Publication: CIM Magazine
Less is more
The retrofit at Rio Tinto’s Kitimat operation has the smelter producing more without an increased footprint In 2011, Rio Tinto announced plans to modernize the 60-year-old Kitimat Aluminum Smelter in north-central British Columbia. Four years and $ 6 billion later, construction of the new smelter was complete. The plant has been operating at full capacity... Read more »
Publication: CIM Magazine
Clear and clean
Monitor, share, innovate, reduce and repeat. This is the new water cycle for mines. Access to water is a growing global humanitarian and environmental challenge. In the latest World Economic Forum Global Risks Report, water crises ranked fifth in terms of global impact. Competing demands for water will result in food crises, large-scale involuntary migration and... Read more »
Publication: CIM Magazine
The growing pains of supply chain certification
Supply chain transparency programs need work to address challenges faced by artisanal miners, experts say German carmaker Daimler promised it would investigate its supply chain and joined the Responsible Cobalt Initiative in early May in response to growing concern about child labour in Congolese cobalt mines. The company, which owns Mercedes-Benz, uses cobalt in its electric car... Read more »
Publication: CIM Magazine
A sweet solution to social responsibility
Cordoba Minerals’ beekeeping initiative at its San Matias project gives locals a new employment opportunity Jesus Maria Suarez looks like a typical mineral exploration project employee in his well-worn jeans and blue shirt, emblazoned with the company logo. In the mountainous jungle of northern Colombia, he is as well known to the local communities as... Read more »
Publication: Mineral Exploration
Artisanal Mining Explored
By Kylie Williams El Alacran gold mine is nestled in the jungle-covered hills of northern Colombia. The name means “the scorpion” in Spanish, and is a cluster of over 140 informal mining sites, intermingled with the homes of the 195 traditional mining families who operate them. For 40 years, these men, women and children have been extracting ore using rudimentary tools and equipment,... Read more »
Publication: RiAus Blog: Everyday Science
From My Toilet To The Gold Mine
By Kylie Williams Flush the toilet in Bathurst and your effluent may soon be recycled for use at a new gold mine near Orange. While the mine would be a boon for central New South Wales by providing new employment and flow-on benefits to local businesses, securing a water supply for the thirsty mine is... Read more »