Mining

The deadline for submitting abstracts to Mine Closure 2011 has been extended to February 15. Erosion control and closure/capping systems will be among the key concepts discussed. Geosynthetica encourages its readers to submit. The 6th International Mine Closure Conference (MC 2011) will be held 18-21 September 2011 in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. This conference is a not-for-profit conference and is presented annually in various parts of the world by the Australian Centre for Geomechanics (ACG) and the Centre for Land Rehabilitation (CLR). Learn more here.;

IC Potash Corp. has announced the commencement of the Ochoa Project Sulphate of Potash Pre-feasibility Study. Through this study and concurrent environmental work, the Company will establish the engineering basisfor the Ochoa Project for mining, processing, and SOP marketing. Advanced Terra Testing of Colorado is involved in the physical test data.

In conjunction to the next TC28 International Symposium that will be held in Roma (Italy) from 16 to 18 May 2011, a technical exhibition will be organized in the same area (Roma Eventi - Fontana di Trevi Congress Centre). This will offer a unique opportunity for leading professionals to get together, exchange information and ideas, and learn about new products, innovative technologies, construction methods and design procedures. For more information on sponsorship opportunities for the 7th International Symposium on Geotechnical Aspects of Underground Construction in Soft Ground, visit the conference website. Learn more here.;

Honeywell's uranium conversion plant in Metropolis, Illinois is going through some difficult labor disputes, but those may pale in comparison to local challenges to the company's plan to close and seal four settling ponds. The company plans to seal the waste in a specialized concrete mixture, then cap with additional fill, a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL), a geomembrane, a surface drainage system, and a protective soil cover. Local residents fear it is not enough. Learn more here.;

Geosynthetic welcomes its newest underwriter, Brockton Equipment / Spilldam Inc. The company manufactures a wide range of oil containment booms and turbidity barriers for various applications in the marine environment, technologies which provide essential environmental protection for construction, mining, remediation, dewatering operations and many other applications. Learn more on Brockton's website. Learn more here.;

Geo-Frontiers 2011 brings together the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Geo-Institute (GI) and the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI). It will be held 13-16 March 2011 in Dallas, Texas. Among the many short courses being held, ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics will present one on test methods and specifications (March 13, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm). Up to 7 professional development hours (PDHs) are available. Learn about this event and others. Learn more here.;

The 6th International Mine Closure Conference (MC 2011) will be held 18-21 September 2011 in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. This conference is a not-for-profit conference and is presented annually in various parts of the world by the Australian Centre for Geomechanics (ACG) and the Centre for Land Rehabilitation (CLR). Erosion control and closure/capping systems will be among the key concepts discussed. Abstracts are accepted through 1 February 2011.

The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute's (FGI) next "Constructing with Fabricated Geomembranes & Emerging Trends" short course will be held 11 March 2011 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Up to 7 PDHs are available, and government employees may attend the event for free. The full-day short course includes presentations from industry professionals on design, specification, testing, manufacturing, fabrication, installation, inspection, and field testing of different types of fabricated geomembranes for a variety of applications. A flyer has been released. Read it here (PDF).

Northwest Linings and Geotextile Products, Inc., a growing construction products distributor located in Kent, Washington seeks an outside sales person to prospect local northwestern territory calling on contractors, owners, and engineers. Five years geosynthetics experience selling to the construction industry is desired. Education: BA preferred, Associates minimum. Learn more about this and other opportunities on Geosynthetica's Employment Page.

Western Environmental Liner, an online supplier of custom fabricated pond liners, PVC liners, pit liners, field liners, canal liners and polypropylene liners,has been recommending reinforced products over un-reinforced products for most common applications. Their reinforced polyethylene also known as the Aqua seriesconsists of a very strong high density polyethylene scrim coated with a low density polyethylene coating. Western Environmental Liner's Aqua series consists of the best woven coated reinforced polyethylene available in the market today. The Aqua series has excellent tear and good u.v. resistance, excellent for long term applications. These products often make for a perfect pond liner.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is concerned over too little regulation and oversight in some mining operations in the state. One uranium mine that was inspected recently as cited for numerous problems, including a number of pour patches on a geomembrane and an unchecked pipe penetrating one of the pond liners. Learn more here.;

Testimonials from the people using a company's products and services are often one of the strongest ways to highlight the value and strengths in that company's offerings. Bill Johnson, a field technical engineer with Firestone Specialty Products, has shared a comment on Demtech Services Inc., a maker of welding equipment and other materials used in the installation of geosynthetics, such as the geomembranes produced by Firestone. Addressing Demtech's "Demo Dave" McLaury, Johnson commented: "Demtech equipment is innovative and your energy is infectious. Those of us who benefit from your continual strides forward appreciate all you do for our industry." Learn more here.;

South Dakota-based Raven Industries is renowned producer of geomembranes for a variety of civil engineering applications. The company is involved in a great many more product markets too, such as agricultural and construction films. The January 2011 issue of Applied Market Information's magazine Film and Sheet Extrusion has recognized Raven's capabilities by naming the company "Extruder of the Month." Find it on page 42 of the digital issue. Learn more here.;

British Columbia's Tsolum River has been plagued by poor water quality for decades, in part due to the old copper mining activity. The site is now improving. In 2003, a wetland was added to the flow from the old mine site on Mount Washington. In 2009, a geomembrane seal was installed to cover the entire volatile site and again, immediate water quality improvement was observed. In 2010, soil and till were added. The site has shown steady improvement throughout this process. Learn more here.;

Northwest Linings and Geotextile Products, Inc. seeks a Project Manager for Kent, WA location. Candidate must have a 4-year degree, 3 years of geosynthetics construction management experience, and an earthworks background including the reading of blue prints, specifications, and submittal processing. Learn more.

An area of Anglesey's Parys Mountain (Northwest Wales, United Kingdom) has been made safe after arsenic contamination in the soils has been contained. The site once house copper works, and the pollution legacy it left behind has been remediated and capped by geomembrane. The BBC reports. Learn more here.;

Wayne Farrow, Vice President Geosynthetic Operations for Atlantic Lining Co., Inc. (ALCO), has announced that the company has moved fully into its new offices at 2206 Saylors Pond Road, Jobstown, NJ 08041. Phone: +1 609 723 2400 ext. 304. Fax: +1 609 723 2700. Learn more about ALCO's work at www.atlanticlining.com. Learn more here.;

Geomembrane barriers are essential to many applications and industries, but they do not perform as designed unless their highly-engineered panels are properly welded. Welding requires care and precision, and the longer it takes to secure a barrier, the more expensive the installation becomes. Demtech's latest wedge welder, the Pro-Wedge 3XL, is the most advanced wedge welder on the market, combining exceptional safety and accuracy with what is by far the fastest welding speed available. With its longer wedge and greater heating power, it is 3 times faster, even for the most challenging geomembrane installations. Read more.

When gas gets under a geomembrane, operations-impairing bubbles can form. A number of reasons may be responsible, such as installation damage, poor seaming, or a lack of appropriate construction quality assurance (CQA) measures like liner integrity surveys. These bubbles are commonly referred to as "whales," and they can impact wastewater facilities, manure lagoons, ponds and other lined installations. As this photo demonstrates, even 6 in. (150 mm) thick concrete slabs are insufficient ballast to prevent whales due to trapped air and rising groundwater under a geomembrane liner. Read more.

Last month, the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) and National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) convened the 1st GSI-Asia Geosynthetics Conference. The conference was held in Taichung, Taiwan with the theme "Geosynthetics in Infrastructure." Primary topics included Mechanical Stabilized Earth Structures, Coastal and Hydraulic Engineering, Erosion Control and Sustainable Engineering, and Transportation and Pavement Engineering. Learn more here.;

State regulators have ordered TVA to stop using the gypsum pond and install a new pond liner after a leak was discovered last week at the utility’s Kingston Fossil Plant. The leak was discovered Wednesday, just a week away from the two-year anniversary of TVA’s massive coal ash spill at the same power plant. The order will idle TVA’s new $456 million scrubber that started work last June to cut most of the plant’s emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides. Learn more here.;

Rio Alto Mining Limited has provided an update on activities at the La Arena Gold Oxide Project located in Peru. Construction activities began at La Arena in August 2010. To date, 100 percent of the earthworks related to the construction of the 9 ha run of mine (ROM) Pad 1A have been completed and 70 percent of the pad has been lined with geomembrane. Also, 100 percent of the earthworks related to the 60,000 m3 PLS (Pregnant Liquor Storage) Pond has been completed and sub-drainage installation has commenced.

During the recent CQA Week events at TRI/Environmental's campus in Austin, Texas, two days were given to the T-CLIC geoelectric Liner Integrity Survey and Assessment (LISA) course, which combines both classroom and practical, hands-on field training in on-site test cells. The course saw a very eclectic, enthusiastic, and international group learn about locating leaks in geomembrane lining systems. Participants came from South Africa (2), Portugal, and Peru, as well as North America. Installers, engineers, and construction quality assurance (CQA) firms were represented. In a new development for the course, instructor Ian D. Peggs (I-CORP INTERNATIONAL) was supported by Abigail Beck of Ausenco Vector. Ms. Beck presented segments on development of LISA as a business, liner design considerations, case histories and defects found, and future directions. Rich Lacey (TRI) presented the segment on Electricity 101. Read more.

Solmax International Inc., a worldwide manufacturer of Polyethylene geomembrane, announces that from now on, its Malaysian plant will manufacture 8-meter-wide geomembrane rolls. In our ongoing continuous improvement process and in an effort to offer our clients products that better meet their needs, we have made certain modifications to our equipment allowing us to produce 8-meter-wide rolls. This change applies to all our products in the "9000" Series, which are manufactured in our Malaysian plant.

The Geo-Frontiers 2011 event includes 8 short courses, 90 sessions within 10 technical tracks, student programs, networking events, award programs, the GRI-24 annual conference and will feature 4 highly regarded plenary sessions: H. Bolton Seed Lecture, Peck Lecture, Terzaghi Lecture, and the Mercer Lecture. In addition to the educational component of Geo-Frontiers the event will feature an exhibit hall with over 120 geotechnical products and services. Read more.