Hacker News with Generative AI: Mining

Deep-sea mining threatens sea life in a way no one is thinking about (theconversation.com)
As the demand for electric car batteries and smartphones grows, mining companies are turning their attention to the deep sea, where precious metals such as nickel and cobalt can be found in potato-size nodules sitting on the ocean floor.

Deep-sea mining, Environmental Impact, Mining, Electric Vehicles, Smartphones

15 points by pseudolus 2 days ago | 1 comments

Bitcoin in the bush – the crypto mine in remote Zambia (bbc.com)
The roar of the Zambezi is deafening as millions of gallons of water crash over rocks and tumble down rapids.

Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Zambia, Africa, Mining

44 points by pseudolus 7 days ago | 13 comments

Lack of copper, reliance on imports more critical to US than "rare earth" metals (npr.org)
In recent weeks, you've likely heard a lot about rare-earth substances, thanks to President Trump's stalled efforts to secure a minerals deal with Ukraine and his talk of annexing Greenland. These vital substances fuel the growing renewables and electric-vehicle industries. However, many experts warn that the shortage of another crucial metal, used in electronics, wiring and even plumbing could be just as concerning.

Copper, Metals, Mining, Politics, Supply Chain

24 points by ck2 17 days ago | 16 comments

A river 'died' overnight in Zambia after an acidic waste spill at a Chinese mine (apnews.com)
Authorities and environmentalists in Zambia fear the long-term impact of an acid spill at a Chinese-owned mine that contaminated a major river and could potentially affect millions of people after signs of pollution were detected at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) downstream.

Environmental Disaster, Pollution, Mining, Zambia, China

23 points by perihelions 17 days ago | 0 comments

The full text of the US-Ukraine mineral deal (kyivindependent.com)

International Relations, Ukraine, Politics, Economics, Mining

10 points by mikequinlan 34 days ago | 0 comments

Rubidium Can Be More Than a Lithium Cast-Off (ieee.org)
Rubidium is often an unwanted by-product of lithium mining and extraction—but it has its own high-tech uses.

Chemistry, Mining, Technology

6 points by abe94 49 days ago | 2 comments

Why gold loves arsenic (2021) (mining.com)
An international team of geochemists discovered why gold is concentrated alongside arsenic, a phenomenon that explains the formation of most deposits of the precious metal.

Geology, Mining, Chemistry, Gold

52 points by DoreenMichele 53 days ago | 27 comments

AstroForge selects target for “high risk, seat of the pants” asteroid mission (arstechnica.com)
The concept of flying out to distant asteroids and mining them for precious metals is going to seem preposterous right up until the moment that someone actually does it.

Space Exploration, Mining, Asteroids, Technology, Risk

101 points by LorenDB 62 days ago | 79 comments

Tracking mining with multispectral satellite imagery (agnescameron.info)
This is a writeup of research into using satellite imagery to track mining operations, funded as part of Bellingcat’s 2024 Technical Writing Fellowship, and is a more in-depth version of a short guide published on their online platform. The accompanying Multispectral Satellite Imagery Explorer tool is available here. This guide is intended as an overview of my research, and a starting point for these techniques.

Remote Sensing, Environmental Monitoring, Mining, Satellite Imagery

4 points by surprisetalk 79 days ago | 0 comments

Nigeria's lithium boom: many mines are illegal and children do much of the work (apnews.com)
Growing demand for the lithium used in batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage has created a new frontier for mining in Nigeria. But it’s led to exploitation of children who are often poor and take work in small, illegal mines to support themselves and their families.

Nigeria, Mining, Lithium, Child Labor, Environmental Issues

6 points by clumsysmurf 110 days ago | 0 comments

Through-the-Earth Mine Communications (wikipedia.org)
Through-the-Earth (TTE) signalling is a type of radio signalling used in mines and caves that uses low-frequency waves to penetrate dirt and rock, which are opaque to higher-frequency conventional radio signals.

Mining, Radio Communication, Technology, Geology

39 points by slow_typist 112 days ago | 9 comments

Coal ash resources and potential for rare earth element production in the U.S. (springer.com)
The renewable energy industry is heavily reliant on rare earth elements, underscoring the need to develop resources and production.

Renewable Energy, Coal Ash, Mining, United States

5 points by rntn 129 days ago | 0 comments

Massive Amount of Rare Metal Deposits Found Off Remote Pacific Island in Japan (nippon-foundation.or.jp)

Mining, Geography, Japan, Pacific Ocean

33 points by NalNezumi 131 days ago | 24 comments

Enormous cache of rare earth elements hidden inside coal ash waste (phys.org)

Mining, Environmental Science

11 points by defrost 133 days ago | 2 comments

Brazil reaches $23B settlement with mining firms over environmental disaster (apnews.com)

Brazil, Environmental Disaster, Mining, Lawsuits, Settlements

16 points by geox 158 days ago | 2 comments

Why are victims of a Brazil dam disaster suing miner BHP in a London court? (aljazeera.com)
Global mining giant BHP faces billions of dollars in potential damages payouts over Brazil’s worst environmental disaster nine years ago, as the first hearing in the much-delayed lawsuit opened in a London court on Monday.

Lawsuits, Environmental Disasters, Mining, Brazil, UK

4 points by Qem 158 days ago | 0 comments

Mining Bitcoin with pencil and paper: 0.67 hashes per day (2014) (righto.com)
I decided to see how practical it would be to mine Bitcoin with pencil and paper.

Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Mining, Hardware, Humor

13 points by jakey_bakey 161 days ago | 4 comments

USGS uses machine learning to show large lithium potential in Arkansas (usgs.gov)
Using a combination of water testing and machine learning, a U.S. Geological Survey-led study estimated between 5 and 19 million tons of lithium reserves are located beneath southwestern Arkansas.

Machine Learning, Lithium, Geology, Arkansas, Mining

337 points by antidnan 161 days ago | 222 comments

Arkansas May Have Lithium Reserves (nytimes.com)
Researchers at the United States Geological Survey and the Arkansas government announced on Monday that they had found a trove of lithium, a critical raw material for electric vehicle batteries, in an underground brine reservoir in Arkansas.

Lithium, Mining, Electric Vehicles, Arkansas, Resources

7 points by CHB0403085482 162 days ago | 1 comments

Hurricane devastates quartz mines critical for semiconductor manufacturing (tomshardware.com)

Hurricanes, Semiconductors, Mining, Natural Disasters

3 points by geuds 183 days ago | 1 comments

Abandoned mines cover the West (hcn.org)

Environment, Mining, West

57 points by bikenaga 183 days ago | 31 comments

Brazil's illegal gold capital resists government crackdown (mongabay.com)
ITAITUBA, Brazil — José Maria Silva de Souza starts preparations early. Better known as Zé Maria, he has many stops to make before heading to his gold mine. A stop at the supermarket to buy groceries, another at the gas station. At another point, four workers climb into the back of his truck. A bit farther on, a woman who works as a cook also joins the team.

Brazil, Mining, Illegal Activities, Government Regulation, Environmental Issues

4 points by PaulHoule 191 days ago | 0 comments

Natural Piezoelectric Effect May Build Gold Deposits (arstechnica.com)

Geology, Materials Science, Gold, Mining

88 points by FairDune 210 days ago | 32 comments

The biggest diamond in over a century is found in Botswana (text.npr.org)

Diamonds, Botswana, Geology, Mining

12 points by mooreds 222 days ago | 4 comments

UK Royal Mint mining PCBs for precious metals in e-waste recovery effort (theregister.com)

Recycling, Environment, Electronics, Mining, UK

12 points by ksec 234 days ago | 1 comments

Bye-bye Bitcoin, hello AI: Texas miners leave crypto for next new wave (cnbc.com)