, independent wildcat operators, in section 34, township 19 south,. range 7 east, near the town of Elmdale. Granite was struck at 1,707 ft. (520 m.) and the hole was abandoned in the same formation at 2,525 ft. (769 m.). Mr. DeLaat watched the drilling of this well very closely and he has described to me in some detail the formation immedi-

Jan 8, 1917

By Richard D. Hagni

The character of phosphorous-bearing minerals in the Birmingham red Iron ores and iron-bearing minerals in the Eufaula bauxite deposits in Alabama has been Intensively studied by petrographic, ore microscopic, luminescent microscopic, scanning electron microscopic, electron microprobe, and x-ray diffraction techniques. A total of 15 types of phosphorous-bearing mineral grains have been recognized in Birmingham iron ores by their characteristic sizes, shapes, and distributions. Size measurements, modal analyses, and texture analyses have permitted an estimate of potential liberation of phosphorous from the iron ores by beneficiation to be 27% In areas of previous mining and 60% in areas of current iron reserves. Fine grinding, selective flocculation, and flotation may constitute the best beneficiation technique for future research. Hematite and goethite are the most important iron minerals in Eufaula ferruginous bauxites, but pyrite, marcasite, and siderite are Important iron minerals in some varieties of ferruginous bauxite, and lepidocrocite and ilmenite occur locally in minor quantities. Although simple screening will remove the coarsest iron-bearing grains, research on the utilization of high gradient magnetic separation to reduce the amounts of iron-bearing grains is recommended.

Jan 1, 1981

By G. G. Bowser

PERUSAL of a list of present-day commercial explosives perhaps does not convey a full realization that there has been a great deal of improvement since the original dynamite was discovered nor that, in recent years, great developments have taken place in specialized explosives. This is true particularly of high-explosives for use in metalliferous mining or what is more commonly termed 'hard-rock' mining. Not many decades ago, only two or three types of explosive were avail-'able for commercial use. One was black blasting powder. Another was ordinary nitro-glycerin dynamite in various strengths. Black blasting powder remains with but very little change. Despite its ancient lineage, it is still with us as perhaps the sole explosive in use today which is almost identical in appearance, physical properties, and working ability or execution co the original. Which dynamite the story is different. Its evolution may be likened to that of the dog, nitro-glycerin as first discovered being the counterpart of the wild dog and, like it, dangerous and hard to control. The original dynamite as made by Nobel might then be considered as representing the first domesticaced species. This original dynamite, however, has been 'crossed with other bloods' until one sees now many distinct 'breeds' in the list. Present-day explosives still have the 'bark' and the 'bite', but with control and research have come many improvements; and types have been created which are specially adapted for particular kinds of work. We still have the direct descendant of Nobel's dynamite in the form of an improved nitro-glycerin dynamite. This C-I-L explosive, Polar Dynamite, is no longer the best type to use in the hunt for gold, silver, iron, and other metals. There have been developed other explosives more suitable for chat work. In Canada, such explosives are accomplishing this work effectively, not only where climatic conditions are moderate but through the rigours of our northern winters, with their sub-zero temperatures.

Jan 1, 1938

By Samuel M. Shallcross

The principal function of the Bell limestone mine, of the American Lime & Stone Co., at Bellefonte, Pa., is to supply raw material to the company's modern rotary kiln plant at Bellefonte. Because mining costs are naturally higher than many open quarries with more favorably lying strata, it cannot compete, except to a limited extent, in the markets for road material and fluxing stone. In the broad sense, mining does have an advantage over the average open quarry when the end products are designed for and controlled by process and final inspection for the exacting demands of the industrial and chemical markets. Approximately 80 per cent of the output of the Bell mine is sold in the industrial and chemical markets. And as higher standards are set each year for construction and agricultural work, the remainder of the mine output goes to these two classes. Mining produces more fines than open quarries, and these fines are difficult to market; on the other hand, owing to absence of contaminating clay and impure rock, a greater percentage of the output of a mine is marketable. Because of the great production of fines, rotary kilns for lime burning are necessary when the stone must be mined. In 1921 the American Lime & Stone Co. operated 19 quarries and 72 lime shaft kilns spread over an area of 40 miles between Bellefonte and Altoona, Pa. At that time the lime-production capacity of the 72 kilns amounted to approximately 700 tons per day. After 15 years the company operates three rotary kilns and six shaft kilns, with a combined output of approximately 500 tons of lime per day, concentrated in its single Bellefonte plant (Fig. 1). Its only stone-producing plants are now the limestone mine at Bellefonte and a construction-stone open quarry at Union Furnace, near Tyrone, Pennsylvania. Since the middle of 1922, the management of the American Lime R. Stone Co. has been under the direction and ownership of the Warner Company, of Philadelphia. To the Warner Company's experience, gained through successful operation of lime plants in eastern Pennsylvania for many years, and the successful solution of material-handling problems

Jan 1, 1937

While there have always been mining activities on the outcrops of the copper deposits around Tsumeb, large scale mining activities in Namibia only started in colonial times. Originally focusing on the known deposits, the then German Geological Survey and independent geologists soon discovered significant deposits all over the country. This eventually lead to intensive mining operations all over the country on copper, gold, diamonds, fluorspar and finally uranium. Ever since those days, mining has been one of the major economical factors of Namibia?s development, as shown in picture 1. In the Central Namib Desert mining on base metals started in 1901, and first uranium deposits were discovered as soon as 1910, later followed by others, this did, however, not lead to any mining activities on those uranium deposits in the following decades. [ ] The upswing in the use of nuclear energy in the 1960s and early 1970s triggered some extensive uranium exploration worldwide and also in Namibia. Several airborne radiometric overviews were conducted by the Geological Survey at this stage and eventually the first uranium mine was commissioned in 1976. In the following three decades, the focus of prospecting activities in Namibia shifted away from uranium again. However, since 2000 the forecast for a developing and growing global economy and its even stronger growing energy demand have triggered a large number of nuclear energy projects worldwide, thus increasing the installed nuclear energy generation capacity from 387 GW today to more than 490 GW in 2025.

Jan 1, 2011