Mining

The soils of a Westland, Michigan city park with a playground and numerous baseball fields has been found to contain widely fluctuating levels of lead and arsenic - some well beyond acceptable limits. The park had formerly been a sand mining operation and road building dump. Current thoughts are that the site will need to be remediated through the installation of a geosynthetic barrier and clean soil and clay. Learn more here.;

The $1 million cleanup operation of polluted mining waste at Claimjumper in Breckinridge, Colorado is just about finished. Nearly 800 truckloads of lead-tainted material was transported from the site. A cap has been installed over the polluted soils. Learn more here.;

A gold mining operation in Costa Rica has been suspended while engineers examine suspected cracks in the leach pad liner. They must also evaluate whether cyanide--commonly used in the leaching process--has spilled. Ground movement may be to blame. Learn more here.;

The forthcoming issue of Land & Water will feature a generic article on canal lining geosynthetics. The article, "Smarter Infrastructures" by Chris Kelsey, offers a general introduction to types of liner materials.

Phoenix Resources Inc. has moved a step closer to expanding its construction and demolition waste landfill in Duncan Township, Pennsylvania. The site includes mining shafts into which Phoenix has proposed expanding rather than building on top and risk a sinkhole developing and stressing the liner. Read more. Learn more here.;

Western hemisphere manufacturer of studded concrete protection liner (HDPE, LLDPE, multicolors) is seeking agent/distributor/installer in North America. Material already installed in major international infrastructure projects. Applications include sewer tunnels, wastewater treatment plants, potable water reservoirs, mining/chemical process solution storage, manholes, canal liners, etc. Please contact lara@geosynthetica.net.

The term "Film Tearing Bond (FTB)" for qualifying welded geomembrane seams essentially disappeared from the waste containment sector several years ago, but it still remains in the potable water sector. Ian Peggs, I-CORP INTERNATIONAL, authors a tech note proposing "that we forever banish FTB."

The November 2006 issue of ASTM's Standardization News has an article available on-line about D35's newly developed standard D7178 - Practice for Determining the Number of Constrictions “m” of Non-Woven Geotextiles as a Complementary Filtration Property. Learn more here.;

ASTM International Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has developed a new standard that is an important step toward the improvement of filtration design for non-woven geotextiles. The standard, D 7178, Practice for Determining the Number of Constrictions “m” of Non-Woven Geotextiles as a Complementary Filtration Property, will provide engineers and researchers a common basis for accurate determination of an important products property… Learn more here.;

Nonwovens Industry's 37th Annual Guide lists suppliers and producers of nonwovens around the globe in one comprehensive listing. Learn more here.;

"When asked what voltage setting was used to perform spark testing on a pipe penetration weld the operator said “Dunno, I just turned it to the max as stated in the instructions”! This is just the right way to miss leaks, as happened..." Ian Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL takes a look at what is occurring during spark testing.

The latest episode of Land & Water's Erosion and Sediment Control Network (ESCN) TV news is available online. This week's topics: controlling erosion and stormwater runoff on landfill caps; exemptions for stormwater permits to homebuilders; and modified riprap. Watch it online. Learn more here.;

AMCOL International Corporation (NYSE: ACO) today announced it has bought Australian mining rights from Phoslock Water Solutions. A processing facility, located in Miles, Queensland was also purchased which will managed & operated by Volclay Pty. Ltd. Larry Washow, AMCOL president and chief executive officer, said, “The investment is complementary to our existing bentonite business which has been in operation for over 30 years. Acquiring these local bentonite mineral rights will not only strengthen our position in the metalcasting market, but will allow our Australian subsidiary, Volclay Pty. Ltd, the ability to grow in local construction markets and provide a valuable addition to AMCOL’s bentonite resources in the Asian region.” Les Bone, Volclay Pty. Ltd. managing director, added, “We are excited at the opportunity to increase our service level and provide a cost-effective solution to imported bentonite. This access to high-quality bentonite enables Volclay to offer a more consistent product blend. ” Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

ENGEPOL will be participating of the largest mining fair in Latin America - EXPOMIN 2006. The EXPOMIN 2006 will be held 23-27 May 2006 in the Espacio Riesco, Santiago, Chile. Your visit at ENGEPOL booth number 39C will be highly appreciated. If you require a free invitation, please feel free to contact ENGEPOL by calling their mobile phone number +55 11 9179 5906 as from 23 May. Learn more here.;

According to Iceland Review, borehole samples in Iceland indicate that gold may be mined there. Studies are on-going as to whether the gold content in the rock is significant enough to justify and pay for the processing. Geosynthetic containment systems have become vital to controlling mining-related pollution while creating efficiencies in the processing system: product is not lost. Learn more here.;

3 New Approved Standards and 1 Work Item (the withdrawl of D276-00a) for this week.

Read NAUE News Issue 24 - June 2005 at the "continued" link below. Features include: 4th German Geosynthetics Colloquium review, national and international projects, articles: Long-term Service Lifetime of Bentofix® GCLs, and Secugrid® Reinforced Soils, as well as a schedule of shows and conferences.

Environmental Forensics, an international journal, provides a forum for scientific investigations that address environmental contamination which is subject to law court, arbitration, public debate, or formal argumentation and is subject to the basic science that serves as underpinnings to those activities. Journal subject matter encompasses all aspects of contamination within the environmental media of air, water, soil and biota. Learn more here.;

Vector Engineering, has expanded its central geotechnical laboratory, which services the mining and solid waste sectors. The major addition involves a new loading system for testing pipe deflection and geomembrane liner puncturing. Vector's lab can now simulate heap heights exceeding 200 meters. Also, Vector has increased the load capactiy of its large scale direct shear apparatuses to 200 psi, almost twice their previous limit. Learn more here.;

11 announcements from ASTM regarding revised, new, and edited standards and work items

WK2334 - Test Method for Determining the (In-plane) Flow Rate per Unit Width and Hydraulic Transmissivity of a Geosynthetic Using a Constant Head is a work item revision to existing standard D4716-01. Learn more here.;

D5048-03 - Standard Test Method for Measuring the Comparative Burning Characteristics and Resistance to Burn-Through of Solid Plastics Using 125-mm Flame (revised). Learn more here.;

Subcommittee: D35.10 initiated WK1997 - Standard Test Method for Determining the Integrity of Prefabricated Bituminous Geomembrane Seams on July 17, 2003. Learn more here.;

ASTM's F2231 - Standard Test Method for Charpy Impact Test on Thin Specimens of Polyethylene Used in Pressurized Pipes is a new standard, now available. Learn more here.;

7IGC 22-27 September 2002 in Nice was a fantastic success! Over 1,200 attendees, all booths sold out(and a few extras), elections, four unique educational tracks (300+ papers), dining, dancing, footballand so much more.