A new UN report details the environmental costs of artificial intelligence, including its burgeoning electricity use, carbon emissions, water footprint, and land occupation. The investigation finds that AI's expansion involves significant energy consumption, leading to substantial CO2, water, and land footprints.
Brazil needs to build separation and refining facilities, master permanent magnet production, and address environmental risks. The country's capacity to meet global demand for rare-earth magnets is currently only around 6%.
A new Northwestern University study finds that most proposed US lithium mines could face significant water shortages, posing challenges to the country's growing industry. Climate change and competition for resources exacerbate existing water stress in areas like southern California and Nevada.
A new model combines text mining and machine learning to extract service-specific aspects and customer actions from online reviews. The model effectively identifies core technical issues and user love for a platform, enabling targeted decisions for improvement. Researchers validated the model using 231,705 online reviews of Roblox.
The University of Utah has launched a new Institute for Critical and Strategic Minerals (ICSM) to address the US's growing reliance on foreign critical minerals. The institute aims to expand sustainable, domestic sources and production of critical minerals through education, workforce development, and cutting-edge research.
A new framework, 'just-shoring,' aims to shift focus from competition and security to the rights and interests of local communities whose lands are most at risk. The approach prioritizes accountability and transparency, giving communities a legal right to co-govern throughout the mineral lifecycle.
A study reveals that expanding existing mines worsens environmental and social risks over time, with many operations concentrated in high-risk contexts. The practice tends to draw less regulation due to its routine nature, unlike new mining projects.
A team of Australian engineers has developed a process to convert low-grade illite and kaolin clays into high-performance cement supplements, reducing CO2 emissions and increasing concrete strength. The study demonstrates the feasibility of using these clays as substitutes for traditional cement in construction materials.
Gold mining in the Amazon depletes land of its water, creating harsh conditions where replanted seedlings can't survive. Researchers suggest flattening sand piles and filling in ponds could improve moisture retention and boost regrowth.
The SEMACRET project developed socially and environmentally sustainable means of exploring critical raw materials in the EU. Research results refined ore deposit models, optimizing regional prospectivity modeling and advanced geophysical imaging inversion algorithms.
A researcher from Göttingen University advises on overcoming difficulties faced by mining communities in transition, suggesting a three-step approach centered around stakeholder collaboration. This approach combines early planning, local-based solutions, and targeted investments to foster economic and workforce transformation.
The study suggests that increased demand for energy transition metals could be more disruptive to some communities than winding back production of thermal coal. An additional 115.7 million people would be at risk from disruption by ETMs.
The study reveals that asbestos minerals undergo changes that resemble self-defense when internalized by human lung cells. These changes include the formation of an iron-rich layer on the minerals, which may be a mechanism to protect the cell from toxicity.
A team of Korean researchers has successfully extracted high-quality magnesium sulphate, without calcium impurities, from seawater desalination brine using a novel ethanol-based process. The process achieved up to 67% magnesium recovery efficiency and has potential applications in the pharmaceutical and food industry.
A new method developed by Penn State and LLNL demonstrates a promising way to extract and separate rare earth elements from low-grade sources. The protein-based approach separates metals with greater than 99% purity, offering a more efficient and eco-friendly alternative to traditional methods.
Researchers have developed a new method for reconstructing past Earth surface temperatures using clumped isotopes. By analyzing the ratio of two rare carbonate groups, scientists can now accurately determine temperature without being influenced by mineralization processes.
Researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf have developed a new procedure to optimize water usage in mineral beneficiation technology. By using process simulation, the team was able to significantly reduce water consumption, from 4,000 litres per tonne of ore to below 1,000 litres per tonne. This innovation has the potential t...
A team of researchers from the University of Exeter has identified methods to predict the environmental and social cost of resourcing new deposits of rare earth minerals. The study proposes a 'Fairtrade' model for ethically and sustainably resourcing raw materials, crucial in the manufacturing of next-generation technologies.
Scientists have developed a new method to synthesize mother of pearl, mimicking nature's process using an organic matrix and mineralization. The resulting synthetic nacre has similar mechanical properties to its natural counterpart, making it a promising material for various applications.
Researchers have discovered that mine waste rock has significant CO2 sequestration potential, which could be economically valued and used to offset emissions. The technology has the potential to capture five to ten times more CO2 than total greenhouse gas production from some mine operations.
Richard Hogg, a renowned expert in particle technology, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his groundbreaking work on coagulation and flocculation. His research interests span multiple areas of particle technology, including characterization, mixing, and agglomeration processes.
Researchers have discovered previously unseen compositional differences in the moon's crustal highlands and confirmed the presence of material surprisingly abundant in silica. This has provided scientists with global, high-resolution infrared maps of the moon, enabling them to identify silicates commonly found within its crust.
Researchers have developed a new white paper coating inspired by the Cyphochilus beetle's shell, which produces a bright and efficient whiteness. The coating uses a unique structure to scatter white light, resulting in a lighter weight paper with high whiteness, potentially reducing costs.