mining

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They Found 5 Bodies Wrapped in Plastic, Then 15 More

South African discovery linked to illegal mining mishap

(Newser) - Police have uncovered the burned bodies of 20 men "wrapped in white plastic bags" in a gold mining town in South Africa. Five bodies were discovered Monday near a disused mine shaft in Orkney, North West province, about 100 miles southwest of Johannesburg, per the Sunday Times . Another body...

World's Largest Jeweler Makes Huge Pivot on Diamonds

Pandora will sell lab-made diamonds only from now on in the name of sustainability, affordability

(Newser) - "Laboratory-made diamonds are a girl's best friend" may not have the same ring to it, but the world's largest jeweler is now banking on a shift in that direction and hoping it will be a lucrative one. The BBC reports that Pandora will cease to sell mined...

Why the World's Eyes Were Focused on Greenland's Vote

It 'could have major consequences for international interests in the Arctic'

(Newser) - "A row over rare-earth deposits could bring down Greenland's government," read an NPR headline on Tuesday. On Wednesday, "could" shifted to "did." The AP reports the country's main opposition party managed to get the most votes in a parliamentary election, ending the decades-long...

'There's Gold Up There'; a Death Valley Controversy

Environmentalist, tribes vow to fight plans for open-pit mine near national park

(Newser) - "There’s gold up there and the world needs gold," Stephen Swatton, president of international mining company K2 Gold, says of an area of desert terrain next to California's Death Valley National Park. But opponents including the Sierra Club and native tribes say the plan to mine...

Trapped Miner Knocked 5 Times. He Heard 20 Knocks Back

Workers at mine in Shandong, China, describe ordeal after explosion trapped them for 2 weeks

(Newser) - The explosion happened in an instant. Wang Kang, one of 22 workers trapped some 2,000 feet underground as debris filled the shaft at the under-construction gold mine in China's Shandong province, was sent flying. "It blasted us really far away, and our safety helmets cracked," the...

Australia to Mining Firm: Rebuild Those Ancient Caves

Rio Tinto detonated explosives to access iron ore

(Newser) - Calling the destruction of 46,000-year-old Aboriginal caves "inexcusable," lawmakers in Western Australia have ordered a mining firm to rebuild caves that are among the country's most significant archaeological sites, the BBC reports. The company, Rio Tinto, detonated explosives in May to access $96 million in iron...

To Get to $7B in Gold, They Have to Wrangle Rare Rodents

Ed Stoddard at Undark describes the conservation project around Chilean mine

(Newser) - An effort to pull 3.5 million ounces of gold from a site high in the mountains of northern Chile is expected to cost $860 million—$400,000 of which has already been spent on rodents. A colony of 25 endangered short-haired chinchillas has made a home at the site...

Tanzanian Miner Again Hits Paydirt, Sells $2M Gem
Miner Cashes In Again
Aug 3, 2020 5:15 PM CDT

Miner Cashes In Again

New find brings $2M, after a $3.4M haul in June

(Newser) - The small-scale miner in Tanzania who sold two of his finds for $3.4 million in June has made another big sale. Saniniu Laizer collected $2 million for a 14-pound Tanzanite stone, the BBC reports. The rare gemstones—which a geologist said could be gone in 20 years—are found...

This Small-Scale Miner Just Became a Millionaire
With 2 Rocks, Small-Scale
Miner Strikes It Rich
in case you missed it
Jun 28, 2020 10:09 AM CDT

With 2 Rocks, Small-Scale Miner Strikes It Rich

Saniniu Laizer earns $3.4M from sale of 2 largest known tanzanite gems

(Newser) - A miner in Tanzania has become an overnight millionaire with the discovery and sale of the two largest known tanzanite gemstones ever found. Until last week, the largest known chunk of tanzanite—one of the world's rarest gemstones, believed to be found only in a small northern region of...

Mining Giant: Sorry We Blew Up 46K-Year-Old Site

Rio Tinto blew up ancient Aboriginal rock shelters in Australia

(Newser) - Rio Tinto has apologized to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people after setting off explosives last week that destroyed two ancient rock shelters in Western Australia. The sacred Aboriginal site, in the Juukan Gorge in the north of the territory, dates back 46,000 years, SBS News reports. "...

How Trump's Moon Plan Might Actually Pan Out

There really are plans to mine the moon

(Newser) - President Trump issued an executive order last month allowing US companies to mine the moon, but—is this really possible? Sure enough, Popular Mechanics lays out enough of the science, current projects, and history of moon-mining enthusiasm to make it seem real. "We've just been moving in a...

Protesters Storm Open-Pit Mine
Hundreds Storm Open-Pit Mine
Jun 22, 2019 11:30 AM CDT

Hundreds Storm Open-Pit Mine

Thousands took part in the protest, activist group says

(Newser) - Hundreds of climate change activists broke through a police cordon and stormed into one of Germany's biggest lignite coal mines Saturday, two days after European Union leaders disagreed on a plan to make the bloc carbon neutral by 2050, the AP reports. Police ordered protesters to leave the vast,...

See What's Dumping 50M Gallons of Bad Water Daily

US mines are behind the ghastly pollution

(Newser) - Every day many millions of gallons of water loaded with arsenic, lead, and other toxic metals flow from some of the most contaminated mining sites in the US and into surrounding streams and ponds without being treated, the AP has found. That torrent is poisoning aquatic life and tainting drinking...

Brazil Dam Collapse Could Be Among Deadliest in 50 Years

Death toll in Brumadinho tragedy jumps to 58, with hundreds still missing

(Newser) - Officials in Brazil feared they'd find many more bodies after a dam collapse in Brumadinho on Friday. Those fears have been realized, with the death toll climbing from under a dozen to now nearly 60. Authorities have confirmed 58 people perished and up to 300 are still missing, and...

Sea of Mud and Waste Leaves 9 Dead, 300 Missing

Dam collapse devastates Brumadinho, Brazil

(Newser) - Rescuers in helicopters on Saturday searched for survivors in a huge area in southeastern Brazil buried by mud from the collapse of a dam holding back mine waste, with at least nine people dead and up to 300 missing. Nearly a full day since the disaster happened, finding many more...

Runaway Train Dramatically Derails After 57 Miles

Aussie freight train rolled away after driver got out to inspect an issue

(Newser) - The driver of a freight train in Western Australia got out to inspect an issue with one of its 268 wagons early Monday—and it kept going without him. The train, loaded with iron ore, hurtled across 57 miles of the remote Pilbara region before it was deliberately derailed from...

Zinke Signs Mining Ban Near Yellowstone

'There are places to mine and places not to mine'

(Newser) - Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke approved a 20-year ban on new mining claims in the towering mountains north of Yellowstone National Park on Monday after two proposed gold mines raised concerns that an area drawing tourists from the around the globe could be spoiled. As Zinke signed the mineral ban at...

A Hot New Precious Metal Lures Miners to US

Cobalt mining ramps up here for the first time in decades

(Newser) - For the last four decades, cobalt mining has been almost non-existent in the US. That's changing now with what the BBC labels a rush for the precious metal recently named as critical to the US economy. With increases in price and demand for the silver-blue mineral—used in everything...

Men See Gold, Brazil Sees Jobs, Critics See Disaster

Brazil dissolves protected status of vast region, opening part of it to mining

(Newser) - The government says it's looking out for the economy and job growth; critics say it's "the biggest attack on the Amazon of the last 50 years." The BBC reports on a big move out of Brazil, where a protected area will be protected no more—at...

Obscure Act, Used Only Once, Could Undo Obama Rules

House Republicans voted to repeal 2 regulations

(Newser) - Moving to dismantle Barack Obama's legacy on the environment and other issues, House Republicans approved a measure 228-194 Wednesday that scuttles a regulation aimed at preventing coal mining debris from being dumped into nearby streams. Lawmakers also voted 235-187 to rescind a separate rule requiring companies to disclose payments...

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