Category: Mining

Niobium (Nb/41) is a soft, malleable, and highly resistant superconductor metal. It naturally occurs in nature, mingled with other kinds of metallic minerals. Because it is a material that increases the level of efficiency of metallic alloys, Niobium is employed in a plethora of industrial sectors such as construction, naval, space, aeronautical, nuclear, and technological industries.… Read More

Nuclear power is the release of energy from the atomic core of radioactive elements, such as uranium, plutonium and thorium. It has military and civil use, with the latter referring to the generation of electricity for civil consumption.… Read More

The idea of the frontier is often referred to, and employed, as an accepted concept of an empty space that is open to exploration. However, what does the ‘frontier’ actually mean?… Read More

On 30 October 2019, our team presented at IHEID on the state of the lithium industry in Australia. The presentation included discussions on:

• Hard rock vs. salt brine lithium extraction and processing methods
• Lithium processing chain steps
• Australian national policies contributing to the Australian lithium mining’s success
• Lithium’s market landscape
• Lithium’s future

You can access the presentation slides as a PDF here.… Read More

This link provides a PDF version of a presentation on: New Extraction Frontiers… Read More

Lithium, a commodity of the green economy

In this green economy era, lithium has become the symbol of a new consumption paradigm, more ecofriendly and less impactful for the environment.… Read More

Because of the global nature of the resource extraction industry and the variety of actors involved, states are no longer the only ones to have power, and thus sovereignty, over their own land.… Read More

While the predominant view of the natural world and global environmental discourse stems from a western neoliberal legacy, the indigenous views of nature is set in a polemic opposition of this mainstream narrative.… Read More

Overview of Deep Sea Mining:

Deep Sea Mining (DSM) is one of the “new extraction frontiers” likely to occur in the near future. DSM is the extraction of minerals from under the seabed, usually 500 meters below sea level.… Read More