Gold Information

Rose Gold Jewelry

2008-08-22T03:00:00.003-07:00

A unique twist on a timeless tradition is a wedding ring made of rose gold. This particular style of ring is often chosen by couples because of its romantic tones and unique color.

A karat is a measure of the purity of the metal used in the making of a ring. The lower the karat in a gold ring, the more durable the ring will be. Rose gold is made up not just of gold, but of other metals such as copper. Different shades of rose gold are created when the amount of copper and gold in the alloy are adjusted. The lower the karat of the ring, the stronger the rose color will be. 14 karat rose gold is often made with close to 60% gold and over 30% copper. The remaining alloy used is silver. The additional alloys help keep the rose gold ring in excellent condition to last through your lives together.

Rose gold is not only beautiful, but durable. It makes a statement that sets a couple apart from other newlyweds. This unusual, beautiful shade is a nod to the riches and symbolism of the olden days. It is a fashionable, timeless way to express your love and marriage.

Afshin Yaghtin, graduated as an English Major from UCLA before earning his Master’s Degree at the University of Wales, in Aberystwyth. He now runs Apples of Gold Jewelry.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Yaghtin_Afshin

Derek's Gold Mastery Guide Reviewed - Is Derek's Gold Mastery Guide the Best WoW Gold Guide?

2008-08-22T03:00:00.002-07:00

Derek's Gold Mastery Guide, is one of the newest WoW Gold Making Guides to become available recently. This guide promotes that it can help anyone at any level make close to if not more than 150 gold an hour in WoW. While this claim does appear to be outrageous, Derek's Gold Mastery guide does an exceptional job of providing step-by-step ways to farm plenty of WoW gold. Many other WoW Gold Farming Guides would do well to take notes on how Derek's Gold Mastery guide illustrates the art of WoW gold farming into completely legitimate and easy to follow steps.

Derek is the author of the Warcraft Riches Guide, hence why it is sometimes called Derek's Gold Mastery Guide. Derek has been playing World of Warcraft since the beginning and has mastered golf farming in Wow. Many of these secret methods he picked up by observing the online WoW gold famers who inhabit the WoW realms. These WoW gold farmers are very efficient in how they collect gold. They then create websites and offer the gold they farmed to other WoW players for a price. For many of these gold makers, this is their career. By watching these WoW gold farmers in action, Derek was able to pick up valuable secrets on how to quickly make huge amounts of gold in WoW.

Derek's Gold guide is divded into many smaller sections. This allows the user to determine which way they want to make use of to make obscene amounts of gold in WoW. One of the sections is the WoW Guide to Leveling Professions. This guide goes through each WoW profession and illustrates the fastest method to level each of the professions. Derek's Gold Mastery Profession Guide also explains how to use each profession to make the maximum amount of gold possible.

Other guides included as part of Derek's Gold Mastery guide is a section on the Auction House, a Fishing guide, and a General/Grinding guide. All of these guides provide easy to follow steps on how to make the most gold possible in WoW. Some World of Warcraft Gold Farming Guides only provide information on one piece of the WoW economy. The Warcraft Riches guide is the rare WoW gold book that provides plenty of information on how to make WoW gold through many different methods. Whether it's the Professions, the Auction House, or Grinding, Derek's Gold Mastery guide has ways to make large amounts of gold through all of them. Some of the secret tactics can even be used in conjunction to really see the WoW gold farming skyrocket.

When trying to find a good WoW gold guide, take into account what aspects of WoW are entertaining. If killing monsters is fun, then methods to make gold via monster killing should be considered. Just because a WoW gold guide makes claims of 200 or more gold an hour does not guarantee that the manner in which the gold is farmed will be fun.Check out Derek's Gold Mastery Guide at Top-Warcraft-Guides.com for the latest information on how to make gold in World of Warcraft.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Southy

World of Warcraft Gold - Virtual Gold for Real Money

2008-08-22T03:00:00.001-07:00

As J.R.R. Tolkien pointed out half a century ago, "All that is gold does not glitter." That statement seems particularly apt when applied to World of Warcraft gold. Not only is World of Warcraft gold the virtual currency of a virtual world -- and therefore doesn't glitter at all except on computer screens -- it's worth real gold on the world financial markets. In fact, World of Warcraft gold is worth more than many hard currencies, including the Japanese yen, Indian rupee, and Russian ruble. What's going on here?

A cross of gold

Recently, World of Warcraft gold peaked at almost a dime per gold piece -- not bad when you consider that the World of Warcraft MMORPG, where it's the prime unit of in-game currency, debuted in late 2004. The value of World of Warcraft gold is on par with the Mexican peso, and much better than, say, the Jamaican dollar (65 to the U.S. dollar). Why this run on World of Warcraft gold? Blame it on the five million people worldwide who play World of Warcraft (that's more people than live in the state of Colorado). To many of these people, and their millions of avatars striving to make a life in Azeroth, World of Warcraft gold is as real and as useful as the currency they use to buy sodas at the corner store.

Sure, you can work your fingers to the bone earning a pile of World of Warcraft gold, but we've got a better way: Find the best sources for WoW gold than you’ll know what to do with.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Willigerod

Victoria Resource Corp. issues shares to Bema Gold Corp

2008-02-15T03:43:00.000-08:00

VANCOUVER, B.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 1996--BEMA GOLD CORPORATION (TSE:VSE)(AMEX:BGO) VICTORIA RESOURCE CORP (VSE:VIT) Victoria Resource Corporation ("Victoria") and Bema Gold Corporation ("Bema Gold") announce that Victoria has issued common shares to Bema Gold to settle debt as previously announced on February 3, 1996. Vancouver Stock Exchange approval was received on May 13, 1996 and on May 27, 1996 Victoria issued 513,857 shares at a deemed price of $0.28 as repayment of $143,879.99.

BEMA GOLD CORPORATION Roger Richer Secretary VICTORIA RESOURCE CORPORATION Christine Fowler Secretary -0- NOTE TO EDITORS:The Vancouver and Toronto stock exchanges neither approve nor disapprove the information contained in the News Release. Bema Gold Corporation trades on the Vancouver, Toronto and American stock exchanges, symbol BGO. Victoria Resource Corporation trades on the Vancouver stock exchange, symbol VIT.

Bema Gold Corp. financing completed

2008-02-15T03:42:00.000-08:00

VANCOUVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 1996--BEMA GOLD CORPORATION (TSE, VSE, AMEX:BGO) The bought deal financing announced by Bema Gold on April 18, 1996 was closed on May 15, 1996.

Three million Bema shares were issued for total gross proceeds of $15 million which will be used for Bema Gold's portion of the current Cerro Casale drilling program on the Aldebaran Property, Chile (49 percent Bema Gold/51 percent Arizona Star Resource Corp.) as well as a $3 million private placement in Arizona Star by Bema and general corporate purposes.

On Behalf of BEMA GOLD CORPORATION Clive T. Johnson Chairman, C.E.O. and President -0- EDITOR'S NOTE:The Vancouver and Toronto Stock Exchanges neither approve nor disapprove the information contained in this News Release. Bema Gold Corporation trades on the Vancouver, Toronto and American Stock Exchanges. Symbol - BGO

Lincoln Gold Corp.: Kinross Plans Exploration Program for Jenny Hill, Nevada

2008-02-14T03:22:00.000-08:00

LINCOLN GOLD CORP. (OTCBB: LGCP) is pleased to announce that it has been informed by its joint venture partner, Kinross Gold Corporation, that it is continuing to develop drill targets on the Jenny Hill property located in the Black Hills in Mineral and Nye Counties, Nevada. The large claim block lies directly between the past producing gold mines of Paradise Peak and Denton Rawhide. Permitting for Phase 1 exploration drilling is planned for sometime in the second quarter of 2006 and drilling of 10 to 15 reverse-circulation holes is planned for the third quarter. Drilling will test for gold skarn and distal dissemination (Carlin-type) gold targets hosted in Triassic Luning Formation.Lincoln Gold Corp. is a US based gold-silver exploration company located in Nevada with several projects in various stages of exploration. Lincoln presently owns, or has options to acquire 100% interest in four projects in Nevada all with potential for discovery of large gold-silver deposits including Buffalo Valley, JDS, Jenny Hill and Hannah. The Company has also optioned the La Bufa gold-silver property in the Guadalupe y Calvo district in Chihuahua State, Mexico.This Press Release may contain, in addition, to historical information, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are based on management's expectations and beliefs, and involve risks and uncertainties. This news release may contain information about adjacent properties on which we have no right to explore or mine. These statements may involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from the results implied herein. Key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements are:

(i) the inability of the Company to complete the acquisition of any interest in any new mineral exploration properties;

(ii) the inability of the Company to achieve the financing required to pursue the acquisition of exploration of any new mineral properties;

(iii) the inability of the Company to complete the acquisition of Lincoln Gold;

(iv) the inability of the Company to raise the financing necessary to conduct exploration of the Lincoln Gold properties; and

(v) the presence of commercial mineralization on the Lincoln Gold properties.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements made in this Press Release.

GoldQuest Provides Update on Exploration Alliance With Gold Fields and Announces Commencement of Drilling at Cerro Dorado

2008-02-14T03:21:00.000-08:00

GoldQuest Mining Corp. ("GoldQuest" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: GQC)(FRANKFURT: M1W) has been informed by its exploration partner Gold Fields Ltd that they have commenced diamond drilling on the Company's Cerro Dorado project and will then drill test new targets on the Piedra Iman project. The total planned drilling is 6,250 meters.

Gold Fields are earning a 60% interest in the Piedra Iman, Cerro Dorado and other projects in the Dominican Republic by spending US$5M over a three year period.

Cerro Dorado Gold Fields recently completed six north-south lines of IP geophysics over the Cerro Dorado project totaling 7,393 meters. Cerro Dorado was discovered by GoldQuest geologists during the Gold Fields funded regional exploration programme. Geologists followed up a float sample of silica-pyrite that returned 491 g/t Au and 7.6% Cu which lead to the discovery of a mineralised diorite intrusion which the company drilled and got several encouraging intercepts including 22.86 metres grading 2.94 g/t Au (Hole CD-1) and 46 meters grading 1.34 g/t Au (CD-4).

As a result of the new IP survey, five diamond drill holes are planned to test a strong IP chargeability target identified approximately five hundred meters west of the principal zone of previous drilling. The average depth for each of the new drill holes is planned to be 350 meters, for a total of approximately 1,750 meters. Holes have been positioned to test both the main part of the IP anomaly located on the Joboban concession and along the northeastern extension of the IP anomaly located on the Centenario concession where it appears to coincide with a mapped contact between chlorite schist and quartz sericite schist and correlates with a gold in soil geochemical anomaly.

The Joboban concession is 100% owned by GoldQuest. The Centenario concession is under option from Energold Drilling Corp. whereby GoldQuest can earn an initial 60% interest by spending US$1M over a three year period and up to 80% by advancing the project to feasibility study. Both the Joboban and Centenario concessions are included in GoldQuest's joint venture agreement with Gold Fields.

Piedra Iman

GoldQuest has also been informed by Gold Fields that they intend to carry out a 4,550 meter drill program on GoldQuest's Piedra Iman project approximately four kilometers northwest of the Pueblo Viejo gold mine currently the subject of a feasibility study by Barrick Gold Corp. GoldQuest identified the Piedra Iman property during a regional stream sediment sampling programme. Massive silicification covers more than 50% of the property with mineralization occurring as massive to semi-massive magnetite and hematite typically observed as broad zones of boulder float. In November 2006 GoldQuest management, in conjunction with economic geologist Richard Sillitoe, published a technical paper in Economic Geology discussing the geology of the Pueblo Viejo deposit and an exploration model for surrounding area including Piedra Iman.

Gold Fields recently completed ten northeast trending lines of IP geophysics totaling 11,939 meters over the Northern Target on Piedra Iman. This consists of the North West trending altered Maura Fault Zone and a lesser developed parallel trending altered zone located approximately 1 km to the south west. The principal IP anomaly covers 1,200 meters of strike length of the Maura Fault Zone. An IP response was found at depth, more or less contained between the main structures of the Maura Fault Zone. This response is believed to be coincident with sulfide development, typical of the high sulfidation epithermal target. Three IP lines totaling 3,578 meters were also completed over the Western target, where zones of anomalous soil geochemistry coincide with a relatively strong IP anomaly.

A total of 4,550 meters of drilling in 13 holes are planned for the Piedra Iman project comprising nine holes in the Maura Fault Zone, two holes in the south western zone of the Northern Target, and two holes in the Western Target. The drill will mobilize to Piedra Iman as soon as drilling has been completed at Cerro Dorado.

Josefina

Three wide spaced, northeast trending lines of IP geophysics were completed on the Josefina property totaling 3,840 meters. Two lines were completed on the El Can target in the east and one on the El Altar target in the west. A three to four hole drill programme is planned by Gold Fields.

Other exploration projects

During the last quarter fieldwork comprising geological mapping and geochemical sampling has also been completed on the Loma Viejo Pedro, Jengibre, Tierra Mala and Bacco y Ofir projects. Updates on these projects will be released when sample results are received.

Las Animas project

Diamond drilling continues on the Las Animas project. Samples from six further drill holes are currently in the laboratory being analyzed. Results from these holes, totaling 1,137 meters, are expected shortly. Las Animas is owned 100% by GoldQuest and is excluded from the Gold Fields agreement.

Gold Prices In India - Time To Rush In?

2008-02-05T00:51:00.000-08:00

Internationally, gold prices have risen strongly since 1999. Today’s spot price is the range of US$ 735 per ounce. It must be remembered that despite this rise, prices have not reached the peak reached in 1980 (US$ 850 per ounce on 21 January 1980). Recent price rise appears to be driven by global financial worries, lowering US interest rates and strong demand in China and India.

Gold prices in India are expected to continue rising. ICICI Bank is reportedly pricing gold at approximately Rs 9550 per 10 gms (grams). Spot price of gold today (8.10.2007) on MCX (Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited) was at Rs 9461 per 10 gms, while the 05 Dec 2007 contract is priced at Rs 9510 and a 05 Apr 2008 contract priced at around Rs 9715. Some commentators expect gold prices to touch Rs 9800 by December 2007.

Resident Indians and NRI, both maintain a keen interest in gold due to social reasons. However, if this expected price rise is seen as a reason to rush in and buy gold for investment – investors need to stop and consider for a moment that the expected price rise in India is equivalent to a 10.5% pa growth rate. India bank deposits (e.g. with SBI, HDFC Bank) can get you more than 9 % pa and therefore a 10.5% return on an asset class where prices fluctuate seems moderate.

There has also been a perception that gold acts as a long term natural hedge against inflation. Data from the US does not necessarily support this assumption. If gold prices were to have kept pace with US inflation since Jan 1980, current price should have been US$ 2100 per ounce!

Indian investors should also be aware, that while gold prices in dollars could strengthen, a weakening dollar could mean a slower rise in gold prices in rupee terms. Some are expecting the Indian rupee (INR) to get to Rs 39 per US Dollar by December 2007, which in itself could create additional challenges for the Indian economy.

Franck Muller Mens Watches: Cintree Curvex Chronograph Perpetual Calendar

2008-02-05T00:50:00.000-08:00

Cintree Curvex Chronograph Perpetual Calendar is an automatic using the Franck Muller 7000 caliber with Dubois Depraz calendar module. It has 42hours autonomy and is balanced for 28,800vph. Consisting of 26 jewels, this piece has top-quality flat-balance spring with the rotor in platinum.

It is beveled and decorated with Cotes de Geneve and circular graining patterns, ending off with blued screws. Functions include hour, minute, 24-hour, and perpetual calendar displaying date, day, month, year and moonphase. The chronograph has one counter.

The two-piece tonneau shaped 18K yellow-gold case is anatomically curved at a size of 40x34mm and has a thickness of 13mm. Along with a curved sapphire crystal it has 4 correctors in the middle and gold olive-shaped pushers with case protectors and gold crown.

The back is fastened by 4 screws and is water resistant to 3atm (30m). It comes with hand-stitched crocodile strap along with gold clasp.

The silvered guilloche soleil dial comes curved with printed Arabic numerals. The Stuart hands are in blued steel.

Indications include day and 24-hour at 3 and month with retrograde hand at 6. The four-year cycle sits at 8 along with date at 9 and moonphase at 12. It has center seconds and minute track with divisions of 1/5 second.

How To Make Easy Gold In WoW - Review Of Valkor's Gold Guide

2008-02-01T02:53:00.000-08:00

Valkor's gold making guide was researched and created by a world of warcraft player with 3 years playing experience. This is a guide that is full of necessary information on how to make gold in World of Warcraft.

The contents of the guide contain detailed tips on all you can do to make gold quick and easy. It shows how to make the most of your profits at the auction house, the instance runs to do and how to do them for maximum profit and where the best sellers are. You also have the absolute best spots in the game where to collect the most gold in the game. These are spots that are very hard to find in a game whose size is so big that it would take several lifetimes to search through.

Other goodies attached to this World of Warcraft gold making guide are the list of add-ons that the author lists to help cut down the time used in your gold farming exploits. These are all free to download and are a helpful resource if you want to become a serious gold farmer.

Each levelling section of the game is covered. So whether you are fighting in the low levels scraping bits of copper or if you are managing a few gold coins a week at higher levels, then you have all the lucrative areas of your leveling zones covered so that you don't waste your time in the numerous barren areas of Azeroth.

You will have a 60 day free pass for providing any new gold making tip not found in the guide. It means that the guide is constantly updated not only by the author's new findings, but also by that of other players in World of Warcraft. This way if any gold making method covered in the guide should ever become out of date by some weird Blizzard patch, then there will be a plethora of others that takes their place.

Valkor's gold making guide comes in easy to print off format so that you can read it offline if you want to. The 200 gold an hour the author says you will make reading this guide is probably not something you will achieve in your first gold making runs, but as you keep practising this is absolutely a goal that is within reach, saving you hundreds if not thousands of dollars if you previously purchased your gold which is against the rules. The tips in Valkor´s gold making guide is legal and there is no risk for your account will be locked. No matter if you are Horde or Alliance, the guide covers it all.

Warcraft Gold Tips - 7 Tips To Making 100 Gold An Hour

2008-02-01T02:50:00.000-08:00

If you play World of Warcraft then you already know that the livelihood of your character and his/her strength is dependent on how much gold you have. This directly impacts how fast you can level and what kinds of guilds you can get into!

But instead of wasting a ton of money actually buying gold from online businesses that sell gold for real money, you should just optimize the way you play the game so you can earn more gold naturally.

If you play smarter, you won't have to play longer to earn maybe 2-3 times the gold you currently own. So, play just as hard and you have to do nothing extra except to make some of the right moves.

By the way, none of these techniques or tricks are illegal in any way - you cannot get booted from Warcraft for using them!

7 Tips To Making More Gold On World of Warcraft

1. Make sure to get the top gold making guide out, they have all the specific and detailed tips you need.

2. Watch for humanoids - they have a predisposition for dropping good items and gold.

3. Get a profession like skinning - this allows you to kill creatures and sell the skin.

4. Mining is also a very lucrative profession.

5. Many also say that one of the best professions for earning gold is fishing.

6. Make sure to use the auction house system very efficiently.

7. Always check auction houses for sales prices so you have a good idea of what items sell for.

These are just a few tips to help you get started. Remember, the best way to get very good at collecting gold is to pick up the best Warcraft gold making guide on the market, they are very inexpensive but can save you months of playing time!

Name Plate Necklace

2008-01-31T04:17:00.000-08:00

Name plates can be emblazoned with one line of text or whole addresses. Name plate necklaces, on other hand, cannot be more than one line of text. Usually this is the name of the user. The name plate necklace can be customized, typical, or trendy.

Gold name necklaces are often approximately two inches in length. They have a clutch that holds the gold chain. The designs of name plate necklaces are numerous. Some costly ones might have fine quality diamonds studded into them.

Twenty-four karat gold is the purest form of gold, but this much purity can hardly be used in ornaments because at this stage gold is very soft. The purity of gold used in a name necklace is generally marked near the clutch of the name necklace. However, evaluation of gold ornaments depends not only on the purity of the gold, but also on the sophistication of the design and the handiwork.

Name necklaces can also be made of silver. Genuine silver has about 93% silver in it. The remaining 7% is made of other metals to harden the ornament and form the desired shape for the ornament. The mark of genuine silver is 925 or .925. It is internationally acknowledged. If this mark is not mentioned then the purity of silver is in doubt. Genuine silver turns black or dull if not properly cared for. It should also not be cleaned with harsh materials.

Gold and silver name necklaces can be cleaned with a soft detergent, warm water, or a gold or silver wash. But be careful, because the chemicals that are used to clean these items may damage the gem stone attached to the name necklace.

Valkor's Gold Making Guide Review

2008-01-31T04:15:00.000-08:00

There is no doubt that the amount of gold a player has in World of Warcraft plays a very large part in how good the character is. Many people spend, or waste, a lot of time trying to figure out how to make more gold. A large amount of players even go as far as to pay real life money in exchange for in game gold. This amazes me; I couldn't imagine spending my hard earned money in exchange for some WoW gold that I will only have temporarily. This is where the market for Gold Making Guides comes in. At least if a player purchases a guide, they will have the information to obtain an unlimited amount of gold.

Add Note:
The top World of Warcraft Gold Making Guide is one by the name of Valkor's Gold Making Guide. Valkor's was the best resource to get a player out there and making the big gold fast. The amount of detail was truly amazing. There was absolutely no confusion as to what was needed to be done. All the processes were explained very thoroughly, and many of them even included diagrams and screenshots.

Valkor's Gold Making Guide has a large emphasis put on buying items at a reasonably low price, then relisting them at the Auction House with a mark-up, thus making you a profit. There is detail of how to do this starting with very little gold all the way up to doing it when you are a wealthy player. There are certain add-ons that help out a lot and monitor the Auction House so you can find the best bargains. Valkor's Gold Making Guide explains step by step how to these add-ons to your full advantage.

For those times that you don't feel like tackling the Auction House, there is a very extensive section on grinding for gold. Valkor's Gold Making Guide keeps the detail rich in this section as well. It explains exactly where you need to be farming, what you need to be farming and how much you can expect to make. There are even some great diagrams included to show you exactly where you need to be going.

There was no doubt at all that Valkor's Gold Making Guide had what it truly took to make a great WoW Gold Guide. It emphasizes the most important factor, which is making gold at the Auction House. It shows various ways to do this as well. It will get you out there and making gold faster than the rest of the guides also.

How To Get Gold in World of Warcraft-You Can Buy That Steed!

2008-01-30T02:18:00.000-08:00

How To Get Gold in World of Warcraft should be one of your main aims in the game and mean levelling up is a necessity but once you are a high level you will find you need to know How To Get Gold in World of Warcraft to be able to get any further in the game!

I am going to tell you one way you can use to learn How To Get Gold in World of Warcraft as a lot of people when asked How To Get Gold in World of Warcraft say they buy it online and run the risk of getting their account banned as it is against the T & C’s of the game.

The one thing that will teach you How To Get Gold in World of Warcraft is exactly the same principle as in real life buy items low and resell them for profit!

If you really want to learn How To Get Gold in World of Warcraft you should become familiar with the auction house and keep an eye on the items that are selling well and watch the prices.

Once you have found an item that is selling well, you then look for the lowest price and resell to fro profit! It is not as hard as it sounds as is a guaranteed way to learn How To Get Gold in World of Warcraft. As you sell more items and are reaping bigger rewards you should then concentrate on higher priced items.

Some guide that tell you How To Get Gold in World of Warcraft show you where to obtain the best items to sell but you can do it on your own too it just takes longer.

I hope you found this quick tip on How To Get Gold in World of Warcraft helpful and you should try it you will be surprised how many people are losing gold in Wow by not checking the price of the auction house!

Simon Fields is a World of Warcraft Enthusiast and writes articles and submits product review on anything that can improve your game experience! For more info on How To Get Gold in World of Warcraft and to find out how you can make 300 Gold an hour click the link below:

De Witt Mens Watches: New Emotion Perpetual Calendar Bi-retrograde

2008-01-30T02:17:00.000-08:00

New Emotion Perpetual Calendar Bi-retrograde or Academia Quantieme Perpetuel uses the DW 7001 caliber with mechanical and manual winding movement. It uses a 22k yellow gold micro-rotor with 28,800 vph.

Its case comes in red gold and white gold. Both encompass the “New Emotion” or “Academia” styled case where the bezel and middle portion has the “Imperial Column” engraving. It uses sapphire crystal for the case and the caseback is transparent with sapphire crystal revealing the movement within. Its water resistance is up to 30 meters.

The dial uses guilloche pattern in the center portion and engine-turned sun pattern for the two retrograde indications. For the red gold case, the dial has red and white gold, while the white gold case has chocolate colored and white gold dial. Its central hands are shaped like a sword which is a De Witt exclusive style.

There are Arabic numerals used for the hour indication. There are the retrograde date located at 3, moonphase display at 6, retrograde day at 9, and the month and year positioned at 12.

It has a black alligator strap and a matching metal folding clasp. There is only a limitation of 50 pieces for each case version.

Name Plate Necklace

2008-01-29T05:45:00.002-08:00

Valkor's Gold Making Guide Review

2008-01-29T05:45:00.001-08:00

Gold Mining

2008-01-05T02:22:00.000-08:00

Mining Gold is hard work you know? There are many people in the US to this day who still mine for gold. Did you know that in many countries people have protested mines, gold and silver are easy ones to protest because it is associated with greed as those minerals are also considered legal tender.

A great mine to visit is one of the first gold mines in the country, The Reed Gold mine in Charlotte. There were over 300 gold mines in North Carolina in the 1820’s. This of course long before the 49’ers of CA. The Reed Mine was active until 1912. A total of 13 gold mines closed in the past two years in response to depressed gold prices or ore exhaustion in Canada. Collecting the Gold under the conditions required in most of North America is no longer feasible, unless it can be collected along with other precious metals and the remaining material can be further sifted for iron ore, copper or another metal.

There are several places on Earth where multiple metals appear within a very close proximity. Mining often, like many industrial endeavors can cause air pollution. When mining the excess which is not used is piled up and often causes leaching into the ground when it rains, those other minerals released are more concentrated than much of the normal downstream waters.

Have you thought about becoming a modern day prospector? If so there are all sorts of groups online with newsletters and potential sites to try. Gold; think about it.

Gold Wedding Bands: Not For The Indecisive Individual

2008-01-05T02:21:00.000-08:00

If you have your heart set on gold wedding bands, you've got several key decisions to make. The first one is about color. Most people choose between yellow and white gold wedding bands.

Yellow gold wedding bands continues to be more popular than white gold wedding bands, which I find surprising... I will openly share that I like white gold better than yellow gold... in my mind, it has a more contemporary look. The difference in color between yellow and white gold is determined by the metals used in the alloy mix. Yellow gold is made by combining pure gold with alloy metals such as copper and zinc. White gold is comprised of an alloy of gold and some white metals such as silver and palladium. White gold rings are typically coated with another white metal called rhodium. Rhodium is a metal very similar to platinum and has many platinum properties.

The rhodium plating is used to make the white gold look more white. Unfortunately, the rhodium does wear away eventually. This is a definite down-side to white gold rings--and for those of us who like our possessions to be low maintenance. To keep a white gold ring looking like new, it should be re-plated approximately every year to year and a half. However, most local jewelers are able to rhodium plate jewelry for a relatively low price. Now, that I've had my white-gold engagement ring and wedding band for over a year, it really is time for me to seek out a local jeweler to get the rings re-plated.

When comparing the price of the gold colors in the same carat, white gold is normally a little more expensive than yellow gold If you can't makeup your mind between yellow gold or white gold, don't sweat it. You can get a two-tone ring that combines both metals.

The next major decision you must make is the number of karats in the gold wedding bands. So what the heck do karats measure? Pure gold has 24 karats and is the measurement unit in which gold purity is evaluated. Unfortunately, you cannot purchase a wedding band made of 24 karats as gold at this level is not strong enough to be used for jewelery. Alloys must be added in order to make gold strong enough to be worn around your ring finger. Typically, you must choose between 14 K gold and 18 K gold. 14 K gold is approximately 58% pure gold (you can do the math... 14 K divided by 24 K) 18 K gold is approximately 75% pure gold ( 18 K divided by 24 K). So what is the difference? 18 K yellow gold has a somewhat deeper yellow color although it can't necessarily be distinguished from 14 K by the naked eye. 14 K white gold and 18 K white gold have a similar white color (as normally both have a rhodium plating finish). As it is more pure, 18K is slightly softer than 14 K.... This may be something to consider if you do a lot of physical work with your hands. Also, another interesting factoid is that 14 K is typically more popular than 18 K gold wedding bands amongst consumers in the U.S.

Yellow and White Gold Information

2007-12-20T01:51:00.000-08:00

Gold, just the word brings to mind value, rarity, wealth, beauty and jewelry. But what is gold? Yes the scientists tell us gold is an element with the chemical symbol Au. We know it is the heraldic metal and is a rare yellow mineral that is the most malleable and pliable of all metals. Yes but what does that mean to me. Gold is a beautiful metal used to make timeless jewelry. Gold can be bent and molded into elegant engagement rings to show the timeless affection of one person to another. Gold is an expression of love.

Gold Purity

Is all gold the same? We hear it is pure gold, or solid gold or 24 karat gold. Gold used in jewelry like wedding rings can come in many forms. Basic to understand the uses of gold in jewelry is karat. Karat with a K is the purity of gold, Carat with a C is a measure of weight use mostly in gem weight ( one carat is 1/5 gram). Karated gold used in engagement rings can be from 100% gold to as low as 37% gold. Gold karated grade is used to express the proportion of gold in an alloy or the quality of a gold alloy. Fine gold (pure) is 24 karat. The proportions in other karat grades are listed in the table below:

Karat Parts Gold to Alloy Percentage Fineness

10K 10/24 41.67% 417
14K 14/24 58.33% 583
18K 18/24 75.00% 750
22K 22/24 91.66% 917

The key to understanding gold karat is the karat value over 24. An example is a 14-karat gold wedding ring. It is14/24, which equals 58.3% gold and 41.7% alloy. In most engagement rings the stamp in the ring is 14k or some times 583. Both of those stamps mean the wedding ring is 14 karat gold. So the only pure gold is 24 karat gold which is sometimes called 999 gold.

Solid Gold

What does the term solid 14k gold mean? Some engagement ring are advertise as sold 14k gold which means the ring is made of 14 karat gold not just plated with gold. A plated piece of jewelry is a thin layer of gold over a base or non gold metal. Some plating markings are to look like real solid gold like 14k HGE. HGE means hydrostatic gold electroplating. Plated gold is measured in how many molecules of gold are around the ring. In other words, a plated piece of jewelry has very little gold.

Some times engagement rings are stamped 14KP. The 14KP is a marking for plum gold which is a true mix of 14 karat gold. Some governments allow 13.5k to be stamped 14k so the 14KP tells the consumer this is a true 14 karat mix.

White Gold

Can there be other colors of gold engagement rings? Yes, Gold is yellow metal but adding copper to gold makes it redder and adding silver, zinc and any other metal makes gold paler. The white color is achieved by a careful choice of the alloying metals, which bleach the deep yellow of pure gold. It is interesting to note that white gold for engagement ring and wedding jewelry was originally developed in the 1920's as a substitute for platinum. Nowadays, they are jewelry metals in their own right and currently very fashionable and desirable. White gold is available up to 21 karats. Most engagement rings are 14k or 18k. White gold is often used to enhance diamonds and other gemstones. White gold bridal jewelry is increasingly popular.

Gold And Diamond Jewelry - Some Basic Information

2007-12-20T01:50:00.000-08:00

Gold and Diamond Jewelry has been a special gift that can bring joy for a lifetime to both men and women for centuries. Men and women have adorned themselves with jewelry in general to represent social or official rank, age and marital status. Gold and Diamond Jewelry makes a great gift to show the one you love how much you love them. Both of these types of jewelry has been used for adornment,sometimes universally symbolic such as engagement rings, wedding bands, crosses.

Diamonds have always been a woman's best friend and are still the most favored precious stone for an engagement ring. Diamonds really are forever and very desirable objects. They may be a woman's best friend, but size of it matters too. Diamond wedding bands are treated as a symbol of social status so the bigger the better. Diamond jewelry is very beautiful and charming. Diamonds are the hardest stones in the world they are used for decoration and to make tools to cut some of the hardest materials around.

Gold is still the precious metal of choice for most people and is still in demand for fine jewellery. Gold jewelry is always in fashion and probably always will be. Gold does not discolor because it never reacts with any other material. Gold is also very popular in dress rings, earrings, pendants, necklaces and bracelets. Gold can be worked into nearly any shape it is soft and easy to work with. Gold can be manipulated nearly any way the jeweler wants. Gold is of course the major raw material used to make jewelry.

White gold is made from yellow gold by using palladium, nickel or zinc in the alloy to give the gold its white color and is available up to 21 carat. White Gold Rings with diamonds are suitable for all kind of occasions: engagement, wedding, anniversary, mother's day any occasion you can think of. White rings can be found anywhere you shop for jewelry. White palladium alloys are soft and are great for setting gemstones. The highest quality white gold is usually at least 17 karat, and made up of gold and palladium, and sometimes even trace levels of platinum for weight and durability, although this often requires specialized goldsmiths to fashion the alloy to the desired shape.

There are many styles and types of jewelry out there today made from all sorts of materials but gold and diamonds have been used for centuries. What ever the reason you are buying this fine piece of jewelry for I hope this little article gave you some basic info on gold and diamond jewelry

The father of Fusion Art: Max Gold's art blends the worlds of high-tech art with traditional methods

2007-07-25T03:55:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles-based artist Max Gold first introduced his bold "Fusion Art" concept I at the 2001 Artexpo New York. Through his dynamic merger of digital art and hand painting, he is known internationally as "The Father of Fusion Art."

His pioneering artistic signature has placed him at the vanguard of the burgeoning digital art revolution, with galleries nationwide exhibiting his work. Visually, Gold's vibrant and idiosyncratic style--distinguished by universal icons and vivid colors--evokes the best of the Pop Art tradition and 20th-century masters.
Gold's path to art world success has been filled with contradictions and challenges. Financial success in his teens and early 20s made life very different for him. He became involved in real estate transactions, and at 16, sold a property for $1.3 million. Gold experienced similar success selling his paintings. At 21, he had a sold-out, one-man show at a West L.A. gallery. But he tore up all of the checks following an alcohol--and drug-induced crisis, and less than two years later, became a homeless alcoholic.

Jeff Majors Sacred Chapter 6

2007-07-25T03:48:00.000-07:00

Just in time for holiday giving there is a wealth of releases that will continue to give for years to come. Among them is STEVIE WONDER'S triumphant A Time To Love (Motown), his first new recording in 10 years. From the first song, "If Your Love Cannot Be Moved" (with Kim Burrell), the music maestro shows that he still has the magic for making enjoyable, memorable music.
Stevie and his harmonica shine on "Sweetest Somebody I Know." Then there's the percolating "My Love Is On Fire," showcasing Hubert Laws on flute, "A Time To Love" (with India.Arie), and "How Will I Know" and "Positivity," both featuring daughter Aisha Morris. It is difficult to determine which is the favorite. That also holds true for EARTH, WIND & FIRE's greatly anticipated Illumination (Sanctuary). The set kicks off with "Lovely People" featuring Will.i.am, followed by the melodious Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis-produced "Pure Gold," on which Maurice White vocals star. Supermellow "Show Me the Way" features Raphael Saadiq, while Kelly Rowland, Big Boi and Sleepy Brown lend vocals to the dance jam "This Is How I Feel." Sure to get you into the holiday spirit is JEFF MAJORS' Sacred Chapter 6 (Music One/Epic), on which the master harpist continues to sooth and enthrall with his ethereal rhythms. Vocalists featured on this 12-song set are Kelly Price on "God's Gift," Sallee on"Gold-Son," Gospel Gangstaz on "Mercy," Walter Sigler on "Psalms 99," and Dottie Peoples on "Precious Memories."

If you want to be an influential info pro, look for the not-ordinary nuggets: information professionals are well placed to become key members of their

2007-07-04T03:21:00.000-07:00

The definitions that I preferred in this context are "not ordinarily" or "atypically." If we are going to be noticed and appreciated, of course, we have to be "very" informed, but to be remembered by the people who matter in our organizations and seen to be truly valuable, we need to find those atypical or out-of-the-ordinary nuggets of information. We have so many people now who are capable of finding information adequate for their needs that we have to find the bit that hits you between the eyes and says, "That's an amazing idea, why can't we do it?"

Okay, I hear you say, "And how do I find time for that?" I do not have enough time to deal with the day-to-day requirements of my job, let alone to go gold digging. And what am I looking for?
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The true answer is, I don't know. It is quite possible that you won't be the person who sees the true potential of the information shared, but being the catalyst is fine. I refer you to Stephen Abram's "Info Tech" column in the February issue of Information Outlook, in which he suggests that you set aside 15 minutes a day to play with new Web sites and services, and learn about new technologies. Use some of this time to forward links that you think might interest colleagues and management even if they do not appear to have any obvious relevance to your business.

As a caveat, I suggest that you explain why you are sending the links so that the recipient does not get into the delete mode. Comments like "Interesting in light of what we were talking about last month," or "Amazing new concept or technology," will help to avoid the recipient's wondering why on earth you sent the link. I personally enjoy receiving this sort of information, but some people view it as spam, unless they receive a well-researched report about why some new technology or concept should be considered.

Persuasion

Influentials have to be persuasive. Some of us are just better at being persuasive than others. I am not a good salesman, so I have to rely on being well prepared and knowing the best way to keep the individual's or group's attention to get my point across.

Being well connected was Gladwell's third requirement for an influential. Nepotism might help, but I would not put too much emphasis on that approach. Debbie Schachter's excellent "Info Business" column in the February Information Outlook explains how working with boards effectively is an important management role.

To this, I would add a few of my lifetime experiences. It is important to isolate the shakers and movers within the organization, and, believe me, these may not be the CEO or VPs. You certainly have to keep them in your sights, but someone else, or some group or committee, may be the real power within the organization. Make sure you keep well connected with all of them.

Cultivate the executive assistants and anyone who has the ear of the CEO, president, or whomever you decide is a real mover and shaker. Asking for advice about good resources or where to look for information does not necessarily mean that you are not doing your job, but often flatters and roughs up their peacock feathers. They may take credit for your idea, as board members love to show off in front of their peers, but hopefully you will retain the kudos in their eyes. Just make sure that you keep a record of your involvement in case they conveniently forget.

Finally, don't forget Debbie Schachter's important point that you should keep your immediate boss informed if you are dealing directly with the board, as you do not want to appear to be undermining your immediate superior by "going above her/his head."

Morphology of Gold Crystals from the Yukon Territory, Canada

2007-06-19T02:14:00.000-07:00

t came as a surprise to learn that although there is--please pardon the pun--a gold mine of literature about the world's last great gold rush, there is really not much written for the collector about the actual material produced in the region, especially regarding collector specimens. This article provides an overview of locality information of the Yukon Territory gold fields and of the morphology of well-developed crystals that have been found there.

It is not my intention to review the crystal morphology of gold. Francis (2004) discussed gold and its crystal forms in the previous issue, and the reader is referred to this article for further, if not prior, reading. A Brief History

As alluded to in the introduction, the stories and history that have been written about the Klondike gold rush and the surrounding areas in the Yukon Territory and Alaska could fill a library. The events, conditions, and area of the rush inspired fantastic and widely read works by such world-famous authors as Robert Service, Jack London, and Pierre Burton. Rather than challenge these masters, I offer a much more concise and less-romantic version of events--"just the facts," if you will.
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Gold-seekers in the late nineteenth century began exploring parts of the Yukon River near what is today the Alaska-Yukon Territory border. The big strike is generally credited to three men--George W. Carmack, Dawson Charlie, and Skookum Jim Mason--who found gold near the confluence of the Bonanza and Eldorado Creeks in 1896, after receiving a tip about the general area from Robert Henderson. It is Henderson who is actually credited by the Canadian government with the initial discovery of gold in the Klondike area and thus received a $200 annual "reward" pension for life. Nonetheless, it was the larger Carmack party strike that caught the attention of other prospectors in the Yukon and Alaska. It took two years for word to get around and for the stampeders, or cheekakos, to come flooding into the area in what was not the largest, but the last and undeniably the most exasperating, of the great gold rushes. By summer 1898, Dawson City, at the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon Rivers, swelled to nearly 20,000 people--30,000 in some accounts (e.g., McConnell 1905)--a quarter of which were toiling out in the creeks. The rush was over almost as soon as it had begun. By the time the bulk of the gold-seekers arrived in 1898, most of the good ground had already been claimed. Within a year much of the population had given up and moved to other areas, such as Nome, Alaska, where gold had just been discovered, or the interior of the Yukon. Many just went home, broke.

Much of the surface gold was worked out within five years, and production peaked in 1900. The first dredge began working on Bonanza Creek in 1899 (McConnell 1905), and by 1906 mining had generally changed from individual claim holders and operators working by hand, to large companies holding larger tracts of land and operating large machinery and dredges, which sifted through ground at a rate and volume impossible with hand labor. These floating beasts gobbled their way through the gravels, leaving tell-tale remains, much like earthworms moving through soil. Dredging continued for most of the twentieth century and ended with the shutdown of Yukon Gold Corporation's dredging operations in November 1966.

Since the end of the dredge era, gold mining in the Klondike has been a declining industry of small, mostly private, family operators. During the 1980s and 1990s, environmental restrictions placed a further stranglehold on what had been, and still is for a few, a hard but satisfying way of life.

Localities

Figure 3 shows the locations of several major gold fields in the Yukon Territory, as defined in the placer activities reports published by the Yukon Geological Survey (e.g., Placer Mining Section 1993). This article focuses primarily on those in the Dawson City area: the Klondike, Indian, Lower Stewart, and 60 Mile River drainages. A few other notable occurrences are also mentioned.

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]

Most of the activity of the actual Klondike gold rush took place in the Klondike and Indian River drainages (fig. 2). An excellent reference to the "popular" creeks of the time is map 868 by McConnell (1900). This map has been reprinted and is included in Sabina (1992), which is available from the Geological Survey of Canada and at many bookstores.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

A few notes are necessary at this point concerning the nomenclature used in identifying the place from which a specimen may have come. Pup is the term used for a small seasonal creek. Claims in the region were commonly identified with numbers increasing away from the discovery claim. A locality may be given as "#5 below, Eldorado Creek." This means that the specimen came from the fifth claim downstream from the discovery claim on the Eldorado Creek. A similar system is applied to pups. The "#24 above pup on Eldorado" is the twenty-fourth pup upstream from the confluence of the Eldorado and Bonanza Creeks. Right limit and left limit refer to the direction from which a tributary is coming in, as one faces downstream.

A. Additional information about the NIPA estimates

2007-06-19T02:13:00.000-07:00

Current-dollar GDP is a measure of the market value of goods, services, and structures that are produced in the economy in a particular period. The changes in current-dollar GDP can be decomposed into quantity and price components. Quantities, or "real" measures, and prices are expressed as index numbers with the reference year--at present, the year 2000--equal to 100. (1) The annual changes in quantities and prices are calculated using a Fisher formula that incorporates weights from 2 adjacent years. For example, the annual percent change in real GDP for 2001-2002 uses prices for 2001 and 2002 as weights, and the 2001-2002 annual percent change in the GDP price index uses quantities for 2001 and 2002 as weights. Because the Fisher formula allows for the effects of changes in relative prices and in the composition of output over time, the resulting quantity or price changes are not affected by the substitution bias that is associated with changes in quantities and prices calculated using a fixed-weighted formula. These annual changes are "chained" (multiplied) together to form time series of quantity and price indexes. The percent changes in the Fisher indexes are not affected by the choice of the reference year.

BEA also publishes implicit price deflators (IPDs), which are calculated as the ratio of the current-dollar value of a component to the chained-dollar value of the component, multiplied by 100. The values of an IPD are very close to the values of the corresponding "chain-type" price index. The measures of real GDP and its major components are also presented in dollar-denominated form, designated "chained (2000) dollar estimates." For most series, these estimates are computed by multiplying the current-dollar value in 2000 by a corresponding quantity index number and then dividing by 100. For example, if a current-dollar GDP component equaled $100 in 2000 and if real output for this component increased by 10 percent in 2001, then the chained (2000) dollar value of this component in 2001 would be $110 ($100 x 1.10). The percent changes calculated from the chained (2000) dollar estimates and from the quantity indexes are the same; any differences will be small and due to rounding.

The chained-dollar values for the detailed GDP components will not necessarily sum to the chained-dollar estimate of GDP (or to any intermediate aggregate) in a table, because the relative prices that are used as weights for any period other than the reference year differ from those of the reference year. A measure of the effect of such differences is provided by a "residual" line--the difference between the chained-dollar value of the main aggregate in the table and the sum of the most detailed components in the table. For periods close to the reference year, when the relative prices that are used as weights have usually not changed much, the residuals tend to be small, and the chained-dollar estimates can be used to approximate the contributions to growth and to aggregate the detailed estimates. For periods further from the reference year, the residuals tend to be larger, and the chained-dollar estimates are less useful for analyses of contributions to growth. In particular, for components for which relative prices are changing rapidly, the calculation of contributions based on chained-dollar estimates may be misleading even just a few years from the reference year. Thus, contributions derived from quantity indexes provide a better measure than contributions derived from chained-dollar estimates; contributions based on quantity indexes are shown in selected NIPA tables 1.1.2, 1.2.2, 1.5.2, 2.3.2, 3.9.2, 4.2.2, and 5.3.2.

What is the gold standard of nursing home performance? Why some facilities identified by a LarsonAllen Health Care Group survey demonstrate superior f

2007-06-18T22:37:00.000-07:00

An analysis of the fiscal 2003 performance results for many skilled nursing facilities indicates a decline in almost every finacial and operating indicator. While the fiscal 2004 results are not yet out, it was another difficult financial year with staffing challenges, residents coming into skilled nursing facilities with increased medical needs and greater expectations, and stagnant or declining reimbursement. Many executives expect these challenges to continue and are looking closely at strategies that will help them adapt and thrive.In a competitive marketplace with changing reimbursement models and in which consumer choice is more discerning, the ability to identify environmental trends, understand internal capabilities, and execute strategy is critical. The process of benchmarking and, by definition, trend monitoring is one means of linking financial and operational performance to strategy. For many, just understanding how their organization compares on financial and performance indicators is helpful, but for others the need to understand the differences in the way work is performed is critical. Benchmarking allows management to identify through performance indicators, such as days in accounts receivable, the key areas in which their organization has opportunities for improving work processes and focusing the organization's resources. Benchmarking is also an excellent management tool for framing and communicating the need for change.

For the past 21 years, the LarsonAllen Health Care Group has published the Cost Comparison Report for our senior living clients. Based on encouragement from many of our clients, we further developed the report by exploring the implications of the data and the lessons that can be learned from successful facilities, labeled Gold Standard Performers. The information provided in the report includes ratio and cost analyses that have been computed using information primarily from the audited financial statements of LarsonAllen assurance clients. Additionally, some of the information collected is from clients for whom we provide other accounting and consulting services. All the data gathered have been analyzed by LarsonAllen Health Care Group staff. The entire Licensed Nursing Facility Gold Standard Performance Summary can be viewed at www.larsonallen.com/healthcare.

The Gold Standard Performers are a select list of freestanding nursing facilities identified from the LarsonAllen Health Care Group's client database. The initial list of Gold Standard Performers included the facilities with a debt-to-equity ratio of at least 1.0, along with improved net operating margins during 2000, 2001, and 2002. The list of Gold Standard Performers then was narrowed further based on the facilities' performance on ten key indicators and their most recent state survey results, as reported on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Nursing Home Compare Web site. The facilities selected for closer review represented urban and rural, for-profit and not-for-profit, city-owned, religiously sponsored, and privately held facilities, as well as large and small facilities throughout the country.

We interviewed the CEO, COO, or CFO in each of the Gold Standard Performance facilities in an effort to identify the characteristics and practices that enabled these organizations to perform successfully in a challenging operational environment. The following is a summary of our interviews, the innovative management practices highlighted, and the key findings from analyzing the operating and financial data.

By the Numbers

The benchmarking of the key financial indicators for 2000 through 2003 and interviews conducted resulted in three key observations about Gold Standard Performers:

* Gold Standard Performers focus management resources on the execution of the basics, such as cash management, expense control, and revenue growth, by monitoring key operating indicators daily and weekly.

* Gold Standard Performers capitalize on serving Medicare patients to demonstrate their clinical capabilities and improve the organization's financial performance. These facilities have managed costs, lengths of stay, and clinical requirements to create a margin that is substantially better than the average.

* Strong occupancy numbers depend on satisfied residents and referral sources that are impressed with the quality of care at the facility. Gold Standard Performers are listening attentively to their residents and caregivers to create programs, services, and an environment that are welcoming, engaging, and designed to meet the unique needs of the older adults and their families.

Web sites worth the click - French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies' and United States Economic Research Service website informat

2007-06-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

If you want to learn more about France, but don't know the language, The French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies' (INSEE) Web site is your pot of gold. It offers a mix of economic, social and demographic studies in English, as well as links to the country's 1999 census and in-depth regional data. Click on "population" under "France in Facts and Figures" and you'll discover that men are more likely to find a new live-in partner after a breakup than women are. Under "geography," you'll find that during the 1990s, fewer people moved to Paris, as the West and Southwest increasingly became destinations of choice. Au Revoir!Finally, a qualified answer to the proverbial question, "How's everything down on the farm?" The home page for the Economic Research Service (ERS) is the main source of economic information and research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It is full of links to keep the world on top of economic and policy issues related to agriculture, food, natural resources and rural development. Click on any state in the U.S. to get a detailed report on the state's population and farm characteristics, including net farm income, average farm size and the state's top five commodities. While you're on the site, don't forget to stop by the data department where you can pick up such information as per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables. How do you like them apples

Spinning straw into gold smarter bad debt management: Meridian Health overpaid one collection agency $97,000 in fees, and that was just one reason to

2007-06-07T05:24:00.000-07:00

With razor-thin margins, healthcare providers are beginning to tap a once overlooked area of revenue potential: bad debt management. Hospitals generate more than $25 billion a year in uncompensated care charges, which include bad debt. This figure is expected to rise as healthcare costs continue to grow, the numbers of uninsured patients increase even as unemployment decreases, and the insured face higher out-of-pocket obligations.

Problems with bad debt management exist in operational inefficiencies, communication with and tracking of collection agencies, and control over debt policy adherence. Technology can help providers reduce these problems, but the healthcare industry has also been slow to adopt technology and methods that have been proven in the consumer credit and finance industries.

Meridian Health, a not-for-profit health system serving central New Jersey, struggled with these same limitations in bad debt management. In 2004 alone, bad debt cost totaled $30.5 million out of net patient service revenue of $678 million, and accumulated annually. Much of the bad debt was considered uncollectible, and systems did not exist to delete accounts or determine when collections efforts were exhausted.

A merger left the organization working with 10 collection agencies. With no monitoring tools, Meridian had no clear-cut way to determine which agencies were delivering the best return on bad debt investment. Even among agencies that sent performance reports--and several didn't--the reports did not allow an apples-to-apples comparison.

Invoices from collection agencies were paid without a way to verify their accuracy. A voucher for payment could include thousands of accounts, but without automated systems and adequate staff, Meridian had resources to check only payments of $1,000 or more.

A staff member once found a $1,000 "payment" sent from an agency that was actually an allowance. This discovery led to a full-blown audit of the agency. Meridian found that in one year alone, it had overpaid the agency $97,000 in fees. Although it was believed that the mistakes were not fraudulent, managers realized that the errors they had discovered resulted from an accounting system that lacked the ability to detect and prevent these types of errors and possibly others.

Taking Action

After discovering the errors described above, Meridian conducted a study to compare the financial impact from remaining with the existing accounting system against the cost of deploying a new debt management system. The results suggested that deploying a new system was more cost- effective.

After selecting the system (with appropriate due diligence), Meridian contractually obligated each of its collection agencies to install the system's agency software and connect in real time to Meridian if the agencies wanted to continue working with the health system. Agencies were connected to Meridian's debt management system one at a time, starting with the primary agencies. Because most of the agencies did not have in-house technical expertise, Meridian's IT staff provided implementation and support. Deployment across the agencies took one year, at a cost of $236,000, which included support for a full-time IT engineer, plus $250,000 in annual operating expenses.

The next steps for Meridian were to fully implement the new debt management system by focusing on three areas that would provide the means for improvement:

* Rules-based workflow to control compliance with policy and procedures

* Agency management and monitoring to track and enforce compliance

* Integration of analytic technologies to manage recoveries

Rules-Based Workflow

To establish rules-based workflow management capabilities, Meridian needed first to define its collections work flow processes, policies, and procedures, including communication and data exchange with agencies and all tracking and reporting needs. The health system translated work flow policies and procedures into rules, and scripted the rules into the debt management system, thereby automating its policies and procedures for consistent execution everywhere in the organization.

One example of a new automated policy was in account management. Meridian's policy is to give primary collection agencies 180 days to collect an account. After that time, agencies are supposed to send accounts back to Meridian to be forwarded to a secondary agency. The new system disclosed that only one agency was complying, while the others were holding accounts and not working them for up to three years.

Meridian automated this policy in the new debt management system to enforce agency adherence. As a result, accounts were sent to secondary agencies according to the policy. Secondary recoveries increased and double charges were eliminated. In the first year, Meridian recovered $1.3 million in secondary revenues, and today the health system continues to enjoy more than $1 million in additional revenues annually

Information-based transformation: the need for integrated, enterprisewide informatics: it has often been said that health care is "data rich and infor

2007-06-06T06:08:00.002-07:00

This situation has been getting steadily worse with the increasing adoption of advanced clinical information systems electronic health records. These systems are designed to provide fast response time, one patient at a time. They are not designed to easily support cross patient analysis and reporting. Organizations spend tens of millions of dollars acquiring and implementing these systems with a focus on clinical transformation--improving clinical efficiency and outcomes only to be stymied when trying to access the data to evaluate how EHR adoption is affecting the performance of the organization. The time has arrived for health care to seriously pursue methods to turn data into information.

Astonishing discovery of mysterious "Gold Rush" coin stuns experts: world's rarest U.S. $20 gold proof found: the San Francisco Mint 1854 Double Eagle

2007-06-06T06:08:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON. D.C. -- A one-of-a-kind Treasury gold proof coin has been surprisingly discovered within the vaults of the Smithsonian Institution. This 1854-S gold Double Eagle $20 coin was struck by the San Francisco Mint in its first year of operation. The San Francisco Mint was born out of the need for a Western Frontier Mint when, in January of 1848, gold flakes were discovered at Sutter's Mill triggering one of the most important chapters in U.S. History--The California Gold Rush! To the surprise of historians, this single "S" mint Proof coin was individually struck from specially polished minting dies. How this unique Proof Double Eagle made its way across the continent and then into the hands of the Smithsonian Institution is still a mystery.oday the First Federal Mint announces the public release of the first ever Proof commemorative layered in 24k gold honoring this rarest U.S. Government $20 gold piece. This Proof has a frosted image against a deep mirror field, creating a breathtaking work of art in gold. This 150th anniversary Mint release honors the legacy of a true historic masterpiece.

The magnificent proof is layered in 24k gold and measures a full 39mm in diameter to truly showcase the beauty and intricacy of this legendary coin design. The Double Eagle Proof is available only through this limited edition, private release from the First Federal Mint at the advance issue price of $19.95 each.

Gold Country autumn

2007-06-02T02:33:00.000-07:00

Once beautiful but sleepy, the little towns of the Sierra foothills are growing more sophisticated. From charming family-owned wineries to new inns and restaurants, this part of California holds treasures for quiet October weekends.

YOU CAN'T DEPEND ON AUTUMN. Of all seasons, it's the chanciest. What you want are days--weeks--of amber leaves and deep blue skies. What you get is one perfect October day followed by other days that are too hot, too cold, too gray, too weary. And autumn is gone.

Not in California's Gold Country. In the folded foothills of the Sierra Nevada, autumn lingers as if it knows a good thing when it sees one. Here are the blue skies, the tawny hills, the grapevines tinged fierce red.

If Gold Country autumn seems changeless, the Gold Country itself does not. Once beautiful but sleepy, it is now beautiful but sophisticated. Good new restaurants are popping up in unexpected places. Even more strikingly, an influx of creative new winemakers has made the Gold Country one of the most fascinating wine regions in the West.

If your family owned a station wagon when you were a kid, you took a Gold Country vacation, and here is what you did. You drove State 49. At a living-history museum, you saw men in suspenders, women in bonnets, and butter churns. You panned for gold, obtaining a small vial of glitter that an older sibling informed you was not real gold but worthless iron pyrite. You began to cry.

Forget about that. Make the classic Gold Country drive now--along State 49 from Placerville south into El Dorado and Amador and Calaveras Counties--and you will see more BMWs than butter churns.

Drive, for example, into the tiny Amador County town of Plymouth. At first glance it looks unchanged from 1964, or maybe 1864. But on the south side of the street is the restaurant Taste.

"I had never been on Plymouth's Main Street," says chef-owner Mark Berkner. "I saw the For Sale sign."

The sign was on the old Sportsman Club, which Berkner and his wife, Tracey, bought and transformed into a sleekly appealing restaurant. On a Thursday night, Taste is crowded with diners who have driven from as far as Sacramento to sample grilled prawns on gazpacho, or black Mission-fig salad.

The Berkners had worked in hotels and restaurants in Colorado and the Bay Area, and they could have landed anywhere. But they chose Plymouth. "This little Main Street needed us," Mark says. "We're going to give it a shot in the arm."

One measures the changes in the Gold Country in many ways: in the menu at Taste, in the cost of real estate, in the signs advertising yoga classes and family therapists on the 19th-century main streets. ("Tarnation!" you think to yourself. "The forty-niners didn't need no yoga or family therapists! They just whittled!") But maybe the best way is to drive the wine country: El Dorado, Amador, and Calaveras Counties.

Wine has a long history here. Boeger Winery, near Placerville, has roots that go back to the 1850s. Still, it's just in the last few years that Gold Country winemaking has taken off.

The launch is ironically tied to those winemaking roots. Nowhere else in California is a wine region as multifaceted as the Sierra foothills identified with just one wine: Zinfandel. Many of these hills were planted in Zin during the post-Gold Rush years by would-be-rich miners forced to return to more traditional ways of making a living from the earth.

The demand for Zinfandel survived because of an enormous audience who knew very little about true red Zin but who bought copious amounts of the grape in the form of sweet white Zinfandel. Sierra foothills vines supplied this taste and were saved from extinction.

In the last decade or so, though, red Zin has regained a passionate following. And Amador and El Dorado Counties are producing some of the state's most intense versions. Gold Country Zins are not for the timid. Their fruit is almost pruny ripe and earthy, their high alcohol levels often pushing up past 15 percent. But the best are in balance, with acid and tannins to match. They're spectacular wines. And they've been joined by Rhone grapes (Syrah, Mourvedre, Viognier), Italian grapes (Barbera, Sangiovese), and most recently, a Spanish grape (Tempranillo)--all worth watching.

Family vintages

A common denominator of most Gold Country wineries is that they're family-owned, not corporate, operations. Take a twisting road from Placerville, for example, and you come to Holly's Hill Vineyards. Carrie Bendick had lived in Washington and Utah before returning to California, where her father, Tom Cooper, planted vineyards on the family property--and made her winemaker. Now Bendick and her husband, Josh, earn gold medals for their Rhone-style wines.

A few miles away live Chaim Gur-Arieh, a former Bay Area-based food scientist (among other things, he helped create Cap'n Crunch cereal), and his wife, Elisheva, an artist. They had long wanted to make wine and spent years scouring Napa and Sonoma. Then they were invited to the bat mitzvah for the daughter of a Gold Country winemaker. "The moment we drove into the Shenandoah Valley," Chaim says, "my heart started pounding. Elisheva said, 'This is it. We've found it.'"

Mining for Information Gold

2007-06-02T02:32:00.000-07:00

Data mining offers the RIM professional an opportunity to contribute to knowledge discovery in databases in a substantial way

During the late 1980s, several trends in computing, including the emergence of clientserver technology, the growing popularity of structured query language (SQL), the gravity of "the islands of information" problem, and the inaccessibility of much of the structured information "hidden away" in both legacy and SQL transactional databases led to the development of large, physically centralized, structured databases called data warehouses. These were intended for decision support. SQL-querying technology, however, was not sufficient to deliver the hoped-for information value, and the 1990s led to the rapid growth of data warehousing and to the development and spread of new technologies for getting useful information out of those surprisingly unwieldy first-generation data warehouses.

One of these new technologies is data mining, a term based on the idea that very large databases are "mountains" of information that can be "mined" for "nuggets" of great value if the right technology is applied. During the 1980s and increasingly during the 1990s, data mining technology was becoming available in the form of statistical and artificial intelligence-based models and computing algorithms. Additionally, new software technology was being developed for integrating distributed systems based on object and web technology. The result of this confluence between need and technology has been a continually growing data mining industry containing scores of new companies selling to large, midsized - and even small - organizations. There are several sectors interested in data mining: banking, medicine, insurance, retailing, and government. Data mining supports many goals, such as reducing costs, enhancing or reusing research, increasing sales, and detecting fraud.

The image suggested by the term "data mining" is an attractive one, but, unfortunately, it may not be very informative to those records and information management (RIM) professionals who need to know what data mining means for them. RIM managers need answers to these questions.

* What is the process context of data mining?

* What is its value for RIM managers?

* What is the relationship between data mining and knowledge discovery in databases (KDD)?

* How does one get started in a data mining process?

* In what direction is this fast-moving field going?

The most compelling reason for RIM managers to take an interest in data mining is simply this: the "data" in "data mining" are, for the most part, records created in the normal course of business of any organization. Records, then, become the structured data foundation to the data mining process.

What Is Data Mining?

Definitions of data mining abound, and they vary among practitioners. (see Sidebar, "Definitions of Data Mining" on page 50.)

Selecting just one of the definitions is not as important as realizing that people will use the term data mining in at least the four ways described in the sidebar. It will be up to information managers to decide which meaning their organization assigns to it. Definition 3 is used in this article because it has the advantage of distinguishing "data mining" from traditional analyses by emphasizing its automated character in generating patterns and relationships. It also clearly distinguishes data mining from knowledge discovery by emphasizing the much broader character of KDD as an overarching process, including steps distinct from data mining and relying more heavily on human interaction.

What Is the Process Context of Data Mining?

The process context leads to the more comprehensive process of KDD within which data mining occurs. KDD starts with problems - seeking them in routine situations, recognizing them, and clearly articulating them. It continues with gathering information about a problem and its potential solutions. At that point, hypotheses or models are developed that are central to the solution. There are many alternative ways of developing models, including intuition, a literature review, mathematical modeling, and facilitation processes, that do not involve data mining, even when statistical and modeling techniques are used as part of the KDD process. But, at this point, one can make the choice to apply automated analysis to an organization's very large database - that is, data mining - as an initial method of arriving at alternative patterns and/or relationships.

When that decision is made, then the steps of selecting, pre-processing, and transforming data must be completed, as well as the step of selecting data mining tools before data mining itself can be performed. Also, once data mining is completed, KDD is still far from done. The patterns found by data mining must still be interpreted and evaluated, and further statistical analysis and analytical modeling frequently is needed to refine, test, and evaluate the discovered patterns. In short, the process context of data mining is KDD, and KDD, in turn, is a knowledge life cycle originating in a problem, proceeding with attempts to discover patterns through a number of steps, that include - but go beyond data mining, and ending with evaluating, interpreting, and selecting patterns that solve the original problem.

Cigma Metals to earn up to 90% of Dostyk gold, base metals project in Kazakhstan

2007-05-08T05:02:00.000-07:00

Cigma Metals Corporation (PINK SHEETS:CGMX) (FRANKFURT:C9KA.F) on Monday said the company has signed an agreement with Eureka Mining Plc to earn up to 90% of the 14,000 km2 Dostyk project in Kazakhstan. Cigma intends to expand and diversify from its gold operations in Russia to include the Gold and base metals opportunity in Kazakhstan.

Cigma has signed an agreement with Eureka Mining Plc to earn up to 90% over the 14,000 km2 Dostyk mining area, in northern Kazakhstan. The project area is located in a region which has proven to host numerous Gold and precious metals deposits some of which have been mined continuously for decades. The project area is host to over 130 mineral deposits and occurrences, and Cigma intends to convert the current resources into JORC compliant estimations.

A summary of Cigma's exploration commitments, are as follows:

1. Initial payment of US$300,000 to secure 51% of the project, which has been transferred.

2. A Second payment of Tenge equivalent to US$700,000 to increase the percentage participation of Cigma to 71% during 2007.

3. A Third and final payment of Tenge equivalent US$1,000,000 to increase the percentage participation to 90% during 2008.

The Dostyk project is located in well a developed industrial region of Kazakhstan. 30km from the project area is the Ekibastuz Coal Basin, which is largest in all the post Soviet countries. The Ekibastuz Basin provides the coal and electrical energy for the whole of Kazakhstan as well as the major industrial areas of the Urals in Russia. As a result the project area is crossed by numerous high voltage power lines and railways. Underground gold mining has been continuous at the Maykain mine, located in the mid north of the license (not included) for the past 30 years.

The Dostyk region has been producing gold and base metals for decades. Cigma is confident that the company will be able to expand on the several known zinc, copper, nickel, lead and gold occurrences on the license and participate in the rapidly growing precious and base metals sector.

The project area is the host of more than 130 known mineral occurrences and deposits. Cigma intends to initiate drilling on 5 of the areas in an effort to convert the deposits into JORC compliant Resources. To complete this phase of the Company's diversification a program of approximately 20,000 meters of drilling has been planned and budgeted.

Within the proximity of the project area are other significant mines: MAYKAIN 2.1Moz gold, 220,000t zinc, 120,000t copper, 150t silver, BOSHEKYL 870,000t copper, ABYZ 1.3Moz gold, 340t silver.

The results of data reviews and initial site investigations has given the company the opportunity and confidence to highlight drill targets to test depth and lateral extensions of Zinc, Copper and other base metals. Cigma intends to initiate drilling directly on signing the agreement.

The Company is very confident that the current initial proposed round of drilling will provide significant copper and gold mineralisation to quickly add resources to the Company's inventory.

Cigma previously entered into a memorandum of understanding with its current joint venture partner Geosphera in Tomsk, Russia, over the 600 km2 Tashminsky gold and polymetallic project. The Tashminsky area is located approximately 75 km for the large regional center of Tomsk. Previous work on the Tashminsky license has resulted in the discovery of 5 mineralised zones, including the Turuntaevo Zinc deposit. The Turuntaevo Zinc deposit will be the focus of exploration for the Tashminsky project area. Cigma is awaiting a license transfer to continue these negotiations.

The Company is currently exploring for gold in Russia and has an 80% interest in the Tugojakovsk and Haldeiskaja Exploration licenses totaling 740 km2, situated close to the city of Tomsk in the Tomsk Oblast region of Siberia in the Russian Federation. The Haldeiskaja property shares its eastern boundary with the Tashminsky Project.

Cigma Metals Corporation is a mineral exploration company focusing on the exploration and development of its 3 exploration properties totaling 740 square kilometers in the Tomsk Oblast region of Siberia in Russia, and approximately 14,000 square kilometers in the Dostyk region of Kazakhstan. All the project areas were selected based on their proximity to a well-developed infrastructure, known mineral occurrences and from historical records of gold and base metals production. Cigma Metals Corporation's stock trades on the following exchanges under the symbol "CGMX.PK" on the NASD OTC Pink Sheets in the United States of America, and under the symbols "C9KA.F" on the Frankfurt Exchange.

Newmont's Ahafo gold mine in Ghana expected to produce 430,000oz this year

2007-05-08T05:01:00.003-07:00

Newmont Mining Corp.'s (NEM) Ahafo Mine in Ghana has produced and sold 124,862 ounces of gold in the first quarter, with management upbeat about attaining its yearly production target, despite a crippling power crisis that has hit the West African country since August.

The Ahafo mine, which poured its first gold in July, is projected to produce 500,000 ounces of gold yearly.

Newmont on April 20 paid $2.4 million to the Ghanaian government as a mining royalty covering January-March sales, which totaled $80.67 million, the company 's official said.

Newmont has projected it will produce at least 430,000 ounces in 2007.

The mine produced 203,000 ounces between its first gold pour from July to December, down from an initial forecast of between 225,000 and 250,000 ounces. The shortfall was due to a national power crisis, the company said.

The Volta River Authority, Ghana's wholesale power utility, began load shedding on Aug. 28 to both industry and domestic consumers, and asked Newmont and other bulk users to curtail their consumption by as much as 50%, citing low levels of water in its main hydroelectric facilities.

The mine has had to install four units of high capacity diesel generators to run its plant at costs four times higher than power from the national grid. The high power generating cost notwithstanding, Newmont was making satisfactory progress in production.

The Ahafo mine, which has a revised 25-year lifespan, is capable of processing 7 million tons of ore yearly.

By the end of 2007, Newmont would have invested over $665 million in the Ahafo project, adding that over 50% of total operational expenditure will stay in Ghana and will impact the Ghanaian economy.

"Additionally, in 2007, the company anticipated spending over $8 million on social and environmental projects, including funds allocated to programs to help the local economy, as well as environmental management, monitoring and restoration programs", Newmont 's representative told.

Mongolia to cancel gold profit tax in two months

2007-05-08T05:01:00.001-07:00

Mongolia's parliament will vote during its spring session on making gold exempt from a windfall profits tax imposed last year, but the tax will remain on copper to help develop the country's downstream capacity, Nadmid Bayartsaikhan, Mongolia's finance minister said Monday.

In a law passed May 12 last year, Mongolia imposed a 68% tax on profits from copper concentrate sales when the price of the commodity reaches $2,600 a metric ton, and on gold when the precious metal reaches $500 a troy ounce.

Both metals recently have been trading above that level, with copper above $7,500/ton and gold around $650/oz.

The parliament's spring session will close at the end of July.

Foreign investors have chaffed under the tax since it was introduced in response to popular demands that Mongolia reap a greater return from the global resources boom.

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (IVN) and its partner, diversified miner Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO.AU), said early April that they had reached an in principle investment agreement with the Mongolian government to develop a copper-gold project near Mongolia's border with China, one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold mines.

The Oyu Tolgoi project, is set to eventually produce 140,000 tons of copper and have a life of about 40 years.

Bayartsaikhan said that under the agreement the Mongolian government would purchase a 34% stake in the project but that it was still uncertain how it pay for the share.

"There are a lot of ways to purchase this share. Maybe one option is to use a tax exemption, or a tax holiday," he said. "It's unrealistic to buy the stake directly from Ivanhoe because of a shortage of financing."

The deal requires the approval of both companies' boards as well as the Mongolian cabinet and Mongolian parliament.

Bayartsaikan said the parliament would vote on the issue during the spring session.

In July 2006, the government passed sweeping changes to its minerals law, including giving Mongolia the right to bargain for up to a 34% stake in privately discovered "strategic" deposits that contribute more than 5% to the country's GDP.

In deposits discovered with state aid, the government stake can rise to 50%.

"There is a need to update the mining law, but it's not very suitable to change it soon," the finance minister said.

Prior to last year's changes, Mongolia's mining laws were among the most investor friendly in Asia, prompting foreign miners to flock the previously unknown market to tap into its vast mineral reserves.

Bayartsaikan acknowledged the changes had effected investor sentiment but was unfazed about long-term effects.

"Nowadays we feel interest in investing in Mongolia is increasing," he said.

He said foreign direct investment in Mongolia was $317 million in 2006 and expects that amount to increase this year.

"Our transition from a state planning economy to a free market economy is almost over. We have established a very liberal economy and we see a bright future," Bayartsaikan said. "And we very much welcome investors to Mongolia."

Peru miners reach accord with government, end strike

2007-05-08T05:00:00.004-07:00

Peruvian miners ended the strike that began last Monday and was set to last indefinitely after reaching an agreement with the Labor Ministry to attend to their demands.

Friday's decision was communicated by the secretary general of the National Federation of Metallurgic and Steel Miners, Luis Castillo, who said that the ministry "responded" to their demands.

Labor Minister Susana Pinilla said, for her part, that one point of agreement is that mining companies not punish the strikers, and called on them to comply with that measure.

She added that the ministry is committed to working out a proposal that would include union participation in determining shift lengths. Additionally, other agreements will be drawn up regarding profit-sharing and miners' pensions.

Pinilla also said that still pending is a solution to demands being made independently by miners at the Southern Copper Corporation – one of the world's biggest copper producers – and at Shougang, although she added that both conflicts are currently being negotiated.

The minister had said Monday that just 5 percent of the mining sector's 120,000 workers had participated in the strike, while the federation estimated the total number of protesters at 35,000.

Peru, one of the world's leading silver, gold and copper producers, has been the scene of several conflicts involving mining companies and Peruvian grassroots protesters, who demand more jobs, regional development and improvements in environmental standards.

The miners' strike heightened the air of social unrest in a week that also saw protests by coca-leaf growers in the country's central region, and by rice and sugar producers in northern Peru.

The Peruvian government, which had already resolved the demands of the rice and sugar sectors, also offered to set aside funds to allow the hiring of teachers in the southern Andean region of Cuzco, where authorities had threatened their own strike to enforce their demand.

Gold futures close near $690, up over 1% on week

2007-05-08T05:00:00.003-07:00

"The U.S. dollar's weakness remains the focal point," said Peter Spina, an analyst at GoldSeek.com, in e-mailed comments. "Gold will push up against the $700 resistance and either see another rally fizzle or see a large wave of momentum kick in and take this market much higher."

Still, Spina said the outlook is unclear. "I am unable to foresee which route we are headed as the bears and bulls struggle to get the upper hand."

For now, "the market remains firm on pullbacks, so the inevitable break of $700 is just a question of when," he said.

Gold for June delivery gained $5.30 to close at $689.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest closing level since April 23. On Thursday, gold futures gained $9.30, the benchmark contract is up $7.90, or 1.2%, for the week.

"Look for continued strength as the day wears on, but keep a keen eye on next week as all market participants will be back in full force and as the Fed watching gets under way," said Jon Nadler, analyst at Kitco Bullion Dealers. The Federal Reserve will meet Wednesday.

"A test, if it comes, of the $695 area [for gold] may succeed this time around," said Nadler, in e-mailed commentary.

Neal Ryan, director of economic research at Blanchard, pointed out that "investment demand is still increasing in each successive quarter while producers are ramping up de-hedging and mine supply is continuing to slump."

So "while we haven't yet achieved the $700 level, each pull back we've experienced in the last two months has created a higher floor price," he said in e-mailed comments. "Now it's time to make the higher highs."
Dollar move

The dollar's weakness contributed to gold's latest rise. The greenback edged lower after the Labor Department said that non-farm payrolls expanded by 88,000 in April, less than the 100,000 expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

The euro was last up 0.4%, while the dollar was down 0.3% vs. the yen.

"Earlier speculation that U.S. jobs growth may reveal the weakest number in some 24 months, became a stark reality," said Nadler. "This news further undercut the dollar and extended expectations that next week's Fed meeting will result in (at least) a continuation of the thus far neutral stance on dollar rates that it had to adopt due to the conundrum posed by rising inflation and sluggish growth (in certain sectors of the economy)."

So "gold once more became a bet to the long side for funds (if not quite yet for the individual investor who may seek a validation of above $695 to join the party)," he said. "Spot bullion rose by $4.50 as soon as the news hit the wires."

Platinum and palladium moved higher along with gold. July platinum rose 1.4%, or $18, to close at $1,328.80 an ounce – up 2.8% for the week. June palladium added 50 cents to end at $377 an ounce, up 0.7% for the week.
Silver, copper focus

Silver and copper also strengthened, with copper posting another sizable gain for the week.

July copper tapped a contract high, rising 0.9%, or 3.2 cents, to close at $3.7585 a pound after a high of $3.804. It climbed 6.5% from last Friday's closing level.

July silver added 2 cents to finish at $13.53 an ounce after a one-week high of $13.70. But it was down 0.3% for the week.

Metals traders have been eyeing developments in Peru where some labor unions have been on strike since the start of the week.

Peru's National Federation of Mining, Metallurgy and Steel Workers and the government have reached a preliminary agreement to end the national-mining sector strike, the secretary general of the federal said Friday, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Also, Peru's government has declared illegal a strike by unionized workers at Compania de Minas Buenaventura SAA's Uchucchacua silver mine, according to Dow Jones.

But unionized workers at Minera Yanococha SRL said Friday that talks have broken off with the company for a new collective agreement, and they plan to go on strike, the news agency said.

"Peru is currently the world's No. 3 copper and zinc producer, No. 5 in gold, and a top-two silver producer," according to Charles Supapodok, a fund manager for the Artemis Silver Fund, a silver-focused fund that was launched in March of this year.

"None of Peru's major mining companies have declared force majeure, the legal protection invoked when unforeseen events hinder a company's ability to carry out normal operations," he said. And "most mines and smelters hold enough inventory stocks to cover several days of lost production."

But "the strike has had an immediate impact on zinc, lead, and copper prices as these markets are experiencing extremely tight supply conditions with historically low LME [London Metal Exchange] stock levels," he said. "Since the strike's inception on April 28, zinc prices have shot up 7.9%, copper prices climbed 3.5%, and lead prices rose 4.4%."

The strike has affected output from Peru's largest producer of precious metals, Compania de Minas Buenaventura, where unionized workers walked out on the company's Uchucchacua silver mine, Supapodok said.

"In 2005 total world mine silver production was 641.6 million ounces; output from the Uchucchacua mine is approximately 8 million ounces per year, or a little over 1% of total world production," he said.

Given the tight supplies, traders may be best served to keep an eye on copper and silver.
Supplies and indexes

On the supply side, gold warehouse inventories fell by 68,509 troy ounces to stand at 7.82 million troy ounces as of late Thursday, according to Nymex data. Silver supplies rose by 1,040 troy ounces to stand at 131.3 million troy ounces, while copper supplies fell by 164 short tons to 32,839 short tons.

On the LME, copper supplies fell 1,100 metric tons to 150,925 – the lowest level since Nov. 10, 2006, according to BaseMetals.com

Among individual companies, shares of BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RTP) rallied on Friday. They were responding to a big spike in metals prices as well as a Merrill Lynch report suggesting that BHP could be torn apart and sold at a 30% premium.

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU), the world's third-largest producer of gold, Friday posted a net loss for the first quarter as production declined and costs rose.

The Johannesburg miner, owned almost 42% by Anglo American Plc (AAUK), said its net loss was 133 million rand ($19 million) against a profit of 69 million rand in the fourth quarter. The company posted a loss of 1.08 billion rand for the year-earlier first quarter.

Minefinders 2006 drilling results: 'Dolores, Eres Preciosa'

2007-05-08T05:00:00.001-07:00

Trey Wasser (III-D Capital) submits: Last week, Minefinder's (AMEX: MFN) released the drilling results from their 2006 program at their advanced stage gold and silver project in Chihuahua State, Mexico. The results were impressive and should translate into a significant upgrade for resources, reserves and production at Dolores. The new resource report is due out any day.

It appears that they are finding more ore just about everywhere they drill on the property. Even condemnation drilling outside the pit and at one of the leach pads gave indications of mineable, near surface ore. The leach pad just got larger and shareholders just got richer.

But the drill bits found much more!

The 2006 drilling program had four goals:

1. To convert inferred resources within the proposed pit to measured and indicated reserves.
2. To test near-pit inferred resources to extend the proposed pit.
3. To test areas outside the existing open pit and extend the mine life.
4. To test mineralization at depth and confirm the potential for underground mining at Dolores.

Drilling results of the inferred resources in and near the pit were very good. This should result in a significant upgrade to measured and indicated as well as a possible extension of the open pit. M&I resources are currently over 5.4MM gold equivalent ounces [GOE] while inferred resources represent additional 1.1MM GOE. Dolores reserves are about 60/40, gold to silver.

A new zone north of the pit that was previously drilled show significant results on three separate structures. Condemnation drilling to the east, west and south all produced results that will require more work. 2007 drilling locations will include all four areas.
Dolores is becoming "Mucho Grande"

While the open pit mine continues to expand, deep drilling at Dolores is what really got my attention. 2006 results almost insure that an underground mine will be constructed at the project. Gold intercepts at 400 to 550 meters occurring below the open pit were impressive not only in grade, but in width. These include widths of 48 to 104 meters averaging 6.1 gpt and 3.81 gpt (Aueq) respectively, with internal intervals grading 22 gpt over 4 meters. Smaller intervals of 2-4 meters were also intersected with grades as high as 1-2 ounces per ton. The Company is moving quickly into a feasibility study which includes a bulk cave and traditional underground mine plan.

But the good news does not stop there. With the underground mine, will come a mill and floatation system. The current mine plan, production and economics are based strictly on a heap leach operation with no mill. Annual production of about 200,000 GOE is based on recoveries rates of only 74% for gold and 51% for silver. The addition of the mill and floatation will enhance recoveries from the open pit on about half of the reserves. Metallurgical testing has shown that this process should yield gold recoveries of greater than 90%, and silver recoveries from 82% to 94%. This will add about 650,000 GOE of production to the current mine plan, a 23% increase. Add to this, the production from the underground mine plus the additional resource areas and Dolores may have just doubled in size.

With these enhanced recovery rates, cash costs could easily drop to under $200/GOE, adding even more leverage to the economics at Dolores.

If a mill and floatation system would have this impact on production, why not build the mill now?

The answer is that the deposit at Dolores is a combination of oxide and sulphide ores. The oxide material is lower grade and the silver recoveries would not be enhanced, at the mill, from the oxide ore. Rather than dilute shareholders with the expense of the mill, the plan is to leach the oxide ore first. Cash flow will be then be used to build the mill and the underground mine.

Yesterday, Coeur D'Alene (NYSE: CDE) announced a merger with Palmarejo [PJO:CVE] for $1.1B. Palmarejo has a "fast-tracked" project, near Dolores, that CDE clearly believes is going to be a world class asset. PJO is projecting production of 300,000 GOE starting in late 2008 from an open pit mine with a mill. With production on schedule to begin in Q4 2007, MFN is at least a year ahead in mine construction. The defined resource at Palmarejo is about 3MM GOE and is approximately 2/3rds silver. PJO has no proven reserves and no feasibility study to define cash costs. Dolores already has over 4MM GOE in proven/probable reserves and a bankable feasibility study. CDE is excited about the underground potential at Palmarejo, but very little drilling has been done at depth and grades are nowhere near those at Dolores.

Minefinders' current market cap is about $600MM. The stock remains extremely undervalued based on my matrix and Coeur D'Alene's.

Disclosure: The author is long MFN and considers it a core holding with a 12 month target of $18. He has no position in other stocks mentioned in this report.

Coeur D'Alene to buy Mexico mine project

2007-05-08T04:59:00.000-07:00

Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. on Thursday said it agreed to buy Australia's Bolnisi Gold NL and Mexico's Palmarejo Silver and Gold Corp. for $1.1 billion in cash and stock.

Bolnisi and Palmarejo together own 100 percent of the Palmarejo project, a silver mine in Mexico's Chihuahua state bordering Texas. The purchase gives Coeur d'Alene its first project in Mexico, a top silver-producing country.

Under the transaction, Bolnisi shareholders will receive 0.682 Coeur shares for each Bolnisi share they own, and Palmarejo shareholders will get 2.715 Coeur shares per Palmarejo share held. Bolnisi is Palmarejo's majority shareholder, with a 73.6 percent stake.

Based on Coeur d'Alene's closing stock price on May 2, Bolnisi holders will receive the equivalent of $2.76 per share, and Palmarejo shareholders will receive $11 per share. That's a 9 percent premium on Bolnisi's stock price on May 1 and a 40 percent premium on Palmarejo shares.

Shareholders of both companies will also receive three-tenths of a cent per Bolnisi and Palmarejo share they hold.

Idaho-based Coeur d'Alene said the combination will create a silver mining powerhouse with 364 million ounces of measured and indicated silver mineral resources. The company expects silver production to swell about 47 percent annually this year through 2009.

Palmarejo is currently building a processing plant capable of producing 12 million ounces of silver and 110,000 ounces of gold annually.

Coeur d'Alene currently owns and operates three silver mines in North and South America, owns silver production and mineral reserves in Australia and is building a silver mine in Bolivia and a gold mine in Alaska.

To pay for the deal, Coeur d'Alene plans to list its shares on the Australian Stock Exchange as depositary interests.

The Bolnisi and Palmarejo boards have approved the deal.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter this year, subject to approval by the shareholders of Coeur d'Alene, Bolnisi and Palmarejo. CIBC World Markets is acting as financial adviser to Coeur.

Gold dehedging increases in the first quarter: Analysis

2007-05-08T04:58:00.003-07:00

Gold miners accelerated their de-hedging programs during the first quarter 2007, drawing down hedges by another 3.9 million troy ounces to 36.7 million ounces, metals consultancy Virtual Metals said Friday in a joint report with Mitsui & Co. Precious Metals.

This cut of almost 10% was the twentieth successive quarterly reduction, and means gold hedging worldwide is now 64% lower than its peak in the third quarter 2001.

In terms of committed ounces the decline is estimated to be a slightly larger 4 million ounces, taking that measure to 38.9 million ounces.

Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) again led the decline, reducing their hedge position by 1.3 million ounces, completing the large-scale 10.5 million tons dehedging program that began in the first quarter of 2006, when the company acquired Placer Dome.

Three other companies made reductions of over 0.5 million ounces. These were Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI) in South Africa at 0.7 million ounces, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) at 0.6 million ounces and Peru's Compania de Minas Buenaventura SAA's (BVN), which sliced more than a quarter off their hedge book, 0.5 million ounces in total.

Thirty-six other companies cut their positions, collectively reducing the global book by 1.0 million ounces, the report said.

Five companies added new hedges, but only Canadian miner Etruscan Resources Inc. (EET.T) and Australia's View Resources (VRE.AU) saw increases larger than 0.1 million ounces each.

"Another quarter of dehedging and once again it is led by Barrick," said Edel Tully, Head of Precious Metals Research at Mitsui Global Precious Metals. "Now that company's major dehedging program has finished a slowdown in the rate of dehedging is inevitable.

"However, other companies made large reductions in Q1 07, and with a few exceptions, opposition to hedging in the industry is such that we expect the global book will fall further," she added.

Looking ahead to the second quarter of 2007, Australian miner Lihir Gold Ltd.'s (LHG.AU) announcement in April that it had closed out its 1.4 million ounces hedge book "should ensure continued, albeit reduced, dehedging, despite the ending of Barrick's corporate dehedging program and a number of possible project-related hedges," the report noted.

Over 2007 as a whole, dehedging is likely to be between 8 million and 11 million ounces, lower than last year's 13.2 million ounces but an increase on earlier estimates of 7.8 million ounces.

Magnus International provides Uganda exploration update

2007-05-08T04:58:00.001-07:00

Magnus International Resources, Inc. (OTCBB: MGNU) is pleased to provide a progress update on its exploration projects in Uganda.

Through the acquisition of African Mineral Fields Inc. ("AMF"), Magnus has acquired a 100% interest in two gold projects, Lugazi and Mubende, as well as an exclusive option to acquire a 100% interest in a further two gold properties, Mwerusandu and Mitoma, in Uganda.

Africa Mineral Fields' four gold properties encompass a total of 1,996 sq. km and 14 licenses. An airborne magnetic and radiometric survey has just been completed on the Lugazi property. In addition, AMF anticipates commencing 5,000 meters of drilling, at depths of 50 to 250 meters, on 4 initial gold targets by July 2007. The 4 initial planned drill targets comprise:

- a 3 km long gold-in-soil and magnetic anomaly at Lugazi
- a scorodite rich quartzite zone at the Mwerusandu project where visible gold was observed
- two main soil anomalies at the Mitoma project
African Mineral Fields ' joint venture

AMF has partnered with East Africa Mineral Resources and Flemish Investments Limited (collectively, "East African Mineral Resources" or "EAMR") to form the African Mineral Fields-EAMR Joint Venture. Since early 2004, the experienced EAMR exploration team completed systematic geological and surface geochemical investigations in Uganda, focusing attention on major fault and structural zones that are thought to be extensions of structures that pass through known world-class gold deposits in adjacent countries.

The Joint Venture is a very significant exploration license holder in Uganda with 1,996 square km of tenure. It now controls a portfolio of gold properties along prospective regional structures where reconnaissance exploration has established the presence of gold in drainage and soil/rock surveys. Several of the properties are drill-ready, and will be targeted by RC Drilling during the second half of the year.
Mitoma Project

The Mitoma Project comprises six exploration licenses (Kahungye, Rugoma, Rutaka, Nchwero, Kabira and Kabira East) on 279 square kilometers. Exploration to date on the Project has included the analysis of some 2,280 soil samples, deep augering, 19 pits, sampling of more than 400 stream sediments at 180 locations, a regional aeromagnetic survey and radiometrics, as well as 17 kilometers of project ground magnetic survey. As a result of this exploration, Magnus has identified three major geochemical gold anomalies on the property, two of which are at a drill ready stage. The Kahungye anomaly measures 500m x 600m at the northern end, extending over 4km to the southeast. The Rugoma gold anomaly, over an area of about 2000m by 500m with co-incident elevated arsenic anomalism, is located about three kilometers east and south-east of the Kahungye anomaly. Magnus' management is targeting mid-year to commence an initial drilling program on the project.
Mwerusandu Project

The Mwerusandu Project comprises four exploration licenses (Mwerusandu North, Mwerusandu West, Nyamulindira and Kiana Mine) on 205.33 square kilometers. Exploration to date has included reconnaissance surveys and rock sampling that identified outcrops of light green scorodite rich quartzite with 4-6 grams per tonne of gold. Follow-up trenching has identified a drill ready quartz vein outcrop with 20.4 grams per tonne of gold over 3.5m. Recent sampling has identified visible gold in subcropping rocks. Systematic surface soil and rock sampling, comprehensive structural analysis, and drilling are planned for this property over the next several months.
Lugazi Project

The Lugazi Project is located in south central Uganda, about 50 kilometers east of the capital, Kampala. The Lugazi Project has in the past demonstrated potential for nickel, gold, and possibly platinum group elements associated with nickel sulphides. The Lugazi Project is located in an area of poor rock exposure, but where early stage geochemistry surveys have yielded promising results. A soil sampling program comprising over 1500 soil samples has delineated a strong 300 – 700m wide gold-in-soil anomaly over a length of at least 3 km. The anomaly is offset to the east, and there are indications that the anomaly is open ended in this direction. The Lugazi project is also rapidly being prepared for drilling through the use of airborne magnetics and radiometrics, and ground EM surveys. Through the use of these geophysical and geochemical techniques, management is confident that repeat anomalous structures along the Buganda-Toro belt can be discovered.
Mubende Project

The Mubende Project is located about 100 kilometers west of Kampala in southern Uganda. Exploration at Mubende is focusing on a style of gold deposit known as intrusive related gold systems. Examples of deposits of this style include the Fort Knox and Pogo gold deposits in Alaska. The Singo granites in central Uganda display alteration characteristics and metallogenic element associations that make these granites prospective for gold. The Mubende project is surrounded by abundant gold and tungsten occurrences and small-scale gold alluvial workings. Reconnaissance drainage sampling completed throughout the geologic terrain of the Singo granite by EAMR has revealed discrete drainage areas containing elevated concentrations of gold.

A detailed structural and regional alteration interpretation over Mubende has been completed and follow-up soil geochemical programs are currently in progress over the most prospective areas. These areas are scheduled for more detailed investigation as part of the Mubende exploration program, expected to last a number of months before plans to drill the most promising targets will be implemented.
About Magnus International Resources, Inc.

Magnus International Resources, Inc. specializes in identifying, acquiring and developing precious and base metal properties. Magnus' objective is to develop a balanced global portfolio of early-to-advanced stage projects. Magnus is currently focused on gold projects in China and Africa. Magnus retains a 90 percent interest in two Sino-foreign joint venture exploration projects, Huidong and Mangshi. The Huidong property is on trend with Southwestern Resources' Boka project. Through the acquisition of African Mineral Fields Inc., Magnus has acquired a 100% interest in two gold projects, and an exclusive option to acquire 100% interest in a further two properties in Uganda.

Workers at Peru's Yanacocha gold mine to strike

2007-05-08T04:56:00.002-07:00

Unionized workers at precious metals miner Minera Yanacocha SRL say talks have broken off with the company for a new collective agreement and they plan to go on strike, a union official said Friday.

The company and workers held last-minute meetings on Thursday, aiming to head off any work stoppages.

"We haven't reached any agreement with Yanacocha despite mediation by the ministry (of Labor), and the company has tried to slow the negotiations by another week, but we haven't accepted this," said Guillermo Nina, secretary general of the union at Yanacocha.

"(Friday) morning we are going to present our strike notice in the regional office of the Labor Ministry, and five days later we can go on strike," he said. "This is definitive. We are going on strike because there isn't any willingness to talk."

Unionized workers at Yanacocha, one of the world's largest gold mines, decided to stay on the job during the national mining sector strike that started Monday.

A national strike to back a series of labor-related demands started Monday, led by Peru's National Federation of Mining, Metallurgy and Steel Workers federation, which represents 74 unions and 22,000 workers nationwide.

Yanacocha is operated by Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM), which holds a 51.35% stake, and Compania de Minas Buenaventura SAA (BVN), which holds a 43.65% share. The International Finance Corporation holds a 5.0% stake.

Production at the mine is forecast to decline to around 1.6 million ounces of gold this year, from 2.6 million ounces last year and 3.33 million in 2005.

Aur Resources 1Q net earnings up 23% on higher copper output, prices

2007-05-08T04:56:00.001-07:00

Aur Resources Inc.'s (AUR.T) first-quarter earnings rose to $57.8 million or 59 cents a share from $46.8 million or 48 cents a year earlier, reflecting increased copper production and high copper prices.

The Thomson First Call mean earning estimate was for 53 cents a share.

Revenue rose to $156.4 million on production of 57.4 million pounds of copper from the Andacollo and Quebrada Blanca Mines in Chile from $135.1 million on output of 55.1 million pounds a year earlier.

"Aur expects that the combination of record copper production and continued strong copper prices in 2007 will result in another excellent year for the Company," said Jim Gill, Aur's President and CEO. "Aur shareholders will also benefit from a 100% increase in scheduled copper production over the next 3 years resulting from the new Duck Pond Mine (Newfoundland), which began operations in January, and from its Andacollo Hypogene copper-gold deposit currently being developed for production commencing in late 2009."

The Duck Pond Mine produced approximately 3.7 million pounds of copper and 8.7 million pounds of zinc in the first quarter, however, as commercial production was not declared until April 1, 2007, all expenses were capitalized and no mining revenue was recognized.

Aur is a Toronto-based mining company.

AngloGold knocks 5% off hedge book

2007-05-08T04:53:00.000-07:00

AngloGold Ashanti weighed into its hedge book lopping 5.2% off its forward sales or 570,000 oz amid confidence the world's gold producers would remain net dehedgers.

"While some new gold hedging is being undertaken by producers in association with debt financing obligations, it seems likely that producers will remain net de-hedgers in 2007, which should at least be supportive of the gold price," AngloGold Ashanti said in its March quarter presentation notes.

Physical gold demand was also expected to improve. "Looking at the remainder of 2007, gold demand is expected to strengthen as consumers grow accustomed to higher price levels," it said.

The average spot price of gold during the March quarter was 6% higher over the previous quarter and a 17% increase over the average price in the same quarter of 2006. The rand gold price was 5% higher quarter-on-quarter.

AngloGold Ashanti's forward sales contracts, however, meant the company averaged a price of $602/oz for its own gold sales, 7.4% less than unhedged gold producers would have received.

The company, whose shares are to be sold by parent firm, Anglo American, over the next two years, could have done with a higher price received. Production in the March quarter was about 10% mostly as only one South African-based mine – Moab Khotsong – produced the same or more gold production quarter-on-quarter.

The mines AngloGold Ashanti bought from Ashanti Goldfields in 2003 also produced variable results. The large Obuasi mine in Ghana produced 3% more gold production but there were continued problems at Geita in Tanzania. AngloGold said the mine was "on track" to produce 400,000 oz of gold in the 2007 financial year, but a new mine plan was being developed after "... the partial slope failure at Geita's Nyankanga pit in late January 2007.

AngloGold Ashanti also expressed concern by the deaths of 14 employees at its mines during the March quarter. "In response to this unacceptable outcome, a full safety review has yielded a range of new outcome-based initiatives focused on key areas," it said. These areas were fatigue management, skills retention and "culture surveys". The poor safety record of South African mines remains a major deterrant to international investors.

The outcome was AngloGold Ashanti reported a halving in gross profit of R808m. Gross profit adjusted for losses on unrealised non-hedge derivatives was marginally down quarter-on-quarter.

AngloGold Ashanti said it hoped to produce 5.7 million oz of gold for its financial year which ends in December.

The endemic increase in costs across the mining sector was also expected to weigh on AngloGold Ashanti. It said total cash costs in the financial year would be about $320/oz representing an increase of $11/oz from previous market guidance.

"[This] is mainly due to stronger local currency assumptions and higher royalty assumptions, both arising from an improved gold price outlook for the remainder of the year," AngloGold said.

Australia's ActivEX, Minotaur sign exploration JV with Mitsubishi Corp

2007-04-21T04:37:00.001-07:00

ActivEX Ltd and Minotaur Exploration Ltd said they have signed an exploration joint venture agreement with Mitsubishi Corp for the Booubyjan copper-gold project located in southeast Queensland.

Under the agreement, Mitsubishi will spend a minimum of 1.0 mln aud while expenditure of 1.8 mln aud will entitle the Japanese company to a 24 pct interest in the project from Minotaur's current stake.

This would leave Minotaur Exploration with 51 pct and ActivEX holding 25 pct.

ActivEX and Minotaur Exploration have been actively exploring the area since June 2005, carrying out extensive geophysical surveys and a drilling campaign which intersected low grade copper-gold mineralization in association with encouraging alteration styles.

Booubyjan is a porphyry copper-gold deposit in the style of Newcrest Mining Ltd's Cadia Hill mine in New South Wales.

ActivEX chief executive Doug Young said his company welcomes this new association with one of the world's largest companies and one of the leading companies in copper smelting and refining industry.

'The new parties in the joint venture add significant strength to the project and a ready-made market for copper-gold concentrate,' he said.

Peru: Silver Standard, Esperanza JV reports San Luis high-grade drill results

2007-04-21T04:36:00.002-07:00

Silver Standard Resources Inc. (Toronto:SSO.TO) (NasdaqGM:SSRI) and Esperanza Silver Corporation (CDNX:EPZ.V) (Other OTC:ESPZF.PK) Monday announced results of ongoing diamond drilling at the San Luis high-grade gold and silver joint venture property in central Peru.
Continued high grade on Ayelen Vein

Drilling on the Ayelen Vein has extended the drill-tested strike length to 550 meters and its depth to over 175 meters. Gold and silver mineralization continues to depth and along strike to the north and south. Significant drill results include:

- in drill hole SL-030, an angled hole drilled below drill holes SL06-17 and -28, a 38.7-foot interval averaging 0.45 ounces per ton gold and 14.4 ounces per ton silver (11.8 meters averaging 15.58 grams per tonne gold and 494.0 grams per tonne silver).

- in drill hole SL-033, an angled hole drilled beneath hole SL06-21, a 61.2-foot interval averaging 0.26 ounces per ton gold and 8.1 ounces per ton silver (18.7 meters averaging 8.99 grams per tonne gold and 277.0 grams per tonne silver). This interval included 12.1 feet averaging 0.53 ounces per ton gold and 19.7 ounces per ton silver (3.7 meters averaging 18.27 grams per tonne gold and 676.9 grams per tonne silver).
Drilling on the Ines Vein and Other Parallel Veins

Further drilling on the Ines Vein intersected variable intervals of brecciated quartz veins containing anomalous values of gold and silver. Similarly, initial shallow drilling of the Sheyla, Paula and Regina veins returned anomalous gold and silver values.

Field observations indicate that drilling to date has potentially intersected those vein systems above the boiling zone, requiring a drill rig with greater capacity to test these veins at depth. Arrival of the new drill rig is expected shortly.

Reconnaissance work has recently identified a number of drainages in the joint venture's claim block with stream sediment gold anomalies higher than values in drainages from the already identified vein structures. In addition to drilling, further work will include mapping, rock sampling and prospecting to identify the sources of the gold anomalies and preparation for follow-up drilling.
Joint Venture Interests

Silver Standard holds a 55% interest in the San Luis joint venture and Esperanza 45%. Silver Standard has elected to increase its interest in the joint venture to 70% by funding costs required to complete a feasibility study. Thereafter, Silver Standard has the right to increase its interest to 80% by funding the property through to production.
About Esperanza

Esperanza is an exploration company focused on precious metals and is founded on the experience and success of its management and field teams in discovering ore bodies. Its properties include the San Luis high-grade gold and silver discovery in central Peru and the 100%-owned Cerro Jumil bulk-tonnage gold project in Morelos State, Mexico. It has other exploration interests in Peru, Mexico and Bolivia. The company's objective is to take properties up to the resource definition stage and then find partners to take them into production.
About Silver Standard

Silver Standard is a well-financed silver resource company that continues to seek growth through exploration and development of its own silver projects. Silver Standard also has an approximate 14% equity ownership of Esperanza and participated in the recent equity offering and increased its percentage interest.

UBS: Goldcorp set to 'unearth significant value'

2007-04-21T04:36:00.001-07:00

FP Trading Desk submits: After visiting Goldcorp Inc.'s (NYSE: GG) investor day presentation on April 12, UBS analyst Tony Lesiak believes the Vancouver-based miner is now set to "unearth significant value at its new and existing assets."

"Goldcorp appears to be poised for low-cost growth in the next five years which should be fully funded from existing cash flow and available debt capacity," he wrote in a note to clients.

Mr. Lesiak believes the exploration potential at a number Goldcorp's properties, including the Red Lake Mine, is underappreciated. And he's especially impressed with the potential for the Penasquito property in Mexico, which Goldcorp acquired when it bought Glamis Gold Ltd. However, the Glamis deal is still expected to be "significantly dilutive" to Goldcorp's earnings until Penasquito reaches full production, he wrote. That's expected in late 2009.

Mr. Lesiak maintained his "buy" rating on the stock and lifted his price target from US$36.50 a share to US$37.00. He uses a gold price estimate for 2007 of US$700 an ounce.

Zijin Mining mulls issuing more HK shares

2007-04-21T04:35:00.002-07:00

Hong Kong-listed Chinese gold and copper producer Zijin Mining Group Co. (2899.HK) is considering issuing more H shares, Deputy Chairman of the company said Monday.

H shares are Hong Kong-listed shares of companies registered and based in China.

Idaho Cobalt project by no means cheap – or quick

2007-04-21T04:35:00.001-07:00

Mining requires deep digging.

Planning a mine requires deep pockets. And patience.

If construction of the Idaho Cobalt Project starts in October or November as its backer hopes, the company will have spent nearly eight years securing permits, not counting exploration that began in 1993.

Publicly traded Formation Capital Corp., Vancouver, B.C., plans the mine about 45 miles west of Salmon. The company received a Draft Environmental Impact Statement from the U.S. Forest Service in late February.

"To get here, we had $14 million into this process, just the permitting effort," Formation Capital Chairman and CEO Mari-Ann Green said in an interview in Boise. The Forest Service is yet to issue a final go-ahead decision.

Formation Capital in January 2001 filed a "mine plan of operation" detailing where facilities would be built, and where material would come in, go out and be stored. The plan was approved in May 2001.

The company spent the summer of 2000 conducting its own feasibility audit of the site. Green said the company conducted 18 studies, involving different science disciplines and types of measurements, starting that year. Formation Capital initiated water-quality baseline studies when it started exploratory drilling in 1995.

"It's not a matter of taking advantage of high prices," Green said. Prices will cycle up and down during the considerable period of time required to find a site, plan a mine and obtain permits, she said.

It took several years just to find the desired mining area in east central Idaho's 30-mile "cobalt belt" and the ideal mining site there, she said. Formation Capital took soil samples and grid-mapped the area by where cobalt is available in sizable and accessible quantities, she said.

"Now, with the Draft EIS, agencies are telling the public they are inclined to let us mine, and this is the last public comment (period)," Green said.

The 60-day comment period is scheduled to end April 23, but it could be extended by another 30 days depending on comments received, she said.

Formation Capital expects the Forest Service to issue a final Environmental Impact Statement, and record of decision filed in the Federal Register, in late July, Green said. The record of decision is subject to a 45-day appeal period, and possibly an additional 45-day period to study and resolve issues brought forth on appeal, she said.

Construction of the mine would take 12 to 14 months, she said. The company would employ 150 in Lemhi County in addition to 39 in northern Idaho.

Formation Capital expects to spend $80 to $100 million combined on the Idaho Cobalt Project and the Big Creek refinery retrofit, Green said.

A report in the Challis Messenger newspaper said Formation Capital has spent a total of $30 million on the project including permitting and exploration.

Green said it will cost $8 to $10 a pound to mine, mill and process the material. Cobalt has risen recently to about $30 a pound.

Annual cash flow discounted for interest, depreciation and taxes is estimated at $30 million a year for 10 years assuming a cobalt price of $13.80 a pound and about $47 million assuming a price of $19.40 a pound, according to a Formation Capital projection. Cobalt is used to make strong, lightweight alloys. Formation Capital also would extract copper and gold from the Lemhi County site.

Agnico-Eagle Mines decline on analyst downgrade on earnings shortfall concerns

2007-04-14T02:41:00.003-07:00

Shares of Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. declined in afternoon trading Tuesday after a CIBC World Markets analyst cut his rating on the Canadian gold producer, citing a possibility of an earnings miss ahead.

Shares fell $1.25, or 3.3 percent, to $36.57 on the New York Stock Exchange in afternoon trading. The stock has traded in a 52-week range between $25.49 and $45.67 and is up about 35 percent in the same period.

Barry Cooper in a client note cut his rating on Agnico to "Sector Performer" from "Sector Outperformer" but left his target price at $50.

"The downgrade is a result of share price appreciation coupled with our anticipation of an upcoming downward correction," wrote Cooper, who thinks lower zinc prices could trigger an earnings shortfall, leading to a correction. In addition, consensus Wall Street earnings estimates are probably too high, the analyst wrote.

Shares could slip to the $30 per share range, added Cooper.

The analyst still has high growth expectations for the company, due to its low operating costs and development pipeline.

"We believe any weakness in the share price should be considered a buying opportunity for exposure to increasing gold production and reserves," added Cooper.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery fell $1.40 to settle at $662.5 per ounce.

Newmont Mining falls on HSBC downgrade

2007-04-14T02:41:00.001-07:00

Shares of Newmont Mining Corp. fell Tuesday as an HSBC Global Research analyst cut his rating on the company, concerned about production declines ahead and few growth drivers on the horizon.

Newmont gave up $1.01, or 2.3 percent, to close at $42.72 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded between $39.84 and $59.70 in the past 52 weeks and is down about 13 percent in the same period.

Analyst Victor Flores in a client note changed Newmont to "Neutral" from "Overweight" and cut his target price to $47 from $62.

He said the company is finding it increasingly difficult to maintain production levels, while coping with a rising costs.

Flores said Newmont needs to build up development-stage projects and could boost growth through acquisitions.

"Even though the company possesses those attributes typically prized by investors – large capitalization, liquidity, and largely unhedged exposure to the gold price – Newmont Mining has consistently underperformed the HSBC Global Gold Index in three of the past five years," Flores observed.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery fell $1.40 to settle at $662.5 per ounce.

Australia's Newcrest reports half-yearly profits down 50 percent

2007-04-14T02:40:00.003-07:00

Australia's largest gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd. said Tuesday its half-yearly profit plunged 50 percent to 37 million Australian dollars (US$29.4 million; €22.34 million) after the company restructured its hedge strategy.

But the company's stock jumped 5.85 percent to A$23.87 (US$31.45; €23.90) as investors took a positive view of indications that the troubled mine project Telfer was turning around.

Production problems at Telfer, in Western Australia state, have been a constant headache for Newcrest, which anounced in January that reserves at the mine have been cut 12 percent with further significant downgrades likely to follow.

But Chief Executive Ian Smith on Tuesday announced the underground mine has reached output of 4 million metric tons ahead of the March target promised to the market.

Earnings for the half-year ending Dec. 31, 2006, compares to A$74.2 million for the previous corresponding period.

The Melbourne-based company said the profit had been affected by the restructure of its hedge book and, excluding this impact, net profit for the half climbed 5 percent to A$84 million (US$66.6 million; €50.61 million) from A$80.3 million (US$63.7 million; €48.4 million).

Newcrest said the hedge restructure carved A$47.6 million (US$37.77 million; €28.7 million) from earnings before interest and tax and A$36.6 million (US$29 million; €22.04 million) from net profit.

The company had previously disclosed plans to restructure its hedging strategy, and analysts said the half-yearly result was slightly ahead of expectations.

Heavy rain affecting gold production at Newcrest's Telfer mine

2007-04-14T02:40:00.001-07:00

Heavy rain from cyclone Kara has affected production at Newcrest Mining Ltd's flagship Telfer gold mine in the Pilbara, while oil and gas facilities off the coast remain closed.

Newcrest said production at Telfer and deliveries of copper concentrate to Port Hedland was being affected by continuing rain in the region.

"Mining operations in the open pit have been temporarily halted due to the wet weather, and in the underground mine as a precaution due to elevated water levels," Newcrest said.

"Milling of stockpiled lower-grade ore is continuing but at a reduced rate. "

All access roads to site, which have been closed for the past two days, are expected to remain closed for at least the next 72 hours.

Newcrest, Australia's largest independent gold miner, said Telfer had received more than 70mm of rain in the past 24 hours and more than 390mm of rain since the start of the month.

The gold miner said copper concentrate deliveries to Port Hedland had been halted due to road closure and would be stockpiled and transported once conditions permit.

Tropical cyclone Kara made landfall at 80 Mile Beach near the town of Wallal on the Pilbara coast at 5am (WST) today. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said Kara had weakened to a tropical low and was expected to further deteriorate as it continued to move inland.

Newcrest shares shed four cents to $23.55

Telfer mine was expected to produce between 675,000 oz and 700,000 oz gold, and between 31,000 t and 33,000 t of copper for the year ending June 30. .

C2C acquires producing gold mine in southwest Ecuador with immediate cash flow

2007-04-14T02:39:00.002-07:00

C2C Inc. (TSX VENTURE:CCN) (the "Company") said Tuesday that the Company has signed a letter of intent to acquire 50% of the rights to the Bella Rica gold mine and surrounding prospective property ("Bella Rica") including underground and surface assets, current gold mine production, and (annual) net profit of US$ 12.5 million before tax based on the vendor's audited fiscal 2006 financial statements reported under Ecuadorian accounting principles.

Bella Rica consists of 3,000 hectares or 30 km2 and is located 10 km from the Pacific Ocean and 60 km from the port city of Machala in southwest Ecuador. It is a significant and highly prospective epithermal gold-silver-copper(-zinc) vein system sitting between 70 and 1,130 m above sea-level, located along the side of a mountain and western flank of the Andean Cordillera.

Bella Rica has been in active mine production since 1983 and has produced more than 244,000 ounces of gold over its 25 years of operation. Recent production over the last several years has been at an annual rate of 25,000 ounces of gold. The mine is supported by extensive infrastructure, including 10 km of well-maintained secondary roads leading to the national highway, electricity, labour force, underground mine equipment, mill and mine buildings.

Bella Rica has over 20 km of underground workings on three levels with at least 6 veins identified to date within a 600 m long cross-cut. The total length of the vein systems covers a minimum of 3 km, with only 3 of the veins being developed since 1983. The principal vein mined underground extends 1.2 km in length and 500 m in vertical height, and has had an average mill grade over 43 g/t gold over the 25 years of operation according to a summary report dated January 18, 2007 prepared by JHR Davila, a Geological Engineer of DMG Mining Co. SA. Exploration work by the vendor has outlined an additional 6 veins on surface for a total of 12 veins. Gold mineralization is linked to millimetric and metric wide quartz veins containing visible Gold, Silver, pyrrhotite, pyrite and marcasite (iron sulphides), chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) and sphalerite (zinc sulphide).

As part of the NI 43-101 evaluation work, the Company will immediately initiate underground and surface sampling to determine with more precision the precious and base metal grades of the mineralization and mined material.

In exchange for its 50% interest in Bella Rica, the Company has paid an up-front amount of US$ 250,000 to the vendor, and will, on completion of due diligence and execution of the definitive agreement expected to be completed by June 30, 2007:

- issue 10 million shares of common stock to the vendor or issue 9 million shares of common stock and pay US$ 2 million to the vendor, at the vendor's discretion;

- issue 1 million shares of common stock to the vendor or pay US$ 2 million, at the discretion of the vendor, upon completion of the NI 43-101 Technical Report;

- create a company ("Newco") under the following share structure that would:

- issue 11 million shares to C2C;

- issue 14 million shares to the vendor;

- issue 3 million shares in exchange for an injection of capital of US$ 3 million by the Company which is strictly to be used for near-term exploration activities.

There are provisions in the letter of intent that would permit the Company to increase its ownership interest in Newco to 75% for additional consideration at any time during the next 24 months. Upon closing of the transaction Mr. Andres David Machuca Granda will become an insider of the Company.

There are finder's fees of 2.2 million shares in C2C common stock payable to arm's length parties, subject to regulatory approval. This transaction is subject to Board and regulatory approval. The information in this news release has been prepared and reviewed by Mr. Jean Lafleur, P. Geo., the Company's principal mineral exploration consultant and Qualified Person under NI 43-101.

C2C is a Montreal-based mineral exploration company with gold and silver projects located in Quebec, Canada and now, southwestern Ecuador.

Regency, major Chinese companies in confidentiality agreements on PNG laterite nickel deposit

2007-04-14T02:39:00.001-07:00

· Company's Main Focus Now Towards Exploration Of Project
· Further Exploration Carried Out At Bundarra Copper-Gold Prospect, Queensland
· Regency's Quoted Investments Now £4m Against Group's £2.7m Capitalisation

Regency Mines Plc said Monday that confidentiality agreements have been signed with two major Chinese metal companies interested in the AIM-listed group's large Mambare laterite nickel-cobalt prospect in Papua New Guinea.

In its half yearly report released today, Regency says the focus of the company has changed to exploration of the recently acquired Mambare nickel project. Regency also states the value of its quoted investment portfolio alone, including Red Rock Resources, Greatland Gold, Sunvest, and Aquarian Gold, is now approximately £4m against the group's capitalisation of £2.7m.

At Mambare, in a 158sq km section of the license, Anaconda Nickel in 1999 assessed possible resource potential as 630Mt at 0.78p.c. nickel with a 0.5p.c. cut-off and 200Mt at 1.01p.c. with 0.8p.c. cut-off.

Past auger drilling across the Mambare Plateau indicates a profile of 3-5m of ash; 3-6m of low grade limonite laterite; 3-6m of limonite ore grading 0.9 to 1.1p.c. nickel (+0.1p.c. cobalt); and 4m of saprolite ore grading at least 1.15p.c. nickel.

Regency emphasises that no resource has been established, as yet, with the next step being to work towards a JORC standard resource at inferred or indicated level.

The company plans a ground penetrating radar programme during this Spring followed by limited diamond drilling.

Andrew Bell, Regency chairman comments that the Mambare project differs from others in the area in that it has 110kms of largely metalled road leading to the port which opens the possibility of direct shipping of untreated iron-rich nickel limonite ore from some areas of the property.

"The values encountered in previous work indicate that this may be an economic prospect. The possibility of being able to obtain large revenues from ore export without the delays and expense of a treatment plant is an extremely attractive one, and we are actively pursuing this possibility".

Regency has kept exploration of its other nickel properties to a minimum and the Cat Camp license in Western Australia has been surrendered.

On the copper-gold front at Bundarra, in the Bowen Basin of Queensland, 107m of shallow RAB drilling was completed in October. Best results were a 1.37p.c. copper intersection from 23m and 0.66g/t gold over 1m from 26m. Further exploration, the company believes, should be closer to the granite/hornfels contact. Bundarra still has a number of promising targets.

Regency has taken a small investment in a coal project in Indonesia and holds 12m shares in the restricted stock of Aquarian Gold Corporation which is shortly changing its name to Aquarian Coal Corporation.

Mr. Bell expects the second half to be one of "continued progress".

Group loss for the six months to end December amounted to £383,000 (£184,000) which on the issued capital of 135,989,680 shares gave a loss per share of 0.22p. The group had net current assets of £172,000 at the end of the period.

Merrill bullish on Silver Wheaton, bearish on silver prices long-term

2007-03-27T03:26:00.001-07:00

Trading Desk submits: Merrill Lynch initiated coverage on Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) last week with a "buy" rating on the Vancouver-based mining company.

Saying the company is undervalued compared to its peers, analyst Michael Jalonen believes Silver Wheaton is trading at an approximate 15% discount to the North American precious metals average.

He set a 12-month target for the stock of US$13.50 per share, or roughly 30% upside from the company's current share price.

In 2006, Silver Wheaton, the world's only mining company that derives 100% of its revenues from the sale of silver, had sales of 13.5 million ounces and ranked second among the world's silver sellers.

The company expects to expand its silver sales from 15 million to 20 million ounces between 2007 and 2009, Mr. Jalonen said in a research note.

Meanwhile, the company's total cash costs should remain below US$4 an ounce based on its long-term silver purchase agreements, he said.

The price of silver today in comparison, ranges from US$13 to US$14 an ounce.

Mr. Jalonen's estimates the price will continue to rise this year reaching as high as US$13.75 an ounce before dropping back to US$13 in 2008 and US$12 in 2009. His long-term silver price forecast is $10 an ounce.

Jiangxi encourages foreign investment in gold mines

2007-03-27T03:25:00.002-07:00

Jiangxi Province will encourage gold mine consolidation and foreign investment, according to the provincial government's Jiangxi gold industry development guidelines, recently released on its official website.

A large proportion of the current 78 gold mines in Jiangxi are small-scaled and disconnected from each other, which often results in poor resource-sharing and supervision. Many of the mines are nearing the end of their productive lifespans and most of the mining and selecting technology employed is out-of-date.

The new guidelines state that the Jiangxi government will grant favorable policies to foreign mining companies who carry out risky prospecting and enter into joint ventures with local mining companies to extend the lifespan and reserves of gold mines.

The government is considering setting up a gold mine prospecting fund to support local mines in new gold prospecting projects.

Major gold mines that have installed sophisticated mining and selecting technology and promote safety and environmental protection will be supported by the government in gold mine mergers or acquisitions. This will aid in resource consolidation and combat illegal mining activities.

The eastern Chinese province of Jiangxi holds approximately 565 tons of gold reserves, more than any other Chinese province. Jiangxi Province produced 16.79 tons of gold last year, accounting for 7 percent of the nation's gold production, with 3.58 tons of which sourced from gold mines. Jiangxi Copper Group produced 13.13 tons of gold last year, making it the country's third largest gold refiner.

Jiangxi Province produced 2,797.31 kilograms of gold in the first two months this year, up 6.97 percent from the corresponding period last year. About 625.93 kilograms was sourced from gold mines, up 39.12 percent from last year and 2,171.38 tons came from nonferrous metals companies, up 0.29 percent.

Jiangxi Province's gold profits for the first two months of the year stood at RMB 22.67 million ($2.93 million), up 97.53 percent from last year, according to a statement by the Jiangxi Gold Administration Bureau.

Tanzania's gold production up 5.2% in the fourth quarter

2007-03-27T03:25:00.001-07:00

Tanzania's fourth-quarter gold output increased by 5.2% on the year, the country's central bank said Thursday.

In a report, the bank said that gold output from various mining companies in the country increased to 12,190 kilograms compared with 11,592.6 kgs a year earlier.

An official at Tanzania's Chamber of Minerals said gold ore grades at various gold mines in the country are improving as mining operations move deeper.

Gold, silver average prices to rise in 2007 on strong demand – Analyst

2007-03-27T03:23:00.002-07:00

World gold prices are likely to average $645 a troy ounce in 2007, up $39 on year due to strong investment and fabrication demand amid a slowdown in supplies, an analyst said Thursday.

"Silver prices might appreciate to an average of $13.65/oz during the same period compared with $11.60 (last year), also because of investment demand," said Jeffrey M. Christian, managing director of CPM Group.

At 1020 GMT, the London AM gold fix was $660.50/oz.

CPM is a leading precious metals and commodities research consulting company based in the U.S.

Christian said global demand for gold for fabrication would grow to 79.6 million ounces in 2007, up 8.2% on year, while investment demand would be around 39.7 million ounces, down 8.7%.

"Though on a year-on-year basis, investment demand is declining, it's still much higher than the average over the last several years of 20 million ounces," he added.

He said supplies have stagnated as new mine additions are few and far between, while most major central banks have cut down on gold sales.

"In 2006, central banks sold 11 million ounces of gold, which is likely to come down to just 9 million ounces this year," he said.

On gold mine production, Christian said world output would be around 63.8 million ounces this year.

Russia's Polymetal starts up mining operations at Arylakh deposit

2007-03-27T03:23:00.001-07:00

Russia's Polymetal announced on Thursday the start-up of mining operations at its Arylakh deposit in the Magadan region in Russia's Far East.

Polymetal subsidiary, Silver Territory, has started to operate the open-pit silver and gold Arylakh mine. In February Polymetal carried out its first stripping work at the deposit and in March began producing and processing Arylakh ore.

Arylakh, which is Lunnoye's satellite deposit, is located in the Srednekansky area of the Magadan region, 20 km from Silver Territory's processing plant. The Arylakh deposit was discovered in 1986.

In 1999 Silver Territory obtained a license for exploration and production of silver and gold at the Arylakh deposit and its flanks, valid until the end of 2016.

Under the JORC Code, as of September 30, 2006, proved and probable ore reserves at the Arylakh deposit were 1.66 million mt with 40,000 oz of contained gold and 25.2 million oz of contained silver.

Measured, indicated and inferred resources were estimated at 1.773 million mt of ore with 58,000 oz of contained gold and 32.5 million oz of contained silver.

Polymetal plans to process Arylakh ore at Silver Territory's processing plant, which has a designed production capacity of 300,000 mt/year. The designed production capacity of the deposit is 150,000 mt/year.

The plan for the deposit's operation currently provides for open-pit production at the Arylakh deposit to last until 2016.

"Operations at Arylakh will help ensure that Silver Territory's processing plant will be able to operate at its full designed production capacity," Polymetal CEO Vitaly Nesis said in the company's statement.

Rhodium price bounces up $50 overnight to $6,100/oz

2007-03-22T22:36:00.001-07:00

Rhodium prices have made a sudden bounce with a flurry of inquiries that caused dealers who have material to increase their offers, trade sources have told Platts Wednesday. There are conflicting reports, however, about actual transactions taking place, even though Engelhard and Johnson Matthey have both increased their published prices by $50/oz.

Johnson Matthey increased its North American Daily price of rhodium to $6,075/oz on March 21 from $6,025/oz which had been unchanged since March 9. Prior that, the price was mostly in the $5,950-6,000/oz range. Engelhard has raised its published price to $6,100/oz from $6,050/oz, and dealers are quoting $6,050-6,100/oz.

"I think the market is moving up on a 150 oz-bid and nobody is offering anything," a trader said, adding: "Nobody is looking to selling anything at the moment because the metal is tight."

Said another: "I think there is no physical metal for sale; there is a lot of borrowing going on. People are concerned about supply from South Africa and Russia."

A producer source noted, however, that "there's a lot of good physical demand right now. People are trying to get whatever metal they can, and that's pushing up the price."

According to a market analyst, there is apparently some confusion over export licenses for Russian material. "I'm not sure what's going on in Russia, but people here are concerned about Russian supply," he said. "Russian material is the swing factor in the market because it represents about 15% of the world's supply."

Avalon closes up 10% on ASX debut

2007-03-22T22:35:00.000-07:00

Chinese-backed Avalon Minerals Ltd will be hoping proximity is on the company's side when it kick-starts work near Teck Cominco's Pillara zinc mine in Western Australia.

Avalon debuted on the Australian Stock Exchange today and its shares opened at 22 cents or 10 per cent higher than the 20 cent initial public offering price.

Avalon shares closed at 22 cents with over 1.14 million shares changing hands.

Avalon, which is headed by former Gindalbie Metals Ltd managing director David McSweeney, has compiled a portfolio of projects in the West Kimberley region located near the re-opened Pillara mine.

"The Lennard Shelf are of the West Kimberley region of Western Australia is a world-class base metal province," Mr McSweeney said.

"Until very recently it was the state's largest source of zinc and lead production.

"Avalon has noted with interest the recent recommencement of mining and processing operations at the Pillara zinc mine owned by Teck Cominco and Xstrata, and located just 28km from our Lennard Shelf Lawford project."

The Pillara mine was previously owned by failed miner Western Metals, with receivers to that company losing the operation down in late 2003.

Teck acquired the project soon after and a resurgence in the zinc price led the company to dust off the mine last year.

Avalon plans to spend $1.63 million on exploration on its ground over the next two years.

Joining Mr McSweeney on the board is corporate accountant Gary Steinepreis and former Apex Minerals Nl non-executive chairman Stephen Stone.

Hong Kong-based metals trader Sinom Ltd holds a 3.75 per cent stake in the company.
The full text of an Avalon announcement is pasted below:

Newly launched Australian base metals company, Avalon Minerals Limited (ASX: AVI), is set to make its debut on the Australian Stock Exchange at 10.30am (WDST) today (Thursday, 22 March) following a successful $3.5 million Initial Public Offering underpinning a major new exploration program in one of Western Australia's most productive zinc provinces. Avalon is headed up by well-known Australian mining executive, Mr David McSweeney.

The IPO – comprising 17.5 million shares at 20 cents each – closed less than a month following the launch of the Prospectus on 16 February after attracting strong Australian and international investor support, including a cornerstone investment by Hong Kong-based metals trader Sinom. Oversubscriptions were not accepted for the offer.

The $3.5 million raised will underpin initial exploration of Avalon's Lennard Shelf Project, located within an acclaimed zinc province in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia. In 2003, reported resources in the Lennard Shelf region totalled 22.18 million tonnes, grading 6.9% zinc and 2.8% lead.

Avalon has assembled a large Lennard Shelf landholding, with three granted and 11 pending exploration licences covering 2,600sq km within three distinct project areas – each containing untested zinc targets considered highly prospective for large Mississippi Valley Style (MVT) deposits.

The Company has budgeted $1.63 million for a comprehensive two-year exploration program initially covering the Lawford, Oscar Range and Barramundi projects, with the objective of rapidly developing a significant base metal resource inventory in the Lennard Shelf region.

Work will commence next month, with field crews employed to conduct detailed sampling and mapping, using the latest hand-held geochemical sampling analysis equipment.

"The Lennard Shelf area of the West Kimberley region of Western Australia is a world-class base metal province," said Avalon's Executive Chairman and Managing Director, Mr David McSweeney. "Until very recently, it was the State's largest source of zinc and lead production.

"Avalon has noted with interest the recent recommencement of mining and processing operations at the Pillara Zinc Mine, owned by TeckCominco and Xstrata, and located just 28km from our Lennard Shelf Lawford Project," he added.

Avalon's successful IPO and listing will also ensure the Company can progress its Paterson Range copper-gold Project in the Pilbara region, covering seven licences located in close proximity to the Telfer Gold Mine, Nifty Copper Mine and Kintyre Uranium Deposit.

"We will be a proactive and aggressive exploration company, with a focus on adding value rapidly for our shareholders by applying innovative thinking and techniques to unlock the value of our excellent asset base and moving quickly to secure additional opportunities," Mr McSweeney said.

In addition to Mr McSweeney, Avalon's Board also includes Non-Executive Directors Mr Gary Steinepreis, a well known corporate accountant and advisor, and respected geologist, Mr Stephen Stone.

"Together with my fellow Avalon Directors, I would like to welcome all shareholders and thank them for their support," Mr McSweeney said. "We are keen to develop projects that will supply raw materials to large, high-growth markets such as China and in that regard, are particularly pleased to have Sinom on board.

"We look forward to providing further announcements of our activities, including exploration and project generation updates."

At the time of listing, Avalon will have 40 million ordinary shares on issue to approximately 500 shareholders.

Palladium becoming more popular in China

2007-03-22T22:34:00.004-07:00

Is palladium the new platinum? Jewelers in this country may balk, but for cost-conscious jewelry makers in China, the answer is increasingly yes.

The price of platinum's cheaper, lesser known cousin has risen sharply in the market over the past few years on growing demand from the industrial and investment sectors. But the silvery-white metal has recently found a new end market in China – in jewelry, as a platinum substitute.

Palladium has seen expansive growth in the Chinese market as the cost of platinum has risen beyond the reach of the country's less affluent consumers, and market analysts expect to see additional growth this year.

"We are palladium bulls," JPMorgan analyst Steve Shepherd said in a recent report. "We would argue the potential exists for explosive growth in the fledgling palladium jewelry market – a market which seemed to appear from nowhere three years ago, in China."

Palladium prices peaked last year at $396.50 ounce in May – as most metals did amid sharp gains in the commodities bull market of early last year. After coming down slightly from the peak, the metal has begun its climb again in 2007.

Palladium started the year at $325 an ounce and has risen about 8 percent to $352 since then. Platinum has made a similar move, from $1,135 in January to about $1,232 currently. The two metals are coincidental; a mine of one typically produces a certain amount of the other.

Chinese demand for palladium – like Chinese demand for nearly every commodity – has contributed to its rapid price appreciation. In particular, the country's demand for palladium in jewelry has surged as platinum has become more expensive.

Demand for palladium in jewelry stood at about 250,000 ounces worldwide in 2003, mostly due to its use as an alloy with other metals and roughly static with where it had been for years. Then demand ballooned to 920,000 ounces in 2004. It surged again in 2005 to 1.43 million ounces.

"You've added 1 million ounces to demand in a two-year period," said HSBC analyst Victor Flores. "That is the effect of China jumping into the market."

Last year, demand slipped as China dipped into the stockpiles it created in the two previous years of growth. But analysts expect Chinese demand for palladium jewelry to increase again this year.

In the U.S., and around most of the world, palladium is used primarily as an autocatalyst in gasoline-fueled engines. Automakers have increasingly turned to palladium as a partial substitute for platinum in catalytic converters to reduce costs.

Demand for palladium in jewelry in the U.S. is virtually nonexistent. But at least one American company has been trying to boost palladium's popularity across the Pacific, where the trend is nascent but potentially growing.

Stillwater Mining Co. mines palladium and platinum in the mountains of south-central Montana. High market prices for the metals helped propel the company to a $2.8 million profit in the fourth quarter, reversing a year-ago loss. Frank McAllister, Stillwater's chairman and chief executive, has trumpeted the use of palladium in jewelry.

Last year, the Billings, Mont.-based company launched a campaign to promote palladium jewelry in China, with advertisements in Beijing and Shanghai. Yet Stillwater sells all the palladium it produces to the auto industry.

Why hawk baubles when your end market is engines?

"It raises the price," he said. "We know there has been excess inventory in the marketplace, and obviously this is a good source of demand."

Unlike supplies of many other metals today, palladium supply on the world market is robust. Russia in particular is sitting on a great deal of inventory. Sparking a new source of demand for palladium, such as for jewelry, could help cut down supply and lift prices further.

So far demand for palladium in jewelry has been largely confined to China's secondary cities – not trendsetting areas like Beijing or Shanghai, McAllister said.

"If you're talking about the fashion jewelry market, the higher the price of platinum, the less presence it has at that (lower) end of the market. Palladium is a good alternative at that level," said Jeremy Coombes, a spokesman for platinum distributor Johnson Matthey spokesman.

The metal has yet to make a real entrance into China's more prosperous markets, or in the U.S. for that matter.

But palladium has had its day here, too. The metal enjoyed favor in this country during World War II, when jewelry makers switched to palladium when platinum was stockpiled for the war effort.

Whether palladium's popularity as a platinum jewelry substitute spreads will depend on whether consumers will still buy the metal at today's higher prices, said HSBC's Flores. It may also depend on whether the trend gains traction in other markets, beyond China's outlying cities.

Ridge Mining revises revenue forecast on ruthenium prices

2007-03-22T22:34:00.003-07:00

London-listed Ridge Mining has scaled up the production forecast at its Blue Ridge project, in South Africa, and said on Thursday that it expected an additional $10-million in revenue a year from higher prices of the platinum-group metal (PGM) ruthenium.

The company previously referred to forecast production at Blue Ridge in terms of 125 000 oz platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (4E), ignoring the contribution of associated ruthenium and iridium to the economics of the mine.

This was owing to relatively low values of these metals, but higher prices of ruthenium and iridium have resulted in Ridge Mining scaling up its Blue Ridge production forecast to 150 000 oz/y on a 6E basis (including ruthenium and iridium) at Blue Ridge.

"Demand for ruthenium has been particularly strong in the electronics industry as its inclusion in the manufacture of hard disks results in greatly increased storage capacity," chairperson Oliver Baring said in a note to shareholders.

At ruthenium's current prices, it was expected to add more than $10-million in yearly revenue over what was estimated in the feasibility study.

The price of ruthenium stood at $750/oz on Thursday, but many producers expect the price of the silver-grey metal to hit the $1 000/oz mark. In 2003 the price of ruthenium was only $35/oz, but it had jumped to $620/oz in December 2006.

CEO Terence Wilkinson added that the development at the Blue Ridge project had started and that Ridge Mining remained on target to achieve first production in the second half of next year.

Meanwhile, Ridge Mining, which announced last year that it was looking into a listing in Johannesburg, said on Thursday that it would not seek a listing on the JSE.

"Last year I indicated that a listing of the group on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange was under consideration and while we have not ruled out that possibility entirely, such a listing is not presently under consideration," Baring said.

The company, which is developing two mines in South Africa, reported a loss of $1,2-million for the year, compared with a profit of $2,4-million a year earlier, as a result of financing the Sheba's Ridge project with the Industrial Development Corporation.

However, Wilkinson reported that the feasibility study at Sheba's Ridge was progressing as planned.

"Every indication is that this will prove to be a very profitable large scale nickel/platinum group-metal producer."

The prefeasibility study indicated that the Sheba's Ridge project was robust at a nickel price of $4,50/lb. This should be viewed in the context of the prevailing nickel price of more than $20/lb.

Ridge Mining may sell stake in Sheba Ni-Pt project to Zijin

2007-03-22T22:34:00.001-07:00

Ridge Mining may sell a stake in its $700m Sheba's Ridge nickel and platinum project to Zijin Mining, the Chinese firm which owns about 20% of the UK firm's listed shares.

In terms of a joint venture agreement on the project, Ridge Mining can increase its stake while partner, Anglo Platinum, would see its stake diminish to 12.5%. "I can't speak for Anglo, but I imagine this is not their kind of investment," said Donald McAlister, finance director. "If they [Zijin] could bring some cheap capital to the project, we'd be interested in giving them some of our shares [in the project] as well".

Ridge Mining is also considering enlisting a partner to build smelting and refining facilities at Sheba's Ridge, estimated to cost $200m, about a third of the total capital required. McAlister said there had been exploratory talks with African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a Johannesburg-listed empowerment firm, and Toronto's LionOre Mining International.

"We are looking at options for the smelting as well as different technologies," said McAlister. "We have talked to LionOre about its Activox. We haven't closed the door on anything."

"There is no smelter large enough at the moment for the size of nickel concentrate Sheba's Ridge will be producing".

LionOre Mining and ARM are building a 20,000 to 25,000 tonnes/year smelting and refining facility for their Nkomati Nickel development using Activox, a type of hydrometallurgy that is much cheaper than conventional smelting technology and able to treat low grade concentrate.

Nkomati Nickel currently produces about 5,000 tonnes/year of nickel. It is also pressing ahead with plans to mine chrome which overlays additional nickel resources at the mine.

Sheba's Ridge is slated in its prefeasibility study to produce 24,000 tonnes/year of nickel, and copper and platinum group metals as by-products.

The project is profitable at about $4,50/lb against current – very high – nickel prices of $20/lb. "The long-term forecast on the nickel price is somewhere around $0.50c to $1/lb higher – $5.50/lb" said McAlister.

In its full-year financial results to end-December, Ridge Mining said development of the R1.3bn Blue Ridge platinum project had begun. Blue Ridge is expected to produce 125,000 oz of platinum group elements. However, the recent increase in the price of ruthenium and iridium added another 25,000 oz of concentrate. Ruthenium production alone would be worth revenue of an extra $10m/year, said Ridge Mining.

Ridge, which owns 50% of the relatively small Blue Ridge platinum mine, would predominantly become a nickel producer on completion of Sheba's Ridge. However, the growing importance of nickel, and the sale of non-core projects, did not mean a shift in commodity focus for Ridge.

Berezovskoye aims to mine 1.5 t of gold in Khanty Mansiisk

2007-03-22T22:32:00.002-07:00

Berezovskoye, a gold mining company in the Khanty Mansiisk Autonomous District, Russia plans to increase production of the metal to 1.5 tonnes per year in 2009 from the current 250 kg.

Company general director Vyacheslav Pantyukhov announced the plans during Governor Alexander Filipenko's visit to the Berezovsky district, home to the Khalmer-Yu group of deposits, the governor's press service reported.

The company's chief geologist, Georgia Kim told the governor that detailed geological surveys have been conducted at the prospective Talaiz and Vargavozh properties, as well as at Khalmer-Yu.

Commercial gold reserves at these properties are currently estimated at 10 tonnes, but geologists expect to confirm about another 30 tonnes of commercial reserves.

Berezovskoye, which mines the Khalmer and Ust-Maninskaya fields and the Sosnovoye deposit, plans to produce 250 kg of gold this year.

Moscow's Ekva-Mir owns 74.9% of Berezovskoye and the Khanty Mansiisk regional administration owns the other 25.1%

Comdaq to launch online PGMs trading

2007-03-22T22:32:00.001-07:00

Platinum group metals broker Comdaq Metals Limited is to launch an online PGMs trading platform that will go live on March 28, the company said Thursday.

The online facility will allow users to trade platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and iridium.

"Our aim is to assist liquidity through the mediums of our over-the-counter broker and online platforms creating a hybrid model," said Neil Grover, director head of precious and PGMs at Comdaq Metals.

"We are dealing in a physical and unallocated commodities market, where our clients are looking to place specific quantities of metal at a prescribed price, and offer the opportunity to fully negotiate anonymously online," Grover said.

The new PGMs platform will be Internet-based with access 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Comdaq Metals currently brokes both physical metals and what is termed unallocated platinum and palladium, on a spot and physical swap basis.

Happy Creek Minerals: Exploration results from the Fox Property, British Columbia

2007-03-22T22:31:00.000-07:00

March 22 – Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V: HPY) is pleased to provide exploration results from the Company's 100% owned Fox property located approximately 75 kilometres northeast of 100 Mile House, and 30 kilometres southeast of the former Boss Mountain molybdenum mine, in the south central Cariboo, British Columbia. Between 1999 and 2005 significant new surface showings of skarn containing tungsten (Nightcrawler) and molybdenum (Discovery) were made along the south side of the Deception monzogranite intrusion that is similar to the one responsible for mineralization at the Boss Mountain mine.

Exploration on the Fox property in 2006 was directed towards improving district scale geological understanding and reconnaissance work beyond the known mineralized zones. This work has identified geological potential for tungsten and molybdenum mineralization to occur in several areas for over 10 kilometres. A small distance to the east of this area, on the adjoining Fortune property, first pass rock sampling of a large unit of ultramafic rock returned values of nickel, chromium and magnesium that may be of potential economic interest.

Approximately five kilometres south of the Nightcrawler zone, soil and silt samples returned anomalous lead and silver values. Here, a zone of quartz veins hosted by a small granite stock returned 4568 ppm lead, 34.9 ppm silver and 251 ppm bismuth. Approximately four kilometres east of this area, rock samples from the Redfern prospect returned between trace to over 1.0% lead and up to 38.7 ppm silver. Lead, silver and bismuth values in quartz veins are fairly common around intrusion related tungsten-molybdenum systems.

Approximately six kilometres north of the Nightcrawler tungsten zone, geological mapping has outlined a tightly folded zone of quartz schist, marble and calc silicate approximately 450 metres in width and 2.5 kilometres in length that occurs in spatial proximity with the north side of the Deception granite intrusion. At the new Ridley Creek zone a grab sample of a 2.5 metre outcrop returned(*) 0.26% tungsten, 0.25% zinc, 39.7 ppb gold and 153.6 ppm bismuth. Approximately 450 metres south of this sample, an outcrop grab sample returned 0.17% tungsten, 2.07% zinc. Molybdenite also occurs in quartz veins hosted by the granite intrusion and returned 0.234% molybdenum, 22 ppb gold in a float sample. Approximately 30 metres southwest of this sample, angular float on talus returned 18.0 g/t silver, 331 ppm bismuth. Two reconnaissance soil lines, approximately 200 metres apart were conducted approximately four kilometres north of the Ridley Creek zone. Results have identified a 300 metre wide zone containing values of up to 10 to 14 ppm molybdenum in soil, along with up to 8.7 ppm bismuth and 19 ppb gold.

The Ridley Creek zone and northern soil anomalies are believed to be the northern continuation of the Nightcrawler and Discovery zones where grab samples have returned up to 4% tungsten and 4.99% molybdenum, respectively.

Four kilometres east of the Nightcrawler zone, the Fortune prospect is underlain in part by an ultramafic assemblage comprised of harzburgite, dunite, peridotite and wehrlite. Assays include 0.185% nickel, 0.167% chromium, and 21.0% magnesium over a 300 metre representative grab sample of ultramafic rock. Material near the upper contact of the ultramafic returned 3.0% chromium. The highest nickel assay returned 0.233% nickel, 0.089% chrome, 24.32% magnesium from a random 5 metre radius grab of ultramafic rock. This unit is mapped on surface as approximately 1.5 kilometres in length and averages 450 metres in apparent width. Platinum, palladium values of up to 0.03g/t, 0.04g/t, respectively, were obtained.

Exploration in 2006 has identified potential for large scale tungsten, molybdenum skarn or porphyry that may involve multiple intrusive centers and has significantly advanced the merit of the property. In addition, a new area containing nickel, chromium and magnesium values were obtained from a first pass of the Fortune prospect. The Fox-Fortune property is now approximately 280 square kilometers in area.

Further exploration of the property in 2007 is planned to consist of trenching and diamond drilling at the Nightcrawler tungsten and Discovery molybdenum zones, along with property-wide prospecting, geology, soil and silt geochemistry.

Peru's Hochschild keen on acquisitions in Americas

2007-03-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

Peruvian Hochschild Mining is eyeing acquisitions in Peru, Argentina and Mexico to expand production beyond its goal of 50Moz/y silver equivalent by 2011, company head of IR Wray Barber told BNamericas.

Hochschild has said it aims to increase production at its three mines in Peru – Selene, Arcata and Ares – and also bring three more projects – San José in Argentina, Pallancata in Peru and Mina Moris in Mexico – on stream in 2007.

The new production would raise output to 26Moz/y of silver this year from the 11.6Moz it reported producing in 2006. Hochschild also churned out 196,000oz of gold last year.

The 2011 goal takes into account the silver and gold output of the operations mentioned plus the San Felipe project in Mexico currently in the development stage, Barber said.

But Hochschild is looking to surpass that goal through acquisitions in the Americas, although it will avoid Venezuela and Bolivia for political reasons, she said.

The company would be interested in acquiring a producing mine, advanced projects due to come on stream in 1-2 years or even projects in very early stages, the executive added.
Greenfield exploration

Hochschild has budgeted US$35mn for explorations in 2007.

The company owns or has JVs on greenfield properties in Peru, Chile, Argentina and Mexico, Barber said.

Among those, Hochschild has signed an option deal to earn 51% of the Claudia and Santa Rita properties in Argentina by investing US$6mn and US$3mn respectively over four years.

Hochschild is also exploring the San Luis de Cordero property in Mexico and the Sierra de las Minas prospect in Argentina.

Gold, silver futures climb to three-week highs

2007-03-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

The Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged at 5.25%. It reiterated that "some inflation risks remain" but at the same time dropped a phrase from previous statements about the "additional firming that may be needed."

The change was interpreted by some as signaling that the Fed is moving closer to cutting interest rates later this year.

And "the prospect of lower interest rates in the U.S. does bode extremely well for gold," said James Moore, metals analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, in a note to clients.

Gold for April delivery rose $4.20 to close at $664.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange after a high of $667.30. It's at levels not seen since March 1, after rising $21.70, or 3.4%, over the course of six trading sessions.

May silver closed up 16 cents at $13.48 an ounce, after peaking at $13.57 – also the contract's strongest levels since March 1.

Oil rallied "after some particularly bullish data points yesterday on supplies into the U.S. economy and the general market belief that sooner or later the dollar has to start weakening," Neal Ryan, director of economic research at Blanchard & Co., said in e-mailed commentary.

Data from the Energy Department on Wednesday showed U.S. supplies of distillates and gasoline shrinking as the key driving season approaches, outweighing a bigger-than-expected build in crude inventories.

Meanwhile, the dollar rose against other major currencies Thursday – coming off a two-year low it touched overnight.

The dollar bounced back after "a bit of an oversell post Fed inaction," said Jon Nadler, a metals analyst at Kitco.com, in e-mailed comments.

Gold futures had gained a dollar Wednesday, then climbed further in electronic trading after Fed policymakers left interest rates unchanged for the sixth time in a row.

Against that backdrop, gold breached the technically important $661-an-ounce level and is now potentially in a good position to target $700, coinciding with energy prices headed toward their peak demand period, Moore said.

And "we add to this the next 30 days demand from India as the religious festivals add to the demand for gold alongside the next burst of marriage demand, where gold is traditionally given as a dowry to the marriage by the bride," Julian Phillips, an analyst at GoldForecaster.com, said in e-mailed comments.

But Nadler warns that he sees "a noticeable stall in the action."

"All in all, $660 remains comfortable and $675/$680 still presents a barrier," he said. "If anything really helped today it would have to be energy."

Other metals prices followed gold higher. June palladium rose $5.75 to close at $357.75 an ounce and April platinum gained $11 to end at $1,241 an ounce.

May copper was the biggest gainer, up 1.8%, or 5.4 cents, to close at $3.073 a pound. The contract had climbed as high as $3.095, its strongest level since Dec. 14.

"Overall, the bullish aftermath of the FOMC statement does seem to be providing a bullish platform for the base metals," said William Adams, analyst at BaseMetals.com, in a note to clients.

On the supply side, gold warehouse stocks were unchanged at 7.55 million troy ounces and copper supplies rose by 212 short tons to stand at 35,770 short tons as of late Tuesday, according to Nymex data. Silver supplies rose 1.9 million troy ounces to hit 122.08 million troy ounces as of late Wednesday.

Teal gears up for copper bonanza in Africa

2007-02-15T01:52:00.002-08:00

Teal gears up for copper bonanza in Africa African Rainbow Minerals company putting cash from listings to good use in copper, cobalt, gold ventures Resources Editor TEAL Exploration & Mining, the 65%-held subsidiary of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), is moving rapidly to start producing copper from interim mining on its Kalumines property in the Democratic Republic of Congo later this year, Teal president and CEO Rick Menell said last week.

In an interview on the sidelines of Mining Indaba, Menell said Teal was also working to complete a feasibility study on another copper project in Zambia by mid-year, at Konkola North's east/south limb.

The company's listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange in late 2005, which raised about $35m, and its subsequent secondary listing on the JSE last year, were aimed at raising funds to accelerate development of some of its mines in central Africa and Namibia. ARM's 65% stake was a major advantage to Teal because of ARM's status as the largest black-owned mining company operating outside SA, Menell said.

Teal's closest project to production is the Mwambashi copper project in Zambia, on which a feasibility study has proven the viability of the 12000 ton a year mine, but the project will not begin until an offtake agreement is secured. The Mwambashi project is too small to justify having its own concentrator, so it needs to sell production to another operator in the vicinity.

In the Congo, Teal has a 60/40 joint venture with Gecamines at Kalumines near Lubumbashi, close to the border of Zambia. This has a rich copper and cobalt deposit which is close to the surface. Menell said Teal had negotiated a deal with the artisanal miners on the property and they had all moved off, enabling the firm to move aggressively to drill and confirm the extent of the deposit.

Teal is recruiting about 400 people at Kalumines to start sorting the ore by hand and has bought a furnace in Johannesburg which is being reassembled on site.

Within six months the furnace should be working, and Kalumines should be able to start production at about 5000-6000 tons a year.

At Konkola North in Zambia, Teal took over a property formerly mined by Anglo American on the east/south limb of the ore body.

A feasibility study is under way into reopening the mine and an inspection of the shaft has shown it is in as good a condition as Teal could have hoped, Menell said, with no flooding or collapsing. It would take 18 months and cost about $70m to build a shaft like this from scratch, he said.

The old mine can produce 30000 tons a year but at the southeastern end of the property is an extension of the ore body, which could potentially produce 100000 tons a year.

Menell said Teal's target was to be a 70000-80000-tons copper producer a year by 2010. This excluded the possibilities of mining from the extension area at Konkola North.

In Namibia, Teal is drilling what appears to be a substantial gold deposit at Otjikoto. It has initially shown grades of about 1,2g a ton but these are increasing to the south, up to 4g-8g a ton. By June Teal hopes to have defined sufficient gold at the site to show that a 150000oz a year gold mine would be viable.

Highland Gold Mining boosts production

2007-02-15T01:52:00.001-08:00

Highland Gold Mining Ltd., a Russian miner listed in London, said Tuesday that it boosted production by 4.6 percent to 167,544 ounces of gold in the second half of 2006 compared with the year-ago period.

Output from the company's main Mnogovershinnoye mine rose 8 percent to 151,146 ounces following a 15 percent improvement in average ore grades to 6.24 grams a ton, the company said in a statement.

Chief Executive Henry Horne said the company expects further improvements and higher results at MNV in 2007.

However, output at its other producing mine in Darasun was badly hit by a fatal fire in September. The company said Tuesday that production is still continuing at a reduced rate and that rehabilitation studies are still being conducted. More than two dozen workers were killed in the Sept. 7 fire.

Highland said its gross debt at the end of the year stood at US$81 million (euro62 million).

Shares in Highland Gold fell 2.4 percent to 186.5 pence (euro2.80; US$3.64) on the London Stock Exchange.

TOCOM gold futures at 21-year highs, open interest jumps

2007-02-15T01:51:00.000-08:00

Gold futures contracts trading on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange closed at 21-year highs on Wednesday tracking spot bullion nearly hitting $670/oz, and open interest jumped to 270,418 contracts, the exchange data showed.

The far forward December 2007 contract finished at Yen 2,624 ($21.33)/g on Wednesday, up Yen 15 from the previous closing. The contract has been trading above Yen 2,600/g this week, the highest price levels posted since September 1985. The spot bullion inching up this week on the firmer crude oil futures prices and the US dollar trading firmly above Yen 121 supported the contract prices at the 21-year highs, analysts said.

The positive momentum is strong, as the spot bullion is expected to hit $670/oz early London hours Wednesday and finish the US trade at around $672/oz, said Kaname Gokon, commodity strategist at Okato Shoji.

"I do not expect the dollar-yen rate to fluctuate much...spot gold at $672/oz would bring the TOCOM [December 2007 gold] up to Yen 2,640/g," Gokon predicted.

Analysts in Tokyo agreed that it was very difficult to estimate when the lower correction would set in, as the market has not seen contracts above Yen 2,600/g in 21 years. They also agreed that the TOCOM gold prices are wholly dependant on the spot gold levels. "Technical analysis of TOCOM numbers does not make sense now," one analyst exclaimed.

Naru Mori, strategist at OvalNext, said he saw the December 2007 gold climbing up to Yen 2,650/g before correcting lower. Meanwhile, spot gold would rise up to $675/oz. Other analysts said Yen 2,700/g and even Yen 2,800/g.

As for the support level, Gokon said: "In the spot gold world, prices could fluctuate $15/oz in an hour...the prices may slide to $655/oz." On February 9, when spot gold traded at $655/oz, the December 2007 gold traded at around Yen 2,590/g. The US dollar rate, that also fluctuate TOCOM contract values, traded at around Yen 121.30 on that day.

Meanwhile, TOCOM trade data showed that open interest for the gold futures increased Wednesday after posting declines for two straight days. Gold open interest stood at 270,418 contracts after Wednesday's trade, compared to 262,630 contracts at end of Tuesday.

Analysts said previously that the fall of open interest in Tuesday's trade indicated that there were liquidations and some market participants were nervous about the steep uptrend in the prices.

Agnico-Eagle to buy Cumberland Resources for about C$690 million in shares

2007-02-15T01:46:00.000-08:00

Toronto-based gold miner Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. on Wednesday said it agreed to buy smaller rival Cumberland Resources Ltd. for about C$690 million (US$588.3 million) in shares.

The acquisition will give Agnico-Eagle ownership of the Meadowbank gold project in Nunavut, Alberta, currently under construction, which has proven and probable reserves pegged at 21.3 million tonnes, grading 4.2 grams per tonne, or 2.9 million ounces. Initial gold production is expected in early 2010.

The offer represents a 23.7 percent premium on the 20-day average weighted trading prices of the two companies, Agnico-Eagle said Wednesday.

"The acquisition of Cumberland is expected to enhance our already significant gold production and reserve growth and is a logical next step in our strategy of building a premier international gold growth company," Agnico-Eagle CEO Sean Boyd said in a statement.

Agnico-Eagle currently owns 2.6 per cent of Cumberland's shares on a fully diluted basis, bringing the Vancouver-based company's full value to about C$710 million (US$605.4 million), based on Tuesday's closing stock price.

Under terms of the bid, Agnico-Eagle will offer 0.185 of a share for each Cumberland share.

The boards of both companies have approved the deal, and directors and officers of Cumberland representing about 10.5 per cent of its stock have agreed to tender to the bid.

The companies have agree on a break-up fee of C$21 million to be paid to Agnico-Eagle.

The deal requires approval of two-thirds of Cumberland shareholders.

American Stock Exchange-listed shares of Cumberland surged US$1.38, or 23.3 percent, to US$7.33, and were trading up C$1.66, or 24.1 percent, at C$8.55 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Agnico-Eagle fell US$0.83, or 2 percent, to US$40.39 on the New York Stock Exchange and dropped C$1.27, or 2.7 percent, to C$46.69 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Gold closes at $672, boosted by falling dollar

2007-02-15T01:45:00.000-08:00

Gold futures climbed Wednesday, sending their benchmark contract above $676 an ounce for the first time in six months and gaining momentum from Ben Bernanke's statement that inflation pressures were easing.

Gold prices returned to the $670 value zone once again "as traders monitored a declining dollar and were further encouraged by today's milder tone on inflation" by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, said Jon Nadler, an investment-products analyst at bullion dealers Kitco.com.

Gold for April delivery rose $3.50 to close at $672 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It climbed as high as $676.40 earlier, its strongest intraday level since Aug. 2, which saw a peak of $677.10. On Tuesday, gold prices closed up $1.20.

A close above the $675-$676 spot price target "should give confirmation that $700, and then the $730 levels, are the next objectives," said Peter Spina, chief investment strategist at GoldSeek.com.

"Yet along with general profit taking below the technical breakout level along with some Spina cited "strong hands which appear to be working overtime to keep this rally from extending." He added, in e-mailed comments, "it is unclear if they have the power to spook investors from taking this market higher at this time or require some more consolidation just below."

The dollar fell across the board Wednesday, hitting a six-week low against the euro after Bernanke said inflation pressures are easing.

In his remarks before the Senate Banking Committee, the Federal Reserve chairman also said that the central bank is comfortable with rates at their current levels but stressed that further rate hikes could occur if the inflation outlook worsens.

Also putting pressure on the dollar, the Commerce Department said seasonally adjusted retail sales were unchanged in January, against expectations of an increase of 0.6%. Sales excluding autos rose 0.3% vs. forecasts of 0.5%.

The continuing slide in the dollar is boosting demand for gold, traditionally seen as a safe-haven investment.

"Gold's internal strength continues to shine on its march to $700," said Peter Grandich, editor of the Grandich Letter, in e-mailed comments. "We could see a groundswell of momentum players join in above $675 that could lead to a major spike to $725-$735 faster than most would believe."

Elsewhere on the commodity markets, crude-oil futures, which have provided most of the direction for gold recently, dropped Wednesday after U.S. dollar revealed that distillate supplies fell much less than expected last week, despite the severe winter weather in much of the nation.

Most other metals prices climbed, with March silver touching a two-month high of $14.13 an ounce before closing at $13.965 an ounce, up 5 cents.

April platinum climbed 0.9%, or $11.10, to end at $1,217.10 an ounce and March palladium added $1.25 to close at $345.85 an ounce.

March copper saw a slight loss, closing down 0.75 cent at $2.577 a pound.

On the supply side, gold inventories dropped 101 troy ounces to stand at 7.49 million troy ounces as of late Tuesday, according to Nymex data. Silver supplies were unchanged at 115.43 million troy ounces and copper stockpiles dropped 286 short tons to 35,903 short tons.

The DJ Wilshire Nonferrous Metals Index was up 0.4% at 6,281.02 points. The DJ Wilshire Industrial Metals Index was nearly unchanged at 3,670.98 points and the DJ Wilshire General Mining Index rose 0.9% to 1,312.72 points.

"Citigroup has released two separate reports recently on the gold market and gold-mining companies," according to Neal Ryan, director of economic research at Blanchard.

"In the first, they are expecting the gold price to rise above $700 per ounce in the coming months and have made a suggestion to Barrick Gold Corp. that the company should remove their entire existing hedge position from the market," Ryan wrote in a note to clients.

"It was only a matter of time before analysts began putting pressure on hedged-mining companies to begin aggressively reducing these positions from the market," Ryan wrote. "Just the potential that another +20 million ounces of hedges could come off the market via large book reductions from a handful of companies, has extremely bullish implications in the market for gold prices moving forward."

Galvanic Corrosion – Galvanic Corrosion of Metal and Alloys in Sea Water

2007-02-10T00:22:00.003-08:00

Galvanic corrosion may occur when two dissimilar metals are in contact in an electrolyte (this includes most aqueous solutions).

Except for graphite, stainless steel is the noble metal in most galvanic pairs. Hence it is protected at the expense of the other metal when in contact, for example, with iron, steel, aluminium, zinc or cadmium. The solution to this problem lies in using, so far as possible, metals of the same composition for complete assemblies when this condition is encountered. In some cases an insulating lacquer or gasket can be used as a separation between two metals at the point of contact.

The following table shows the galvanic behaviour of stainless steels with other metals when tested in sea water.
Galvanic Corrosion of Metals in Sea Water

If two metals in this list are in contact with sea water, then the metal nearest the top of the list is the one most likely to corrode at the metal junction. The degree of corrosion is increased as the separation of the alloys in the list is increased. Potential differences of less than 100mV are unlikely to cause problems. However, the relative areas of the two dissimilar metals are also important - the higher the ratio of the areas of the noble metal to active metal, the greater will be the corrosion and vice versa.

Determining the Age of Gold Deposits – Negative Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (NTIMS)

2007-02-10T00:22:00.001-08:00

Scientists have for the first time directly dated gold from South Africa's Witwatersrand gold deposits, source of more than 40% of all the gold mined on Earth.
Age of the Gold

An international team of geologists, led by the University of Arizona (UA), has discovered that the gold is around three billion years old - older than its surrounding conglomerate rock by a quarter of a billion years. Furthermore, their state-of-the-art dating technique shows that the gold deposits formed along with crustal rock directly from the mantle beneath South Africa. The event at this magnitude appears to be unique in Earth’s geological history.
Source of the Gold

Jason Kirk, Joaquin Ruiz and John Chesley of the UA, John Walshe of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and Gavin England of the University of Edinburgh report these findings in a recent issue of Science. The Witwatersrand gold is found in a sedimentary basin, but its age and origin have been hotly debated. One theory suggests that the gold was carried into the basin by a sedimentary processes. A conflicting theory holds that hydrothermal fluids - the equivalent of hot springs emplaced the gold from the upper continental crust.
How the Gold Deposit Formed
Deposition

The new results confirm that the Witwatersrand gold deposits are ‘placer’ deposits that millions of years ago, an ancient river carried gold particles, along with sand and silt, into the Witwatersrand basin then a great lake - possibly from granite mountains to the north and southwest.
Solidification

Over time and under pressure, the gold-bearing sediments solidified into rock, forming the rich gold-bearing reefs of South Africa’s ‘golden arc’, which have been mined since their discovery in 1886.

The UA scientists’ new findings confirm that the gold crust first formed in older rocks, rocks that formed when upwelling mantle formed a major piece of South African continental crust, called the Kaapvaal craton. Cratons are areas of Earth’s crust that have remained stable over time, with the Kaapvaal craton one of the oldest known. Later the gold was weathered and reconcentrated in the Witwatersrand paleolake sediments.
How the Gold is Dated

Kirk is studying the age and extent of the gold deposits around the world for a UA doctoral geosciences degree. He used a rhenium-osmium isotope gold-dating technique, developed by Ruiz at the university’s NTIMS laboratory. Ruiz, Dean of the UA College of Science and Professor of Geosciences, was instrumental in developing the Negative Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometer (NTIMS) with a grant from the W M Keck Foundation. The laboratory is one of the few of its kind in the world.

‘This is precisely the kind of research that I envisioned when I was building the laboratory,’ Ruiz said. ‘The analytical capabilities of the W M Keck Laboratory are such that we will continue to discover aspects of how the earth worked, questions that previously we could only dream of.’
Using Radioactive Isotopes

Gold and other minerals contain a rare metallic chemical element called rhenium – rhenium-187 is its radioactive form. NTIMS directly dates minerals by counting the number of their rhenium-187 and osmium-187 atoms. Rhenium-187 has a half-life of 45 billion years, or about ten times the age of the solar system, decaying into osmium-187. So by determining the ratio of radioactive rhenium-187 to daughter osmium-187 atoms, scientists can directly calculate when the minerals formed.
Identifying if the Gold Came from The Earth’s Mantle or Crust

‘One of the reasons I think our results are so significant is that the rhenium-osmium system can be used directly on gold, and can tell us if the gold came from the mantle or the crust,’ Kirk said. There is relatively more rhenium than osmium in the Earth’s crust, but relatively more osmium than rhenium in the Earth’s mantle. ‘Witwatersrand has a clear mantle signature,’ Kirk said. ‘It’s possible that this mantle signature is so big because three billion years ago, Earth’s mantle might have been hotter and richer in gold at this particular spot, compared to more recent deposits.’
Summary

People are keenly interested in why South Africa is so rich in gold deposits - since 1886 the Witwatersrand gold fields have yielded a half-trillion dollars-worth. ‘Estimates are, that there’s another half-trillion dollars stilled to be mined, and that’s a lot of money,’ said Kirk.

Dental Materials

2007-02-10T00:21:00.003-08:00

Modern dental practice has become very dependent on its materials, such that the dentist's greatest challenge is choosing the right combinations of them for the benefit of their patients.
Metallic Fillings
Silver Amalgams

For over 150 years, silver amalgam has been used to fill the cavities made by dentists during the removal of dental decay from teeth. When pure silver (melting point 961°C) is mixed with mercury (mp -39°C) it produces a paste of slowly forming intermetallic compounds. When this is packed into the cavity at body temperature (37°C), the intermetallic compounds interlock and the amalgam hardens. However, setting is accompanied by a considerable expansion, and 100 years ago it was discovered that this can be controlled by adding tin to the silver. Unfortunately, this produces corrodible tin-mercury intermetallic phases, and their loss can cause breakdown of the filling.

By adding copper, the tin-mercury phase is eliminated and modern dental amalgams are made by mixing silver-tin-copper alloy powder with mercury. This results in fillings that resist both the mechanical and chemical onslaughts within the mouth for many years.

Although the amount of mercury lost from such fillings is like the contamination of a drink by a drowning midge, those determined to deny the benefits of having usefully restored teeth have over emphasised the risk, and this has generated a search for an alternative, metallic, mercury-free, filling material.
Alternatives to Silver Amalgams

Gallium (mp 30°C) has been combined with indium and tin to produce an alloy that is molten at normal room temperature, and when this is mixed with powdered silver-tin-copper it produces a paste that sets. However, packing this paste has proved to be a challenge, and the best results have been obtained when packing under ethanol. The fillings produced from these alloys are also very prone to dramatic corrosion. The jury is out over the long-term toxicological effects of gallium, which has a clean record so far.

Experimental silver-coated intermetallic particles have been cold welded under pressure to fill well-supported cavities. Unfortunately, these are not the ones in which amalgam is the most useful.
Resin-Based Composite Fillings

These tooth-coloured filling materials have reached a high degree of sophistication since their appearance on the dental scene in the early 1960s. A modern dental composite consists of a paste created by combining a mixture of dimethacrylate monomers and cross-linking agents (known in dentistry as resins) with up to 80% by weight of silane-coated, ceramic particles (the filler), whose sizes range from 0.04-4 microns. This composite paste is packed into a dental cavity and the dentist exposes it for about 30 seconds to intense visible blue light. The light activates a chemical initiator within the composite and the resins undergo free radical addition polymerisation via their vinyl groups, turning the paste into a durable, solid filling.
Disadvantages of Resin-Based Composite Fillings

Composite fillings have similar strengths to amalgam but they tend to wear away more rapidly. They also shrink as they polymerise, and efforts have to be made to prevent gaps forming between the composite and the tooth. Incremental packing and curing helps, but the dentist uses other techniques and other materials to help form a seal.
Enhancing the Bond between Resins and Teeth

If dental enamel is present, its prismatic structure of apatite (calcium phosphate) can be etched with phosphoric acid to produce mini chasms, into which the resin matrix material of a composite will flow. When this sets, it results in strongly retentive mechanical bonds. However, materials scientists have spent many hours seeking to produce a bond to the dentine, which exists below the layer of protective, inorganic enamel.

Dentine is a wet, porous and sensitive combination of organic and inorganic materials, and current approaches to bond formation involve the use of primers containing bifunctional compounds (table 1). These have hydrophilic molecules at one end and hydrophobic ones at the other. The hydrophilic ends infiltrate the wet dentine and the hydrophobic ends form links with the resins in the composite, and so the composite is bonded to the dentine.

Table 1. Bifunctional primers are molecules with characteristic chemical groups at each end. These groups have an affinity for one particular sort of surface. In dentistry, they are used to form bonds between dissimilar groups.

Material

Application

Group 1

Group 2

Silane

Used to link silica-based porcelains and glass-ceramics to dental resins. They have resin-seeking groups connected to ceramic-seeking groups.

Resin

Ceramic

4-META and MDP

Used with resin-based dental cements to attach base-metal bridges to dental enamel. They have resin-seeking groups connected to metal-seeking groups.

Resin

Metal

Dentine bonding agents

These have hydrophobic groups (which bond to water hating resins) connected to hydrophilic groups (which allow them to infiltrate wet dentine). They are used to link dental resins to dentine.

Hydrophobic

Hydrophilic

4-META = 4-metacryloxyethyl trimellitate anhydride, MDP = 10-methacryloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate.
Ion-Leachable Glass Cements

The first aesthetic, tooth-coloured filling materials appeared in the second decade of the 20th century. These were the silicate cements, which were formed when phosphoric acid displaced metal ions from a glass made from alumina, silica and several other metal oxides and fluorides. They set when aluminium phosphate was precipitated between the glass particles. These cements were used by dentists for half a century to fill cavities in front teeth, for not only did they match the colour and translucency of enamel and dentine, but they also acted as a source of fluoride. It was unusual to see dental decay recurring in any tooth they were used to fill.

Similar cements also form when variations on this type of glass are exposed to polymeric acids which possess carboxylate groups. The acids displace metallic ions from the glasses and these cross-link the polymeric acid chains causing the cement to set. The acids also undergo ion exchange reactions with the apatite (calcium phosphate) crystals, which form part of both dentine and dental enamel. These glass ionomer cements, as they are known, thus form direct chemical bonds to teeth, without the need for the primers described above.

However, the basic cements lack the strength and resistance to wear that the dental composites have, and recent research has come up with resin-modified versions. These possess not only the carboxylate groups needed to form bonds to teeth, but also the light-curable dimethacrylate components present in the composite resins. Their durability is thus considerably enhanced.
Cast Metal Restorations

For ninety years, dentists have been replacing the damaged crowns of molar teeth with gold alloys. These have been cast by the lost-wax process. In this process, a wax crown is invested in a wet silica-gypsum mixture. Once this has hardened, the wax is burned away and molten gold-copper-silver-palladium-platinum-zinc alloy is cast under pressure into the space left behind. Some of the alloys can be heat treated to form super-lattices and increase their strength. This makes them suitable for the construction of dental bridges, which replace a missing tooth (or teeth) either by cantilevering an artificial tooth from an adjacent tooth, or by suspending it (or them) between two such teeth. In either case the supporting teeth will have been cut down to accommodate a close fitting casting, which is cemented into place.
Bonded Restorations

Since the 1960s, alloy-porcelain combinations, known to the dentist as bonded restorations have been available. These porcelain-covered metal castings combine the strength of a metallic superstructure with the aesthetic appearance of dental porcelain, creating the illusion that the restorations are real teeth. Alloys have been developed to which dental porcelains form durable retentive bonds, and many of these are now based on nickel-chromium. These metal frameworks are so rigid that they can be bonded via composites to the backs of acid etched teeth, thus eliminating the need for cutting down sound teeth, figure 1. Just as etching dental enamel creates retentive ‘chasms’, these nickel-chromium alloys can be electrolytically etched to produce features that allow the formation of mechanical bonds with resin-based composite cements.

Copper – Plated Ceramic Electronic Circuits

2007-02-10T00:21:00.001-08:00

Since the 1930’s and 1940’s many methods have been used for making electrically conductive interconnects on insulating substrates. The often conflicting requirements of cost, electrical insulation, thermal management, track definition, track adhesion, signal transfer speed, current-carrying capability, resistance to adverse working environments, physical strength, performance at high frequencies and so on, have meant that varying degrees of success have been achieved. However, during the last few years the process of copper-plating ceramic has been greatly improved. It can now be considered as a serious alternative to well-established interconnect methods such as etched Cu/epoxide-glass laminates, ‘screen-and-fire’ thick-film circuits, evaporated-metal-on-glass thin-film circuits and etched thick-film.
Copper-Plated Ceramics

Copper-plated ceramic addresses the interconnection requirements of many of the latest electronics systems. The key features stem from the combination of the insulator, the conductor and the manufacturing methods.
Materials and Sizes

The normal insulator used is 96% alumina ceramic. When the highest performance at frequencies above 5GHz is required, 99.5% alumina is used, but since the prices differ by a factor of ten, it is used only when applications require lower losses at higher frequencies. Individual circuits can be produced in any size up to the dimensions of the ceramic panel used, usually 100mm x 100mm or 150mm x 100mm. If more than one circuit fits on to the panel, they are usually made in multiples, with each circuit printed onto prescribed section.
Why Use Alumina for the Insulator?

The electrical properties of alumina are excellent. The insulation resistance is very high and, over the range that affects circuit boards, does not change significantly with either temperature or humidity. The thermal conductivity is reasonable, being a little under one tenth that of copper but around one hundred times that of most organic materials.
Why Use Copper for the Conductor?

The conductor is pure electroplated copper. For all practical purposes only silver has higher electrical conductivity, but copper is cheaper, much more metallurgically stable and its solderability, regarding tin-lead solders, is very well understood. Conductor thickness can range between 5μm and 100μm with only a minimal additional cost for higher thickness. At the highest thickness some loss of resolution capability occurs - the ultimate resolution is mainly limited by the surface quality of the substrate. The conductors have near rectangular cross-sections, very low surface area to volume ratio and the top surface of the conductor is as smooth as that of the substrate. The electrical resistance of the tracking is about 1 milliohm per square for a thickness of 25μm
Other Materials

Despite the fact that pure copper is eminently suitable for solder assembly, it is often necessary to add other materials for various reasons, such as:

· Preventing oxidation during storage, aesthetics, wirebonding and protection against solder-bridging and physical damage

· Organic anti-tarnish coatings prevent oxidation and discolouration by sulphur-containing gases. Plated gold (sometimes over plated nickel) is used both for aesthetics and where wire-bonding is contemplated

· Tin-lead can give retention of solderability during longer storage periods

· Photo-imaged solder mask minimises solder‑bridges and physical/handling damage

· Electroless silver is also available.

These finishes may cover the entire circuit or can be applied only in selected areas.
Performance of Copper-Plated Ceramic Circuits

Concerning the reliability of copper-plated ceramic circuits, a number of tests similar to those carried out on thick film circuits have been made and, in general, the overall performance has been found to be equivalent or superior to conventional thick film. Adhesion of conductors is excellent and, when using a nail head pull test, it is normal for either the wire or ceramic to break, even after ageing at 150°C.

When assessing reliability it is important to relate the test to the technology. For example, the specification for a biased damp-heat test needs to take account of the fact that the electric field between two tracks 50μm apart is much higher than for two tracks 250μm apart for the same applied voltage.

Table 1. Comparison of various circuit technologies.

Plated copper

Thick Film Ag/Pd

Thick Film Au

Co-Fired Ceramic

Track resolution

50

250

150

150

Track resistivity

1-2

10-30

2-4

5-10

Solderability

Outstanding

Good

N/a

Very Goog

Wire-bonding Au

Yes

?

Yes

Yes

Wire-bonding Al

Yes

Yes

Not pure gold

Yes

Unit costs

Low

Low

High

Low

Tooling costs

Low

Low

Low

High
Economics of Materials Selection

If the needs of the particular application can be met by standard processing of FR-2 or FR-4 laminates, it is unlikely that the benefits of copper-plated ceramic will justify the higher cost. However, if the use of other types of expensive base-board materials such as PTFE-glass or glass-silicone is being contemplated, then it is probable that a very cost-effective solution can be found by choosing copper-plated ceramic.

When compared with single-layer silver thick-film circuitry, copper-plated ceramic gives a broadly similar cost. However, if more than one layer is required in thick film or if gold-based conductors are required, then copper-plated ceramic will almost certainly be cost-effective.
Features and Advantages of Copper-Plated Ceramic Circuits

Features, advantages and benefits can be summarised as follows:

· Higher circuit density than conventional FR-2, FR-4, PTFE, polyimide, thick-film and co-fired ceramic circuits

· Outstanding high-frequency characteristics

· Excellent thermal management and heat-transfer performance

· Outstanding solderability and wire-bonding assembly characteristics

· Low tooling costs and quick turnaround of prototypes.
System Design

A key step in the design of many electronics systems is to divide the system into sub-modules which can be independently assembled and tested. A major benefit of the `modular' approach is that the best available assembly technique can be used for each module, which can then, together with others, be comparatively easily assembled on to relatively simple boards, exactly the right combination for minimising costs and optimising performance.
Interconnects for Modules

Several possible techniques are available for interconnecting such modules, for example, high-density plated copper is useful in a number of applications. It is more versatile than the so-called ‘silicon hybrid’ but cannot achieve the interconnect density afforded by this thin-film method.

The costs per unit area associated with copper-plated ceramic are believed to be lower than for ‘silicon hybrid’, particularly as plated-ceramic may not need additional packaging and the track-resistance is lower.
Where Copper-Plated Ceramics Have Advantages

Situations in which copper-plated ceramic is advantageous include:

· Where the module requires both ‘chip-and-wire’ and solder assembly, particularly when ceramic chip-carriers and chip-capacitors are involved. Selective-plating of the copper gives excellent wire-bonding characteristics and the combination of bulk-metal and substrates with good thermal conductivity leads to outstanding solderability. The ability to make 50μm-wide tracks allows wire-bond sites to be placed close to semiconductor devices, which is a key benefit when comparisons are being made with thick film and co-fired ceramic

· When TAB (tape-automated bonding) is contemplated. The copper tracks are finished with plated tin-lead, enabling multi-lead connections as fine as 100μm track and gap to be soldered without the formation of solder balls or solder bridges

· Where additional packaging is not wanted. It is quite possible to use the assembly with just the attachment of a lead-frame (and maybe plastic encapsulation for the wire-bonded devices)

· If film (printed) resistors are required but in combination with one or more of the other benefits mentioned.

Computer and Electronic Scrap Recycling

2007-02-10T00:20:00.002-08:00

It is no longer unheard of for people to throw away expensive computers in order to have the latest model. Your mobile phone may be functioning perfectly, but if it doesn’t take pictures or have the latest advanced features it has got to be replaced. As a consequence, there is a growing tide of obsolete computers and other electronic products finding its way into landfill sites throughout the UK and Europe.

AZoM - Metals, Ceramics, Polymer and Composites : Computer and Electronic Scrap Recycling
Electronic Waste Initiatives

From 2004, the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive will tackle the increasing waste streams of electrical and electronic equipment by requiring manufacturers to take back equipment for recycling. Responding to the need for an environmentally acceptable solution to deal with the huge problem of redundant computers and other electronic equipment, funding from the UK Government’s programme for Waste Minimisation through Recycling, Recovery and Reuse in Industry (WMR3) has helped scientists to pioneer the development of two novel methods s for recycling components and valuable metals in printed circuit boards (PCBs).
New Technology for Processing Printed Circuit Boards

Researchers at Cambridge University have collaborated with colleagues from with Alpha-Fry Ltd and EA Technology to develop a patented process that employs a specially developed chemical leaching agent to release all the valuable electronic components such as chips or condensers for recycling, and to recover valuable metals and other materials from shredded boards.
Recycling Printed Circuit Boards

Around 60 million PCBs are produced each year. Each circuit board has a metal content of up to 30% by weight. The metals present in the majority of cases are gold, silver, copper, tin and lead. Many of the processes used to recover non-precious metals are based on mechanical, pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical techniques, in which the value of the electronic component is totally lost and maximum metal recovery is not possible. The integrated approach developed at Cambridge enables the components to be separated and resold, the solder leached and re-deposited as a solder alloy and the shredded boards to be reused as a binder in aggregate use.
How the Process Works

The key to the new process is the development of a selective leaching agent that is highly effective at dissolving solder used in the circuit boards yet has no effect on the performance of the electronic components. The selective leachant that has been developed is composed of fluoroboric acid containing a titanium redox couple. The leachant dissolves the lead and tin content in exactly the same ratio as the solder, leaving the copper content of the boards intact. The same process can also be applied to shredded boards after they have been treated to remove aluminium and ferrous scrap. The solder is then electroplated from the leaching agent, which is then regenerated.
Impetus for the New Technology

‘Our initial idea was to develop a leachant that would release all the electronic components for reuse,’ says Professor Derek Fray Head of the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at Cambridge University. ‘Unlike thermal processes, our technique does not degrade their performance in any way. You should be able to get everything back, and you can then sort the components in a range of different ways depending on their market value, type or toxicity.’ The next step for Professor Fray is applying the technology on an industrial scale.
Recovery of Precious Metals

The disposal of electronic scrap in landfill sites has become increasingly restricted over recent years. In the UK, electronic waste is now being shipped to copper smelting plants in Sweden and Belgium. However, copper smelters will only take material above a certain metal concentration, which leaves industry with the problem of how to dispose of low-level material. Research work at Imperial College in London has resulted in a process that not only recovers copper, tin and lead, but also recovers low-level metals such as gold, silver and palladium. ‘We have developed a clean process for recovering nearly all precious metals and heavy metals from electronic waste,’ explains Professor Geoff Kelsall from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology at Imperial College. ‘The essence of the process is its ability to dissolve all these metals non-selectively and then recover them selectively or non-selectively. Unfortunately we can’t recover everything but we can recover a wide range of metals.’
How the Process Works

The process uses two reactors, a leach reactor and an electrochemical reactor. Using anodically generated chlorine, the leach reactor dissolves the metals, while the electrochemical reactor has two functions. It not only generates the reagent for dissolving the metals, but also recovers, from solution, the metals dissolved in the leach reactor. The overall process involves inputting electrical energy to move the metals from the scrap to the reactor’s cathode, which produces only de-metallised waste. ‘Essentially you are just moving materials from one place to another,’ says Kelsall. ‘Chlorine is a nonselective oxidant. We deliberately developed a system involving non-selective oxidation with the possibility of selective recovery.’
Feasibility of the Process

Using a small-scale pilot system capable of processing 10kg of waste per day, Kelsall and his research team have demonstrated the feasibility of the process to selectively recover metals from electronic scrap. The next step is to increase this by a factor of 10. ‘I have an industrial partner willing to host and run a pilot plant to treat 100kgs of scrap per day, ‘says Kelsall, ‘but we are not able to quantitatively design it yet.’
The Future for the Technology

Funding permitting, within two years Kelsall believes he will be able to develop a model from which he can design a full-scale pilot plant. ‘There are several basic science and engineering issues to be addressed before we can design such a plant,’ says Kelsall. ‘We know that there are some metals we cannot recover, which was entirely predictable. Metals such as aluminium cannot be electrodeposited from aqueous solutions and so will require an additional unit process to prevent the accumulation of Al (111) in the solution, which will increase the overall cost of the process.'
Summary

The industry is aware of the problems it faces, and from 2004, producers will be responsible for taking back and recycling electrical and electronic equipment. As the tide of electronic scrap continues to rise and environmental regulations are tightened, innovative work currently going on at UK universities is likely to become an increasingly attractive proposition for getting most of the materials back from obsolete electronics.

Ceramics in Dental Restorations – A Review and Critical Issues

2007-02-10T00:20:00.001-08:00

Dental ceramics in restorations are essentially oxide based glass-ceramic systems. They have three essential features/requirements:

1. Ease of fabrication of complex shapes

2. Sufficient mechanical and corrosion resistance

3. Appropriate aesthetic appeal.

In the last few decades there has been tremendous advances in the mechanical properties and methods of fabrication of these materials. Whilst porcelain based materials are still a major component of the market there have been moves to replace metal cored systems with all ceramic systems. In this brief review the following topics will be addressed: natural teeth and their properties, alternate restorative materials and the various ceramic compositions and their usage by the dental practitioner. Examples of the microstructure property relationships for these ceramic materials will be addressed.
Introduction

The history of restorative dentistry can be traced back as far as ancient Egyptian times. Examples of tooth replacement prostheses made from gold wire, ox bone or wood have been found. More recent restoratives had a renaissance about two hundred years ago when air fired porcelains and cast gold restorations were made to restore and replace teeth. It seems that in ancient times the main requirement was to replace teeth lost as a result of gum disease, whereas in recent times it is to restore teeth damaged by decay.

Restorations today are largely required as a result of trauma, decay, gum disease and aesthetics. The latter being a more recent area of high demand and one in which ceramic materials play a large role. McLean (1979) provides a concise history of ceramic use in modern dentistry. The use of ceramics for the restoration of teeth has been a part of dentistry's modern period of evolution. This period started in the late seventeen hundreds but major advances have mainly come about this century. The demand for aesthetic restorations led to improvements in ceramic formulation and firing techniques. The types of ceramic systems have been largely summarised by McLean. See also a recent review by Kelly (1997).
Structure of a Tooth
Enamel

Teeth themselves are a complex hard tissue structure originally born from specialised cells called ameloblasts, odontoblasts and cementoblasts. The ameloblasts form the enamel, which is the hard outer coating seen as the clinical crown of the tooth. These cells occur in a layer on the outside of the tooth bud.

The enamel is laid down on the inside of the ameloblasts. When the tooth erupts, these cells are lost and enamel can no longer be formed. This has important implications because any wear or loss of enamel due to decay etc, cannot be repaired by the body.
Dentine

The dentine is formed by the odontoblasts. These cells are on the inner side of the tooth bud, between the enamel and the dental pulp. The dentine is formed by these cells as an inward growth. The dentine could be viewed as the main foundation of the tooth, supporting the enamel, providing protection to the pulp, and through its covering below the gums, giving rise to the attachment via a ligament to the surrounding bone. The dentine has an ability to continue laying down dentine internally at the expense of the pulp chamber size, throughout life. It cannot however, replace dentine that has been physically lost. Figure 1 depicts the lateral view of an incisor tooth.

AZoM - Metals, Ceramics, Polymers and Composites : Ceramics in Dental Restorations – A Review and Critical Issues : Incisors

Figure 1. Lateral view of an incisor.
Mechanical Differences

The mechanical properties and their interelationship of the three hard tissues mentioned above, enamel - dentine - bone, present an interesting method for dealing with stresses applied to the teeth as a result of chewing and also tooth grinding during periods of concentration or psychological stress. The enamel is relatively hard and brittle (E~ 65 - 70 GPa) the dentine much softer and more compliant (E~ 15 - 19 GPa) and bone even more compliant (E~ 12 GPa).
Dental Restorative Materials

As mentioned earlier man has been replacing lost tooth structure with gold and ceramic. The gold and ceramic materials were used because they could be custom fabricated to fit the needs of individual tooth requirements as far as form and aesthetics are concerned. They can be used independently or in combination with ceramic baked onto gold alloy subframes. Other metal alloys are also used in this metal-ceramic technique.
Silver Amalgam

Today as in the past these materials have proved to be relatively expensive for the population masses and alternatives have developed. The first material that was easily produced and relatively inexpensive was silver amalgam. This material, popularised by an American dentist, G. V. Black, in the 1890's has been used very widely throughout the world as a cheap and effective restorative to replace tooth structure lost through decay. The main disadvantages with this material are the concerns over its mercury content and its lack of aesthetic appeal.
Composite Resins and Glass Ionomers

The other two groups of restorative materials to be used widely are the composite resins and the glass ionomers. The composite resins developed in the 1950's when a breakthrough monomer was produced. Known as BisGMA, this resin monomer has become the backbone of most dental composite resins. These materials use various glass or ceramic particles as fillers to enhance their mechanical properties and give them tooth colouring and other aesthetic properties such as translucency etc.

The glass ionomers are a relatively recent development although their predecessor silicate cements have been in use for about the same time as the BisGMA resins. These materials are relatively weak, but are used to cement gold and ceramic crowns to teeth, with other versions being used as direct restoratives, depending on their filler content and the recommended application. They have a major advantage in that their have a reasonably constant fluoride release, acting as a strong decay inhibitor.
Issues Facing Ceramics as Dental Restorative Materials

The aim of this paper is therefore to review the role of ceramics in dentistry. The first consideration is why use ceramics. The reasons are as follows:

· Biocompatibility

· Aesthetics

· Durability

· Relative ease for customised units.
Biocompatibity

The biocompatability issue is essential to prevent adverse reactions within the patients. The dental ceramics in use today have relatively low firing temperatures, usually greater than 900°C and are resistant to dissolution in the mouth. Formulations have been developed with firing temperatures as low as 640°C, however, these materials tend to show considerable surface degradation in the oral environment and hence are not useful.
Aesthetics

Ceramic materials have long been admired for their aesthetic qualities. The use of dentally coloured glasses can provide replacement structures that can be made to imitate tooth structure in both colour, translucency and response to different lighting sources.
Durability

Durability is an area that has led to considerable research for ceramic systems that can provide individually constructed restorations, that are small, unique, inexpensive and will be subjected to cyclic loading in wet and sometimes abrasive conditions. The critical problem for all ceramic materials, not the least those used in dentistry is the huge difference in theoretical strength, based on the covalent nature of their structure, and the usual strengths found in general use (7000-70000 MPa versus 7-700 MPa). This was originally determined by Griffith, who reported that the theoretical strength for all solids could generally be regarded as a constant with a value approximating E/10.

The advances in industrial ceramics for such conditions have been remarkable to say the least, in recent decades. However, nobody is going to allow their front teeth to be restored with a ceramic that is dark grey, black or opaque white. The advances in industrial ceramics have included improvements in fracture toughness, wear resistance, machinability, solubility, hardness and flexural strength. With the exception of hardness, these are the same improvements that have been sought in dental ceramics. Another major requirement apart from aesthetics is that the ceramic not be too hard otherwise abrasive wear of the opposing natural tooth will be too severe.
Failure of Ceramic Dental Restorations

The clinical observations tend to show catastrophic mechanical failure. There are reports that ceramic restorations such as inlays and crowns fail due to occlusal (biting together) injury not unlike that of a small spherical indentation. This has led to at least one group using a small spherical indenter of 2 millimetres diameter as a testing devices to produce similar failures in vitro. Perhaps the most important consideration to note are the possible driving forces associated with stresses formed from elastic components within the field of the initial crack.

Another consideration is the choice of indenter to produce a failure. In general, the contacts between teeth are the same as small spherical indenters, changing with age and wear to broader, flatter contacts. The cusps of teeth are naturally rounded. As teeth become worn they tend to exhibit small milled facets and so the contacts can become much broader. A spherical indenter rather than a sharp indenter is therefore the system of choice when measuring the behaviour of the ceramic system in question.
Ceramic Materials Used in Dental Restorations

This has led to a series of differing ceramic structures available for dentistry, with some examples described below.
The Felspathic Porcelains

Several summaries for the composition of dental porcelain have been written. They cover the composition of felspathic porcelain as a veneering porcelain in all-ceramic and metal-ceramic crowns. They describe a history of modifying the basic Potash Feldspar-Quartz-Kaolinite mix by the removal of mullite and free quartz, while increasing sodium oxide and alkaline earth oxides as bivalent glass modifiers, to improve translucent properties while trying to maintain strength. Fluxing agents have also been added to lower the melting temperatures and make them easier to handle in the dental laboratory. These materials are now substantially glassy and Binns (1983) describes their classification as a porcelain as “somewhat of a misnomer”. An approximate location of dental porcelain in the classical tri-axial whiteware formulations is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Location of dental porcelains in the classical triaxial whiteware formulations system..

The K2O content was also varied to accommodate the need to match the coefficient of thermal expansion for metal alloys used in dental metal-ceramic techniques. The increase in K2O content allowed a greater proportion of leucite crystals (coefficient of thermal exp. 27 x 10-6/°C) which led to the overall coefficient of thermal expansion rising to something in the order of 13.5 - 15.5 x 10-6/°C.

The felspathic porcelains used in all-ceramic systems have coefficients of thermal expansion ranging from 5.5 - 7.5 x 10-6/°C when used over castable glass and alumina based core materials, to 16 x 10-6/°C when used over the newer pressed leucite systems.
The Leucite Systems

Leucite has been widely used as a constituent of dental ceramics to modify the coefficient of thermal expansion. This is most important where the ceramic is to be fused or baked onto metal.

The recent introduction of the pressed leucite reinforced ceramic system, IPS Empress, has leucite in a different role. This material relies on an increased volume of fine leucite particles to increase flexural strength.

Similar versions using finely dispersed leucite grains to increase toughness, strength and modify wear patterns and rates to make them similar to enamel wear rates are now available for metal-ceramic restorations.
The Castable Glasses

The development of glass ceramics by the Corning Glass Works in the late 1950's has led to the creation of a dental ceramic system based on the strengthening of glass with various forms of mica. The Dicor® crown system uses the lost wax system to produce a glass casting of the restoration. The casting is then heat treated or “cerammed”, during which tetra silicic fluromica crystals are formed to increase the strength and toughness of the glass ceramic.

This procedure is designed to take place within the economic confines of a commercial dental laboratory. A second dental version was developed to be used for CAD/CAM dental procedures. This cerammed glass is provided in an already heat treated state from the manufacturer. In this latter technique an optical scan of a prepared tooth is loaded into a computer and a milling system is used to produce the restoration. The restoration is then “bonded” to the remaining tooth structure using a dental BisGMA based composite resin.
The Alumina Based Systems
The Aluminous Jacket Crown

The modern Aluminous Jacket Crown, probably more commonly known as the Porcelain Jacket Crown (PJC) was popularised in the mid 1960’s by McLean. This report also points out the importance for the use of alumina in dental ceramics and how it modifies the flaw systems at the surface and within the ceramic. The aluminous porcelains reported by McLean are also very prone to strength degradation when they contain porosity.
Pure Alumina Core - Heat Cured After Pressing

The Nobel Biocare company from Sweden have introduced two systems that essentially use a system of pressing alumina onto a metal die, removing the pressed shape from the die and then sintering it. One system is used to make alumina profiles that are then used as cores to build up ceramic superstructures for single tooth implants, CeraOne®, and the second is to make cores for conventional crowns, a process known as Procera®. Unlike the other dental ceramic materials, there is no glassy phase present between the particles. Feldspathic veneering porcelains such as Vitadur Alpha@ and Duceram® are then fired onto this alumina core to provide the colour and form for the restoration.
The Glass-Infiltrated Alumina System for Cores

During the 1980’s, Dr. Michael Sadoun and Vita Zahnfabrik, developed a slip casting system using fine grained alumina. The cast alumina was sintered and then infiltrated with a Lanthana based glass. This provided a glass infiltrated alumina core (In-Ceram®) on which a felspathic ceramic could be baked to provide the functional form and aesthetic component of the restoration. In-Ceram has the highest flexural strength and fracture toughness of all the currently available dental ceramic systems available to most commercial dental laboratories. The system also has the greatest versatility for dental use of any metal free ceramic restorative.

Biomolecule and/or Microwave-Assisted Solvothermal Syntheses of Nanomaterials

2007-02-10T00:19:00.002-08:00

The objectives of this research are to synthesize and characterize nanomaterials of controlled size and shape so that they can be used in several different applications. Nanophase metal particles have attracted a great deal of interest and have found applications in different fields such as catalysis, optical, microelectronic and magnetic devices and biological diagnostic probes due to their special properties that differ markedly from those of bulk materials. Noble metal nanophases such as Ag, Pt, Pd etc., are the focus of catalytic applications because these nanoparticles can be hybridized with other substrates for enhanced catalytic functions. A one-step microwave-assisted interface reaction using dodecylthiol and ethylene glycol was developed for the direct synthesis of hexagonally arranged spherical silver nanoparticles of about 10 nm. Microwave-assisted solvothermal methods using ethylene glycol, ethanol or methanol as reducing agents were found to be useful for Pt and Pd nanoparticle synthesis at low temperatures. Under conventional hydrothermal conditions, some nanowires such as Te were synthesized with the assistance of biomolecules. Nanowires and nanorods of metals are expected to be useful as interconnects in electronic devices with super-functions. Nanowires of Pt were grown in the nanochannels of mesoporous materials such as SBA-15, which served as a template. Porous alumina membrane was used as a template for the growth of oriented SBA-15 nanorods with the nanoporous channels parallel to the channels of alumina and this hybridized material is expected to find super-function in nanowire fabrication and bio-molecule separations. This review paper shows that conventional and microwave-assisted hydro- or solvothermal methods are eminently suited for the synthesis of nanomaterials of controlled size and shape under environmentally benign conditions.
Keywords

Nanowires, Nanophases, Solvothermal process, Hydrothermal Process, Biomolecules
Introduction

During the last two decades, there has been an enormous interest in nanostructures due to their conspicuous physical-chemical properties that differ markedly from those of bulk materials[1]. Various methods, such as hydrothermal and solvothermal routes[2], surfactant-assisted approach[3], have been utilized for the synthesis of nanomaterials. Most physical and chemical properties of these nanomaterials are sensitively dependent on their size and shape, so materials scientists are still focusing on developing simple and effective methods for the fabrication of nanomaterials of controlled size and morphology[4].

Since metal nanoparticles have various applications, the synthesis of metal nanoparticles has attracted much attention especially in the last decade[5]. A variety of techniques have been developed to synthesize metal nanoparticles, including chemical reduction using a number of chemical reductants including NaBH4, N2H4, NH2OH, ethanol, ethylene glycol and N,N-dimethyformamide (DMF)[6-10], aerosol technique[11], electrochemical or sonochemical deposition[12, 13], photochemical reduction[14], and laser irradiation technique[15]. Because of the size-dependent properties, many physical, chemical and electrochemical methods have been employed to get the metal nanoparticles with uniform size, such as NaBH4-reduction approach resulting in the thiol-capped 1.8-3.5 nm diameter silver nanoparticles and alcohol reduction of fatty acid silver salts under microwave irradiation[16, 17]. The assembly of uniform nanoparticles into well-defined two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) superlattices is critically important to chemical, optical, magnetic and electronic nanodevices and would bring possibilities to brand-new properties and applications that result from the spatial orientation and arrangement of the nanocrystals[18]. Therefore, several approaches, such as self-assembly[19], Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) techniques[7], and electrophoretic deposition method[20] have been used in order to obtain self-organized lattices of metal, oxide and chalcogenide nanoparticles including silver[11], gold[21], cobalt[22], indium[23], α-Fe2O3[24], cobalt oxide[25], BaTiO3[26], CdS[27], CdSe[28], and Ag2S[29] nanoparticle arrays.

Besides the uniform and assembled nanoparticles, one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures, such as nanorods and nanowires, are also of particular interest not only because of their great potential for testing and understanding fundamental concepts but also because of their wide applications as interconnects in electronic devices with super-functions[30]. The synthesis of 1D nanostructures and guiding these nanometer-scaled building blocks to ordered superstructures would offer great opportunities to investigate the size- and dimensionality-dependent properties of these materials and could lead to the construction of nanoscale devices[31]. Until now, great progress has been made in the shape control of nanomaterials and a range of different 1D nanostructures have been fabricated by various techniques, such as Vapor-Liquid-Solid (VLS) growth mechanism[32], micro-emulsion method[3], hydrothermal (or solvothermal) technique[2] and template methods[33]. Among the various methods, hard template method is an effective method to obtain the nanostructures with low dimensionality. Porous alumina membrane and mesoporous materials such as SBA-15 are two of the most used templates. Nanowires of Ag, Pt, and Au were grown in the nanochannels of SBA-15[34], and many other nanorods arrays have been obtained by porous alumina membrane[35]. However, the pore size of the alumina membrane is from dozens of nanometers to several hundred nanometers and the SBA-15 is usually in powder form or as membranes with its channels parallel to plane of the substrate, which limits their applications in nanodevice fabrication[36]. Combining these two templates by introducing SBA-15 into alumina membrane channels is expected to find super-function in nanowire fabrication and bio-molecule separations.

This review paper shows that conventional and microwave-assisted hydro- or solvothermal methods are highly suited for the synthesis of nanomaterials of controlled size and shape under environmentally benign conditions for several different applications.
Experimental
Microwave-Assisted Solvothermal Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles

For the hexagonally arranged spherical silver nanoparticles, 0.15 g AgNO3 was added in a Teflon vessel of a double-walled digestion vessel used in MARS-5 system. Then 10 ml toluene, 1 ml dodecylthiol and 4 ml ethylene glycol were added into the vessel in order. After sealing, the vessel was treated at 160°C for 3 hours using a microwave digestion system, MARS-5 (CEM Corp.). After cooling to room temperature, the product was collected and an interface between two layers was found to be full of black product.

Pt and Pd nanoparticles were synthesized by microwave-assisted solvothermal method. PVP with an average molecular weight of 40K was used as a capping agent in all the experiments. Dihydrogen hexachloroplatinate (IV), and palladium (II) 2,4-pentanedionate were used as metal precursors. PVP was dissolved in methanol or ethanol and then the metal salts were added. The reactants were heated for 60 min at 90°C when methanol was used as a reducing agent and at 120°C when ethanol was used as a reducing agent for 60 min under microwave irradiation.
Biomolecule-Assisted Hydrothermal Synthesis For Te Nanowires[37]

For the elemental tellurium nanowires, 0.15g H2TeO4·2H2O was mixed with 0.075 g alginic acid in 10 ml distilled water in a Telfon-lined stainless autoclave. After sealing, the autoclave was heated to 150°C and kept for 15 hours. After cooling to room temperature, the solid product was collected by centrifugation at 2000 rpm for ~10 min and washed with distilled water and alcohol several times, followed by drying in air at room temperature.
Sol-Gel Method for The Growth of SBA-15 Nanorods Array Inside Porous Alumina Membrane[38]

In the synthesis of SBA-15 nanowire arrays inside porous alumina membrane, a sol solution was made by dissolving 1 g Pluronic P123 (PEO20PO70EO20, Mav=5800, Aldrich) in 5 g ethanol and 0.2 g 2 M HCl solution and mixing with 2.08 g tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS, 98%, Aldrich). Then a simple piece of porous alumina membrane was put into the sol solution. After the sol solution was left at room temperature (about 25°C) for 20 h to make sol change to gel, some amount of liquid paraffin wax with thickness of 1 mm was poured onto the gel and then it was kept at 60°C for 20 h. Then, liquid paraffin was removed and the sample was calcined in the alumina membrane at 540°C for 6 h.
Nanowires of Pt Inside SBA-15

First, SBA-15 was prepared and treated with H2PtCl6 followed by H2 reduction at 400°C in order to prepare nanowires of Pt inside SBA-15. The SBA-15 was then dissolved in dilute HF solution to recover Pt nanowries.
Characterization

The morphology, crystallinity, and size of products have been determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) was used to identify the crystalline phases. TEM was carried out with a Philips 420 transmission electron microscope operated at 120 kV and SEM was carried out with a Hitachi S-3500N scanning electron microscope.
Results and Discussion
Microwave-Assisted Solvothermal Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles

Due to the spatial orientation and arrangement of the nanocrystals, 2D and/or 3D nanoparticles superlattices would bring possibilities to brand-new properties and applications, which make their syntheses be a focusing area in the current research field [18-20]. For the assembly of uniform Ag nanocrystals, the presynthesis of uniform nanoparticles or precursors is usually required followed by the organization process by surfactants or ligands. The development of a simple and direct method for the fabrication of such crystals is a major challenge for future research. Herein we report a general and one-step microwave-assisted interface-reaction for the synthesis and assembly of monodispersed silver nanoparticles. By using dodecylthiol as directing reagent and ethylene glycol as reducing agent, hexagonally arranged spherical silver nanoparticles can be obtained by a one-step interface-reaction under microwave-assisted solvothermal conditions without the requirement of the pre-synthesis of uniform silver nanoparticles or special precursors and the technique of size-selective precipitation. In the synthetic system, ethylene glycol and toluene form two layers with an interface where the thiol group of dodecylthiol might react with silver ions to form an inorganic-organic complex, which is reduced to elemental silver by ethylene glycol under microwave-solvothermal conditions. After the reaction, a black thin layer of silver nanoparticles is found at the interface and the formed silver nanoparticles automatically compact-pack to form ordered superstructures. Figure 1 shows the TEM images of the as-prepared sample, from which it can be clearly seen that the sample consists of a hexagonal-like ordered superstructure of monodispersed silver nanoparticles. Figure 1a displays a TEM image with low magnification, clearly showing that the two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal superlattice is the typical structure of the as-prepared silver sample. A TEM image of the silver sample with high magnification (Figure 1b) displays clearly that these nanoparticles are monodispersed with an average diameter of ~ 10 nm and the inter-particle spacings are calculated to be about 2 nm. Figure 1c shows its Fourier transform power spectrum. It displays ordered hexagonal-like spot arrays, which confirms the formation of the hexagonally arranged silver superlattice. The SAED pattern of the sample, showed in Figure 1d, exhibits polycrystalline diffraction rings, which can be indexed as cubic-phase metal silver, indicating that these nanoparticles are crystalline metal silver.

Biomaterials – Densities of Biomaterials and Some Other Related Materials

2007-02-10T00:19:00.001-08:00

Material

Density
(g/cm3)

Material

Density
(g/cm3)

Amalgam

11.6

Palladium based alloys

~10.8

Alumina

3.85

Porcelain dental

~2.05

Bone - cortical

~2.0

Stainless steel – 316L

8.0

Calcium hydroxide cement

~1.90

Titanium

4.51

Chromium

7.19

Ti6Al4V

4.40

Cobalt chrome alloy

~8.50

Tooth – dentine

2.14

Fluorapatite

3.22

Tooth - enamel

2.97

Glass ionomer cement

~2.10

UHMWPE

0.945

Gold

19.3

Vitreous carbon

1.47

Hydroxyapatite

3.16

Zinc phosphate cement

2.59

Methyl methacrylate

0.94

Zirconia

6.10

Mercury

13.5

Atomic Force Microscopy Of Soft Or Fragile Materials Using TappingMode Imaging Technology From Veeco

2007-02-10T00:18:00.002-08:00

TappingMode imaging is a key advance in atomic force microscopy (AFM) of soft, adhesive or fragile samples. This patented technique allows high resolution topographic imaging of sample surfaces that are easily damaged, loosely held to their substrate, or otherwise difficult to image by other AFM techniques. Specifically, TappingMode overcomes problems associated with friction, adhesion, electrostatic forces, and other difficulties that can plague conventional AFM scanning methods. The technique has proven extremely successful for high resolution imaging of a wide variety of samples including:

· silicon wafer surfaces

· thin films

· metals and insulators

· photoresist

· polymers

· biological samples

· and numerous others.

AZoM - The A to Z of Materials - TappingMode image of purified collagen monomer and oligomer molecules without telopeptides.

Figure 1. TappingMode image of purified collagen monomer and oligomer molecules without telopeptides.

TappingMode makes imaging these surfaces routine in ambient air or fluids and represents a significant advance in AFM technology.

Two conventional scanning modes — contact mode and non-contact mode — have been used for some time with varying success for a range of materials.

Each has limitations which are discussed below and contrasted with TappingMode scanning.
Conventional Methods

In conventional contact mode AFM (Figure 2), the probe tip is simply dragged across the surface and the resulting image is a topographical map of the surface of the sample. While this technique has been very successful for many samples, it has some serious drawbacks. The dragging motion of the probe tip, combined with adhesive forces between the tip and the surface, can cause substantial damage to both sample and probe and create artifacts in image data.

AZoM - The A to Z of Materials - Comparison of contact mode, non-contact mode and TappingMode scanning techniques. Contact mode imaging (left) is heavily influenced by frictional and adhesive forces which can damage samples and distort image data. Non-contact imaging (center) generally provides low resolution and can also be hampered by the contaminant layer which can interfere with oscillation. TappingMode imaging (right) eliminates frictional forces by intermittently contacting the surface and oscillating with sufficient amplitude to prevent the tip from being trapped by adhesive meniscus forces from the contaminant layer. The graphs under the images represent likely image data resulting from the three techniques.

Figure 2. Comparison of contact mode, non-contact mode and TappingMode scanning techniques. Contact mode imaging (left) is heavily influenced by frictional and adhesive forces which can damage samples and distort image data. Non-contact imaging (center) generally provides low resolution and can also be hampered by the contaminant layer which can interfere with oscillation. TappingMode imaging (right) eliminates frictional forces by intermittently contacting the surface and oscillating with sufficient amplitude to prevent the tip from being trapped by adhesive meniscus forces from the contaminant layer. The graphs under the images represent likely image data resulting from the three techniques.

Under ambient air conditions, most surfaces are covered by a layer of adsorbed gases (condensed water vapor and other contaminants) which is typically several nanometers thick. When the scanning tip touches this layer, capillary action causes a meniscus to form and surface tension pulls the cantilever down into the layer (Figure 3). Trapped electrostatic charge on the tip and sample can contribute additional adhesive forces. These downward forces increase the overall force on the sample and, when combined with lateral shear forces caused by the scanning motion, can distort measurement data and cause severe damage to the sample, including movement or tearing of surface features.

AZoM - The A to Z of Materials - In contact AFM, electrostatic and/or surface tension forces from the adsorbed gas layer pull the scanning tip toward the surface.

Figure 3. In contact AFM, electrostatic and/or surface tension forces from the adsorbed gas layer pull the scanning tip toward the surface.

Some researchers have overcome the problems associated with the adhesive forces by operating AFMs with the sample immersed in fluid. When scanning in fluids, the overall forces in contact mode are lower than in ambient air because the fluid layer/meniscus is not present and electrostatic forces can be dissipated or screened. However, because hydrated samples are often substantially softer than dried samples, tracking forces can still cause reduced image quality and sample damage due to deformation and/or movement of the sample by the scanning probe. In addition, many samples, such as semiconductor wafers, can not practically be immersed in fluid.

An attempt to avoid this problem is the non-contact mode in which the probe is held a small distance above the sample (Figure 2). Attractive Van der Waals forces acting between the tip and the sample are detected, and topographic images are constructed by scanning the tip above the surface. Unfortunately, the attractive Van der Waals forces from the sample are substantially weaker than the forces used by contact mode — so weak in fact that the tip must be given a small oscillation so that AC detection methods can be used to detect the small forces between tip and sample. The attractive forces also extend only a small distance from the surface, where the adsorbed gas layer may occupy a large fraction of their useful range.

Hence, even when the sample tip separation is successfully maintained, non-contact mode provides substantially lower resolution than either contact or TappingMode. In practice, the probe is frequently drawn to the sample surface by the adsorbed gases’ surface tension, resulting in unusable data and sample damage similar to that caused by the contact technique. In addition, the non-contact mode is generally impractical for routine scanning in fluids because the Van der Waals forces are now even smaller, a substantial limitation for biological samples in particular.
TappingMode Imaging in Air

TappingMode imaging overcomes the limitations of the conventional scanning modes by alternately placing the tip in contact with the surface to provide high resolution and then lifting the tip off the surface to avoid dragging the tip across the surface. TappingMode imaging is implemented in ambient air by oscillating the cantilever assembly at or near the cantilever’s resonant frequency using a piezoelectric crystal. The piezo motion causes the cantilever to oscillate with a high amplitude (the “free air” amplitude, typically greater than 20nm) when the tip is not in contact with the surface. The oscillating tip is then moved toward the surface until it begins to lightly touch, or “tap” the surface. During scanning, the vertically oscillating tip alternately contacts the surface and lifts off, generally at a frequency of 50,000 to 500,000 cycles per second. As the oscillating cantilever begins to intermittently contact the surface, the cantilever oscillation is necessarily reduced (Figure 4) due to energy loss caused by the tip contacting the surface. The reduction in oscillation amplitude is used to identify and measure surface features.

Analysis of Ferrous Alloys, Non-Ferrous Alloys, Precious Metals and Metal Coatings Using X-Ray Systems – Supplier Data by PANalytical

2007-02-10T00:18:00.001-08:00

Ferrous Metals

The major products of the ferrous industry are cast iron, low and medium alloyed steels and specialty steels such as tool steels and stainless steels. In the production processes used to manufacture these end products other important materials encountered are refractories, sinters and slags, and of course the starting raw materials iron ore together with limestone and coke.
Ferro Alloy Additions for High Alloy Steels

Finally ferro alloys are employed in the high alloy steel making processes as a way of adding elements such as chromium nickel, molybdenum and silicon to the steels thereby completing an extremely varied spectrum of materials to be analyzed in the ferrous industry.
Analysis Requirements for Low Alloy Steels

For the bulk produced low alloy steels, where trace and tramp elements exerts significant effects on the strength and ductility, low detection limits and high accuracy are needed coupled with a fast analysis time.
Analysis Requirements for Austenitic Stainless Steels

For austenitic stainless steels where costly and often strategic alloying elements are added in relatively large quantities, accuracy and high element concentration level is demanded.
Analysis Using MagiX FAST from PANalytical

With MagiX FAST from PANalytical, measuring results can be achieved for wide different metallic matrices indicating detection limits below 10 ppm for many elements in measuring times of less than one minute.
Non-Ferrous Metals

The non-ferrous industries deal with a similar cross-section of material types in the production of metals such as copper, nickel, lead and zinc, but in these industries much more time and effort is spent in analyzing exploratory core body samples since these metals are generally present in much lower concentrations in the earths crust than is iron and more widely dispersed.
Analysis Requirements for Aluminium and Copper Alloys

Aluminum and copper are widely used in high electrical conductibility applications where the presence of some elements at even a trace level can give rise to unacceptable high power losses in electrical transmission lines. For aluminum an added concern is the fact the anodizing characteristics of the metal are strongly influenced by the presence of just a few ppms of certain elements. Thus for both, copper and aluminum, the most relevant analytical data concern is the detection limits achievable with a spectrometer.
PANalytical Analysis Solutions

The unsurpassed sensitivity, reproducibility and stability of Axios-Advanced make it possible to achieve these low limits of detection. The simultaneous PANalytical MagiX FAST X-ray spectrometer can analyze up to 28 elements simultaneously in less than one minute with a high degree of precision.
The PANalytical EDXRF Bench-Top Systems

The PANalytical EDXRF bench-top systems MiniMate and MiniPal are ideally suited for single element analysis and as back-up systems of larger laboratory equipment.
Potflux X-Ray Diffraction Systems

X-ray diffraction is the aluminium industry's standard method for potflux process control. The PANalytical CubiX PRO Potflux X-ray diffraction system allows simultaneous measurement of the phases present in the aluminium bath, as well as the calcium (Ca) content through an integrated Ca XRF channel in the diffractometer. Ultrafast pneumatic linear sample introduction means high throughput for the customer - as many as 60 samples per hour can be analyzed with the CubiX PRO Potflux.
Precious Metals

For the analyses of precious metals such as Au, Ag, Pt, Rh, Ru, Ir, Pd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, etc often XRF systems are used since a vital part of working with precious metals has to be the ability to determine accurately the composition of material at all times. It is important to be able to monitor the composition of work-in-progress both to control and minimize metal losses and able to effect regular inventory checks.
Advantages of X-Ray Fluorescence Over Traditional Techniques

Traditional methods like the Touchstone test, cupellation, fire-assay, nitric acid tests and also other analytical methods are destructive and often time consuming and hazardous. Also the preparation of samples takes longer.
Advantages of X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis

XRF as a non-destructive analysis technique can identify and determine the presence of various elements such as gold, platinum, silver, and other precious metals present in solid, powdered and liquid samples often within a matter of minutes. Sample preparation is quick and easy and solid samples as small as 3 centimetres can also be analyzed. Essential advantages of using XRF are the high reproducibility or precision and the high accuracy of this analytical method.
PANalytical XRF Solutions For Precious Metals

The Epsilon 5 is a high-performance EDXRF spectrometer specifically designed to achieve the lowest possible detection limits for heavy elements such as Cd, Pb, As, precious metals and the lanthanides.

Abresist Corporation – Company Profile

2007-01-04T23:58:00.000-08:00

Abresist Corporation, based in Urbana, Indiana, manufactures ABRESIST® fused cast basalt and various ceramic linings that provide excellent wear protection. The linings are custom designed for use wherever abrasion and impact wear are a problem. The wear resistant linings reduce downtime and maintenance in processing equipment handling bulk materials such as silica, ore, glass, slag, fly ash, limestone, coal, coke, feed, grain, cement clinker, fertilizer, salt, and other highly abrasive materials.
Company History

The original Abresist material was developed in the 1920s by Kalenborn Kalprotect, the German parent of Abresist Corporation. To form the ABRESIST linings, basalt volcanic rock is melted at temperatures of 1300° C / 2400° F, cast into tiles or cylinders and annealed to give the cast basalt a uniform, crystalline structure that is abrasion-resistant with a Mohs hardness of 8. Engineered tiles and cylinders provide a long service life even in the harshest conditions.
Markets Served

Abresist Corporation, founded in 1977, markets these linings throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Industries working with abrasive raw materials and by-products are ideal candidates for using Abresist linings, especially where equipment is susceptible to friction-induced abrasion. Customers in material handling and processing operations include the steel, coal, power, mine, and food industries. Effective applications include piping systems, separators, cyclones, silos, bunkers, troughs, chutes, impellers, agitators, fan blades and fan casings, conveyor screws, chain conveyors, and mixers.
Support Services

Abresist Corporation individually designs its materials to meet the customer's specific abrasion, impact and corrosion problems. Sales representatives and engineers visit customers on-site to assess problems and gather accurate data to provide an optimal solution, using the Abresist material or combination of materials that would provide the best, most economical solution to the wear problems. Then the specified materials are pre-engineered and labeled for precise identification during installation.

Customers may install the linings or have Abresist Corporation technicians install the materials. Technicians are also available to supervise the installation by the customer or his contractor to ensure the products will perform as intended.

Abrasives and Abrasive Materials

2007-01-03T23:57:00.000-08:00

Abrasives are those materials used in operations such as grinding, polishing, lapping, honing, pressure blasting or other similar process. Abrasives come in different particle or grit sizes depending on how much material needs to be removed.

Materials used for abrasives are generally characterised by high hardness, and moderate to high fracture toughness.
How They Work

Each hard abrasive particle acts like a single point cutting tool. With hundreds if not thousands available in a small area, the effect they produce is quite significant.

Coarser grades/grits of abrasive are used where high volumes of material need to be removed, such as in coarse polishing, large scratch removal or operations requiring significant shape or dimensional change. Finer grades are generally used after coarser grades to produce a higher surface finish than are possible with coarse grades.
Materials Used for Abrasives

Some materials that are used as abrasives include:

· Silicon carbide, generally used for non-ferrous metals

· Aluminium oxide or alumina, the most widely used abrasive, generally used for ferrous alloys, high tensile materials and wood.

· Diamond, most often used in ceramic grinding or final polishing due to high hardness and cost

· Cubic boron nitride (CBN)

· Garnet, usually used for machining of wood.

· Zirconia/Alumina alloys, suited to carbon and stainless steels and welds

· Glass, usually used for pressure blasting operations.

· Colloidal silica, generally used for finishing operations as it is only available as a suspension of extremely fine particles.
Abrasive Sizes

The following table is a guide to the coarseness of various abrasive grit sizes.

Grit Size

Relative Coarseness

8-24

Coarse

30-60

Medium

70-180

Fine

220-1200

Very Fine
Types of Abrasives
Bonded Abrasives

These consist of abrasive grits that have been mixed with binders and formed in useful shapes, most often by pressing. They are fired to high temperatures to induce bonding via materials that forms a glassy matrix, hence the name vitrified bonded abrasives. Common shapes include wheels, cylinders, blocks and cones.
Coated Abrasives

Coated abrasives are those which are made up of abrasive grits bonded to flexible substrates such as paper, cloth, fibre or film. Bonding is via resins, glues of combinations of the two. Examples include belts, sheets and flap disks.
Non-Woven Nylon Abrasives

Random 3-dimensional networks of open weave nylon materials coated with abrasive. Versatile items that are suited to many applications, coming in forms such as pads, wheels and brushes.

Abrasive Slag Managed With Basalt Lined Pipe - Supplier Data By Abresist

2007-01-02T23:57:00.000-08:00

Blue Circle’s Sparrows Point, MD. plant has been using a basalt-lined pipe for handling abrasive blast furnace slag for 17 years without needing to replace it.
Basalt Lined Pipe Key to Problem Solving

Granulated blast furnace slag is extremely abrasive. Moving the granulated slag slurry wears pipes and elbows, resulting in downtime and higher maintenance costs. Blue Circle Cement’s Sparrows Point, MD. facility is well aware of the problems that moving this abrasive material can cause. The company produces about 850,000 tons of slag cement annually.

A water granulating/grinding operation that turns slag left over from the production of iron into slag cement, the Blue Circle plant is the first and oldest of its kind to be built in the United States. It is the largest producer of the granulated blast furnace slag in one location in the country, producing 2,850 tpd of slag cement.
NewCem Slag Cement

The slag cement produced by Blue Circle is called NewCem. Used as a Portland Cement additive, NewCem can replace as much as 70% of Portland cement in concrete mixes. The proportion is based on the specific job requirement, and the conditions and desired characteristics of the concrete. NewCem provides specific concrete properties such as improved workability; permeability; resistance to sulfates and chlorides; and resistance to alkali-silica reaction.

It has a greater strength potential and produces a lighter color product, say its makers. Used in numerous general construction applications, NewCem is preferred by many engineers and concrete suppliers who produce high-performance concrete. The product meets ASTM 0-989, Grade 120, and AASHTO M-302 standard specifications of ground granulated blast-furnace slag for use in concrete and mortars. In the last decade, NewCem has been used in an estimated 40 million cu yd of concrete.

The slag cement production plant at Sparrows Point was designed specifically to handle slag produced by Bethlehem Steel’s huge “L” blast furnace and went online in March 1981. One of the largest producing blast furnaces in the western hemisphere, the “L” furnace produces about 8,000 tpd of iron. The furnace runs continuously 365 days a year. To keep pace with the furnace. Blue Circle also runs 24 hours a day, three shifts a day. The Blue Circle plant and the steel mill plant are located near each other on the Chesapeake Bay.

Prior to the construction of the Sparrows Point plant, some of the slag produced by the steel mill was used as a fill material, but the majority of the slag was considered unusable waste material. Today, using the water granulation system Blue Circle consistently converts all of the “L” furnace slag into the high quality slag that is used to make cement.

Abrasive Corn Pipelines Lined With ABRESIST Abrasion-Resistant Cast-Basalt - Supplier Data By Abresist

2007-01-01T23:56:00.000-08:00

One of Abresist’s customers processes 35,000 bushels of corn per day while producing corn syrup and starches. The company was stopping production three or four times a day due to clogging in the steel pipeline. Additionally, the corn's abrasiveness was eroding the pipes. Fine dust from the ground corn was also leaking through the pipes and creating safety hazards and housekeeping problems.
Unplanned Maintenance

To address the problem, the company began replacing elbows in steel piping as often as every four to five months. The solution proved to be both uneconomical and time consuming. When a pipe blew, production stopped.

The unplanned maintenance was a problem. The company uses different sizes of piping and duct work and had to plan specifically for replacement and downtime repair to ensure they had the right material on-site. Otherwise, they had to patch with whatever materials were on-hand.
Corn Pipes Lined With ABRESIST Linings

The company began installing ABRESIST® abrasion-resistant cast-basalt lining in the existing pipelines to stop the erosion and corrosion process. Since the installation, no erosion or clogging of the new piping has occurred. The plant is much cleaner and without pipeline leakage, housekeeping problems are drastically reduced. The potentially dangerous accumulation of leaking dust has also been minimized and downtime almost eliminated.
Hopper And Cyclone Linings

The company has since installed ABRESIST® linings in hoppers, cyclone receivers within the hoppers and in feed mixers where dry and wet material are combined.
Diatomaceous Earth Dry Animal Feed Supplement

Another of our customers conveys a dry animal feed supplement, protein enriched diatomaceous earth. This company had recurring problems with the frequent repair and replacement of air separator cyclones. Five cyclones each measuring (6 ft diameter, 15 ft high) are used in drying the product. Conveyed at high velocities the dry feed is extremely abrasive, wearing holes through the 9/16" thick steel walls of the cyclone.

The worn areas needed frequent repair. Maintenance welded stainless steel patches on, but even these were damaged by the abrasive feed particles. The patched areas sometimes lasted for less that a year, but after four to five years the entire unit had to be replaced. Replacement of the cyclones was time consuming and costly. Some type of protective liner was needed.One of Abresist’s customers processes 35,000 bushels of corn per day while producing corn syrup and starches. The company was stopping production three or four times a day due to clogging in the steel pipeline. Additionally, the corn's abrasiveness was eroding the pipes. Fine dust from the ground corn was also leaking through the pipes and creating safety hazards and housekeeping problems.
Unplanned Maintenance

To address the problem, the company began replacing elbows in steel piping as often as every four to five months. The solution proved to be both uneconomical and time consuming. When a pipe blew, production stopped.

The unplanned maintenance was a problem. The company uses different sizes of piping and duct work and had to plan specifically for replacement and downtime repair to ensure they had the right material on-site. Otherwise, they had to patch with whatever materials were on-hand.
Corn Pipes Lined With ABRESIST Linings

The company began installing ABRESIST® abrasion-resistant cast-basalt lining in the existing pipelines to stop the erosion and corrosion process. Since the installation, no erosion or clogging of the new piping has occurred. The plant is much cleaner and without pipeline leakage, housekeeping problems are drastically reduced. The potentially dangerous accumulation of leaking dust has also been minimized and downtime almost eliminated.
Hopper And Cyclone Linings

The company has since installed ABRESIST® linings in hoppers, cyclone receivers within the hoppers and in feed mixers where dry and wet material are combined.
Diatomaceous Earth Dry Animal Feed Supplement

Another of our customers conveys a dry animal feed supplement, protein enriched diatomaceous earth. This company had recurring problems with the frequent repair and replacement of air separator cyclones. Five cyclones each measuring (6 ft diameter, 15 ft high) are used in drying the product. Conveyed at high velocities the dry feed is extremely abrasive, wearing holes through the 9/16" thick steel walls of the cyclone.

The worn areas needed frequent repair. Maintenance welded stainless steel patches on, but even these were damaged by the abrasive feed particles. The patched areas sometimes lasted for less that a year, but after four to five years the entire unit had to be replaced. Replacement of the cyclones was time consuming and costly. Some type of protective liner was needed.

Aberration Correction in Electron Microscopy – Enabling the Imaging of Oxygen Atoms in Perovskite Structures

2006-12-31T23:56:00.000-08:00

Scientists at the Research Centre Julich in Germany have made individual oxygen atoms in perovskite materials directly visible using an electron microscope. Their success relies upon the development of a technique to correct the unavoidable aberrations in the microscope. In commercial instruments, these aberrations inevitably lead to blurred images - consequently no individual oxygen atoms can be recognised. The Julich scientists’ findings have been published in a recent issue of Science (7 February 2003).
Pervskite Materials and Their Applications

Ceramic materials based on oxides with a perovskite structure, that is a ratio of three oxygen atoms to every two metal atoms, such as barium and strontium titanate, play a major role in modern electronics. Their application is already widespread, for example, as chips in phonecards or paycards. Perovskites are also the base material for high-temperature superconductors, and will be needed in future microelectronics where they will be used in ultra thin films. One of the most important problems that needs to be overcome before perovskite materials can be used in this manner is to ensure the correct adjustment of the oxygen content of these oxides. This then has to be maintained through the large number of process steps in microelectronic device fabrication. ‘The oxygen content critically determines the electrical properties of the perovskite oxides,’ says Professor Knut Urban from the Julich institute of Solid State Research in Germany. ‘Since even the absence of a few oxygen atoms in the electrically active zones of the thin films would seriously impair their function, they must be fabricated with almost atomic precision.’
Transmission Electron Microscopy and Its Limitations

In principle, transmission electron microscopy can be used to check if this atomic precision has actually been achieved. Consequently, researchers have been attempting to make the oxygen atoms in perovskite materials directly visible since the end of the 1980s so far without success. The basic principle of electron microscopy is quite simple - an electron beam penetrates a thin specimen. The outgoing electrons are guided by an electromagnetic lens system, which combines them into a greatly magnified image. However, for various reasons, particularly at high magnifications, you get distorted images and it is impossible to recognise individual oxygen atoms.

Ab Initio Thermodynamics of Oxide Phase Stability – Supplier Data By Accelrys

2006-12-30T23:55:00.000-08:00

The stability of metals and metal oxides at elevated temperatures is a crucial problem in many industries such as aerospace, power generation, metallurgical processing, chemical engineering, automotive, petrochemicals, and catalysis. Will a catalyst remain stable at elevated temperature or revert to an inactive form? Might formation of a non-protecting oxide film cause loss of strength in a supersonic aircraft?
Ellingham Diagrams

To address these questions, scientists at Accelrys employed a combination of tools (classical thermodynamics & ab initio quantum mechanics) to compute Ellingham diagrams, plots of the standard free energy of reaction (∆G°) vs. temperature. The stability of materials at high temperatures has been traditionally investigated in metallurgy and materials engineering using such plots. Ellingham diagrams provide a simple and rapid means to determine the threshold temperature and oxygen pressure required for oxide formation. Formation of oxides is the most common reaction in high temperature corrosive environments, and therefore has a direct relevance to the industries mentioned above.
Oxidation Of Corundum Type Oxides

The study focussed on the oxidation of corundum-type oxides (M2O3) into rutile-type structures (MO2), where M=Rh and Ru. These metals were considered because of their relevance in industrial catalytic processes. Both, Rh and Ru oxides occur naturally in the rutile structure. However, whereas rutile-type RuO2 has proved to be the preferred phase over a wide range of temperatures and pressures, its rhodium isomorph (RhO2) transforms into the corundum form (alpha-Rh2O3) at 750 °C under ambient oxygen pressure. This is a known component in the poisoning of three-way emission catalysts. The corundum form of ruthenium oxide (Ru2O3), in contrast, has never been observed. Why the difference?
Phase Predictions

The present results combining CASTEP density functional calculations with classical thermodynamics techniques predict that a Ru2O3 phase cannot be observed due to the high stability of RuO2 with respect to reactions due to both Ru and ambient oxygen. In contrast, the ambient oxygen pressure at which alpha-Rh2O3 decomposes into RhO2 was found to increase with temperature consistently with experimental findings.

A Schiff Base Nickel Complex. A New Material as Modifier for Selective Electrodes

2006-12-29T23:54:00.000-08:00

Our interest in Environmental Chemistry has prompted us to design new materials containing polyfunctional units able to bind certain metallic ions. These materials can be used as modifying agents to produce chemically modified electrodes. We expect to facilitate the detection of organic pollutants in water by binding these materials to an electrode surface. We report a Ni(II) and Co(II) complexes prepared from the Schiff base macroligand N,N´-bis(2-nitrobenzyl)ethylendiimine (L1) with Ni(II) salt and L1 with Co(II) salt. The nature of the complex was established by common spectroscopic techniques. A thermal gravimetric analysis of the complex showed that it is thermodynamically stable. Its formation constant was obtained by conductimetric analysis (Kf = 1.25x106). The affinity of L towards Ni(II) and Co(II) was determined by atomic absorption. The electrochemical study of the complex [Ni(II)-L1]SO4 was also performed by the cyclic voltammetry technique. The results showed that, under certain conditions, this complex is capable of polymerizing on the electrode surfaces made of vitreous carbon and indium tin oxide. The chemical modification on the surface was probed by exploring the cyclic voltammograms, which showed oxidation and reduction peaks that are characteristic of the Ni(II)/Ni(III) pair. The sensing capability towards 2,4-dichlorophenol of these modified electrodes is currently under study.
Keywords

Schiff base Ni(II) complex, electrodes, modifiers
Introduction

There has been a considerable effort in recent years towards the preparation of new materials containing polyfunctional units (ligands) able to bind metallic ions. The Schiff base macroligands [1-6] are synthesized from the reaction of dialdehydes and amino compounds. Given that these materials form stable complexes, they provide the opportunity to design new systems selective to specific metallic ions. These materials could be applied in different areas such as electrochemistry, bioinorganic, catalysis, metallic deactivators, separation processes and environmental chemistry among others [7-9].

New Schiff base [2, 4, 10-11] macroligands have been synthesized to study their selectivity towards complexation of different metallic ions. These newly synthesized compounds are also used as precursors for the formation of other acyclic and cyclic ligands.

Complexes of Schiff base ligands with structural similarities to phtalocyanines (N4-macrocycles) [7, 12-14], and other related compounds [15-20], are currently used as modifiers of the active surface of electrodes to improve their catalytic activity in the selective detection of organic pollutants [15, 21-24] and the entrainment of metals. Along the same line, our interest is to evaluate the capability of N,N’-bis(2-nitrobenzyl)ethylendiimine L1 (Figure 1), to bind diverse metallic ions such as Ni(II) and Co(II), and carry out selectivity studies. These complexes are later studied to test their potential in the development of chemically modified electrodes for use in pollutant detection.

A New Production Method of Submicron Alumina Powders

2006-12-28T23:53:00.000-08:00

This paper describes a method for producing submicron high-purity alumina. In this method amorphous basic aluminum sulfate (BAS) was prepared by homogeneous precipitation of aluminum bisulfite solution containing chitosan. This cationic polymeric compound was used as an electrosteric dispersant. Submicron BAS was derived from an aluminum bisulfite solution (0.4 M in aluminum). The BAS powder was transformed into crystalline basic ammonium aluminum carbonate (ammonium dawsonite) by treating BAS with 1 M ammonium carbonate solution at 60°C for 4 h. Alpha alumina with mean particle size of 0.42 μm was obtained by heating ammonium dawsonite at 1150°C for 1 h.
Keywords

Submicron α-Alumina Powder, New Production Method, Ammonium Dawsonite, Chitosan
Introduction

Alumina generally is one of the chemically purest ceramic powders commercially available with submicron particle size. Submicron BAS has been proposed as alpha alumina precursor because of its purity and spherical morphology [1]. Submicron BAS has been prepared by homogeneous precipitation of aluminum sulfate with urea a precipitating agent [2-4]. In another method, formamide was used to precipitate BAS at a lower pH than urea in order to obtain high purity BAS [5]. Enzymatic decomposition of urea at low temperature has been recently proposed to obtain BAS with monodispersed spherical particles [6].

Submicron alpha alumina has been prepared by heating BAS in the range 1050°C to 1300°C. When BAS was heated up to 1300°C, it decomposed evolving sulfur trioxide to the atmosphere. Furthermore, undesirable hard agglomerates were formed due to the high calcination temperature [7].

The purity of alpha alumina obtained from BAS depended on the chemical purity of the precursor aluminum salt and precipitating agents, in addition to the conditions of the precipitation process. Blendell et al. [5] obtained high purity alumina containing only sodium, iron and gallium above 10 μg/g on a cation basis. In this case, a high sodium level was present in the starting material, aluminum sulfate, and was not separated by precipitation. On the other hand, a high purity alumina was obtained by using a high-purity form of recrystallized aluminum salts (sulfates, chlorides, nitrates). When a pure recrystallized ammonium alum was calcined, a 99.99% pure, fine crystalline alumina was obtained [8]. Therefore, high purity alpha alumina can be obtained by using high purity ammonium aluminum sulfate as BAS precursor, instead of aluminum sulfate.

In this work, ammonium aluminum sulfate is used as a precursor of BAS and biopolymer “chitosan” is used as electrosteric dispersant in the precipitation process to prevent BAS agglomeration. Furthermore, BAS is transformed into crystalline basic ammonium aluminum carbonate (ammonium dawsonite) in order to eliminate the sulfate and to avoid the formation of hard agglomerates, caused by heating the precursor at high temperature. Ammonium dawsonite is obtained by treating SBA with aqueous ammonium carbonate at 60°C. The compound is characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.
Experimental Procedure

The BAS used in this work was prepared by precipitation in homogeneous solution by heating an aqueous solution of aluminum bisulfite (0.4 M in aluminum) and chitosan (1.0 wt%). The aluminum bisulfite solution was prepared by dissolving previously precipitated basic aluminum sulfate with sulfur dioxide in aqueous media. All chemicals used in this study were reagent-grade products from J. T. Baker. The ammonium carbonate (AC) solution was prepared by mixing appropriate amounts of ammonium bicarbonate and ammonium hydroxide so that the final concentration of both reactants in solution was 1.005 M.

The formation of crystalline basic ammonium aluminum carbonate was studied by mixing BAS with varying amounts of ammonium carbonate solution, and heating the samples at 60°C for 6 h, in a water bath. The solids were separated from the supernatant liquid via vacuum filtration. Then, the solids were dried at 70°C for 24 h prior to analysis by FTIR spectroscopy.

The crystallization rate of ammonium dawsonite was determined by pouring 1.5 g of BAS and 14 ml AC solution in an Erlenmeyer flask. The suspension was heated in a water bath at 60°C, for 1, 2, and 3 h. The solids were separated from the supernatant liquid via vacuum filtration and dried at 60°C for 24 h before analysis by FTIR spectroscopy.

The phase transformation sequence during ammonium dawsonite calcination was determined. One gram of sample powder was put in platinum crucibles and was heated at different temperatures, for 30 min. The crystalline phases of alumina in the calcined samples were determined by FTIR spectroscopy and XRD.

Alpha alumina was prepared by heating ammonium dawsonite at 1150°C, for 60 min. The powder was attrition milled for 2 h, before particle size analysis.

The solids were characterized by XRD (Model D-500, Siemens, Germany) using Ni-filtered CuKa radiation. Infrared analysis was performed using KBr pellets and the samples were run on a FTIR spectrometer (Model 1600 series FTIR, Perkin Elmer, Norwalk, Connecticut, USA). The median particle size and the particle size distribution of the powder were determined by particle size analyzer (Model LA-300, Horiba, Irvine, California, USA).

A Helical Aggregation Derived from a Conjugated Polymer with a Cylinder-Like Conformation

2006-12-27T23:52:00.000-08:00

The formation of a cylinder-like helical conformation induced by chloroform was observed from a conjugated polymer, which was prepared by Knoevenagel condensation using N-octyl-3, 6-diformylcarbazole and p-phenylene diacetonitrile as the monomers. The helical conformation by solvent induction was further proved by the measurements of CD spectrum and specific rotatory power. Additionally, a helical aggregation of the conjugated polymer was obtained by volatilizing the solvent in the polymer solution and observed by polarized optical microscopy. The helical aggregation took the form of a right-handed helix. Computer simulation revealed that the polymer could form into a hollow tubular nanostructure with a cavity less than 1.5 nm in diameter by folding of its strand.
Keywords

conjugated polymer, helical conformation, helical aggregation, solvent-induction, tubular nanostructure
Introduction

In the past two decades, conjugated polymers have successively been used as organic conducting materials, light-emitting diodes (LEDs)[1], photovoltaic cells (PVs)[2, 3], solid-state laser materials[4] and biosensors[5]. It is currently noticeable that helical conjugated polymers have been applied to second-order nonlinear optics[6, 7], circularly polarized luminescence[8, 9] and organic nanotube[10, 11], which may be used for optical information processing, display and data storage. In addition, nano polymer materials with a cylinder-like helical architecture at the molecular scale have been prepared by solvophobically driven folding[12], intramolecular cross-linking of helical folds[11], etc. Therefore, macromolecular design related to helical architecture is an interesting subject, especially for helical conjugated polymers. On the other hand, helical macromolecules are indispensable in biological systems such as proteins. Consequently, research on helical conjugated polymers is propitious not only to capacity improvement of optical information storage for artificial polymers but also to a better understanding on the stereochemistry of biological polymers.

Helical architecture is the necessory factor to result in chiroptical property[13], such as helicenes and atropisomers. Generally, the helical architecture of synthetic polymers is shaped through the introduction of a chiral substituent into the polymeric chain[14-17], direct synthesis using a chiral catalysis[18, 19], synthesis in a chiral field[13], or chiral molecular induction through supramolecular effect,[20, 21] etc. However, the achievement of helical architecture is rarely reported directly from the folding of a synthetic polymer[12]. According to Moore’s “shape-persistent” approach to nanoscale architectures[22], the formation of a helical conformation can result from a geometrical condition in the polymeric main chain, such as the introduction of a turn unit like m-phenylene[12] or 2, 5-thiophene[23], and an external condition, such as an appropriate solvent,[12] to stabilize the helical conformation by folding of the linear synthetic polymer under solvophobically-driven packing. In other words, the helical conformation is formed and stabilized by spontaneous folding of a linear molecular strand under a certain driving force and a proper external condition when there is a turn angle in the polymeric main chain. This kind of synthetic linear molecular strand, which can be folded into a compact and defined molecular shape, is termed a “foldamer” [24, 25].

On the basis of the understanding of Moore’s “shape-persistent” approach to nanoscale architectures, we previously reported a conjugated polymer, which was folded into a helical conformation by solvent induction, employing McMurry condensation polymerization using the alkylcarbazolyl group as a turn angle (approximately 60o, an optimal bond angle)[26]. The helical conformation formed by solvent induction was further proved by the measurements of CD spectrum, specific rotatory power and FL spectrum. However, the mechanism of McMurry condensation reaction, consisting of coupling and elimination reactions, made it difficult to obtain a polymer with a regular molecular structure, in which the alkylcarbazolyl and the vinylene units were strictly alternated in the polymer main chain. Therefore, a helical aggregation is difficult to observe from the polymer. In order to obtain a polymer having regular molecular structure, we herein reported a conjugated polymer employing Knoevenagel condensation reaction. As the monomers, N-octyl-3, 6-diformylcarbazole and p-phenylene diacetonitrile, were used and the alkylcarbazolyl group functioned as a turn angle; this polymer could be expected to form a helical conformation induced by solvent. Computer simulation suggested that the polymer folded a cylinder-like conformation with a cavity about 1.6 nm in diameter. In addition, helical aggregation was acquired by volatilizing the solvent in the solution of the synthesized conjugated polymer and was observed by polarized optical microscopy.

Shape Memory Alloys – Medical Applications

2006-12-26T01:25:00.000-08:00

The exciting field of smart materials is expanding rapidly, with one of the most interesting areas being that of shape memory alloys. A shape memory alloy (SMA) can undergo substantial plastic deformation, and then be triggered into returning to its original shape by the application of heat. These properties have led to a proliferation of diverse applications in a variety of industries, see table 2.

From early applications such as greenhouse window openers in which an SMA actuator provided temperature-dependent ventilation, through to plastic-coated mobile phone antennas made from a super-elastic SMA capable of recovering its shape even after an extreme deformation such as dropping the phone, the list of applications has increased enormously throughout the 1990s. Medical applications of SMAs, using their superelastic and shape recovery properties, are particularly interesting and beneficial, and are growing rapidly.
History

Surprisingly for materials with so many applications, shape memory alloys have not been around a long time. A key discovery occurred in 1962, when a binary alloy composed of equi-atomic nickel and titanium was found to exhibit a shape recovery effect when heated after being mechanically deformed. Although other reversible phase change materials were known at the time, the Ni-Ti alloys showed a large recoverable strain value when compared to other binary, ternary or quaternary shape memory alloy systems.

The physical performance of the Ni-Ti alloy made it a landmark discovery, and the range of commercially viable applications that have been found for the materials is proof of the importance of the nickel-titanium shape memory alloys. But the discovery may have been a happy accident. Rumour has it that William Buehler, who was working with high nickel-bearing alloys for gas turbine components, left a small ingot of Ni-Ti alloy made in a vacuum melt furnace on a desk in direct sunlight. When Buehler and his colleagues came back from lunch, they noticed the ingot’s shape had changed. Now known as Nitinol (derived from Ni-Ti Naval Ordinance Laboratories, part of the US Department of Defence), the name has become one of the commonly used titles for the SMAs emanating from Buehler's laboratory.

Silver / Palladium ( Ag / Pd ) Alloys – Properties and Applications

2006-12-25T01:27:00.000-08:00

The addition of palladium to silver increases its resistance to tarnishing or the formation of silver sulphide. However, they are not considered tarnish resistant until the composition reaches 60% Palladium/40% Silver.
Key Properties

The addition of palladium to silver:

· Increases its hardness

· Increases its melting point or creates a more refractory alloy

· Increases its nobility and resistance to tarnishing
Applications

Silver/palladium alloys developed by Heraeus in 1931 have been used for dentistry in applications such as bridges and crowns.

Silver/palladium alloys are also used in conductive films and pastes, as well as to make multilayer capacitors.

They are also used in AC and DC low current electronic applications, often as contacts. This is because they are ductile and can easily be made into the required shape. However, their use is somewhat restricted due to their high cost.

Rhodium – Discovery, Occurrence, Production, Properties and Applications of Rhodium

2006-12-24T01:24:00.000-08:00

Rhodium belongs to the platinum group metals. It is a silvery-white metal that is hard and durable that exhibits high reflectance.

When compared to platinum is has a lower density and a high melting point
Discovery

The discovery of rhodium has been attributed to William Hyde Wollaston who discovered it in England in 1803. He successfully isolated it from a crude ore shortly after having discovered palladium.

The name rhodium is derived from the Russian word “rhodon” which means rose.
Occurrence

Rhodium is found in its elemental form in North America. It is also found in association with nickel and copper in Canada and South Africa. The latter is the largest exporter of Rhodium.
Production

The production of rhodium is quite involved as it is usually found in ores along with metals such as platinum and palladium. Separation from such ores is quite complex. For this reason, rhodium is often produced as a by-product of other metals extraction, when its production becomes more economical.

Ores are treated to remove precious metals such as gold, silver, palladium and platinum. The resultant residue is melted using NaHSO4 and then treated to extract Rh2(SO4)3. Rhodium hydroxide is them precipitated out using sodium hydroxide. This is redissolved using hydrochloric acid to produce H3RhCl6. This is them treated with NaNO2 and NH4Cl which produces (NH4)3[Rh(NO2)6]. The precipitate is then dissolved in hydrochloric acid to produce pure (NH4)3RhCl6. This materials is then heated in a hydrogen atmosphere to yield rhodium metal.
Key Properties

· Rhodium is hard and durable

· It is silvery-white in appearance

· It has a high reflectivity

PVD Materials – Materials Available for Physical Vapour Deposition ( PVD ) from Williams Advanced Materials

2006-12-22T01:23:00.000-08:00

Williams Advanced Materials provides materials in a variety of shapes and forms including Slugs, Starter charges, Crucibles, Targets - all configurations. Wire, Clips, Rod, Splatter, Random Shot, Tube

Other related services include:

· State-of-the-art Bonding Centers located worldwide.

· Refining and recycling of precious metal scrap.

· Complete metallurgical, chemical and functional test lab. Receiving
PVD Materials

Williams Advanced Materials provide a vast range of materials for the production on thin films via physical vapour deposition (PVD). These materials can be broadly classed into the following categories:

· Pure Metals

· Precious Alloys

· Alloys & Cermets

· Borides

· Carbides

· Fluorides

· Nitrides

· Silicides

· Oxides

· Others
Pure Metals

Pure metals PVD materials supplied by Williams Advanced Materials include:

· Aluminum, Al

· Antimony, Sb

· Beryllium, Be

· Bismuth, Bi

· Boron, B

· Cadmium, Cd

· Calcium, Ca

· Carbon, C

· Cerium, Ce

· Chromium, Cr

· Cobalt, Co

· Copper, Cu

· Erbium, Er

· Gadolinium, Gd

· Gallium, Ga

· Germanium, Ge

· Gold, Au

· Hafnium, Hf

· Indium, In

· Iridium, Ir

· Iron, Fe

· Lanthanum, La

· Lead, Pb

· Magnesium, Mg

· Manganese, Mn

· Molybdenum, Mo

· Neodymium, Nd

· Nickel, Ni

· Niobium, Nb

· Osmium, Os

· Palladium, Pd

· Platinum, Pt

· Praseodymium, Pr

· Rhenium, Re

· Rhodium, Rh

· Ruthenium, Ru

· Samarium, Sm

· Selenium, Se

· Silicon, Si

· Silver, Ag

· Tantalum, Ta

· Tellurium, Te

· Terbium, Tb

· Tin, Sn

· Titanium, Ti

· Tungsten, W

· Vanadium, V

· Ytterbium, Yb

· Yttrium, Y

· Zinc, Zn

· Zirconium, Zr

Purifying Industrial Exhaust Gases Using A New Highly Durable and Functional Ultra Porous Platinum-Alumina Catalyst Manufactured Via A Low Temperature

2006-12-21T01:22:00.000-08:00

A novel platinum-alumina catalyst that allows removal by oxidation of harmful volatile organic compounds present in factory exhaust gases has been developed.

· The reaction temperature is 100 ºC lower than current reaction temperatures.

· The thermal resistance of the catalyst is approximately 200 ºC higher and there is no deterioration at high temperature.
Synopsis

Toshihiko Osaki, Senior Researcher, of the Meso-Porous Ceramics Group (Koji Tajiri, Group Leader) of the Materials Research Institute for Sustainable Development (Mamoru Nakamura, Director) and the Advanced Sintering Technologies Group (Koji Watari, Group Leader) of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute (Hideto Mitome, Director), both from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST, Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, Director), together with NGK Insulators Ltd. (Shun Matsushita, President), have succeeded in developing a highly porous platinum-alumina catalyst for use in industrial exhaust gas purificators (Figure 1) with the characteristic of high temperature resistance coupled with a high efficiency.

The reaction temperature of this catalyst is 100 ºC lower than the reaction temperatures of the catalysts currently in use, and the thermal resistance has been improved to approximately 200 ºC. The characteristics of this catalyst, together with the use of low cost aluminum hydroxide as the starting material, and the implementation of a low cost and simple process such as freeze-drying, will lead to the spread of its applications.