Mining

SOPREMA, the world's largest manufacturer of SBS (styrene butadiene styrene) modified bitumen roofing and waterproofing products, announces the alignment of its operations in Canada and USA. To increase productivity and service, this North American alignment will promote collaboration to strengthen synergy, implement a unified direction, maximize efficiency and deliver expanded support to its valued customers. SOPREMA operates sixteen manufacturing facilities throughout the world with exports to over 80 countries, and has grown annual sales in excess of $1.5 billion by producing millions of square meters of high quality building envelope materials each year.

TIE Technologies, Inc. (Pink Sheets:TTCS), and Geocomp Corporation announce that the OilDam™ technology and the Trademark Application, patent rights and associated assets are owned in equal parts by TIE Technologies and Geocomp, the team leaders of the OilDam™ Emergency Containment Proposal. An application to register the OilDam™ mark has been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, thus it is considered a "pending" application.

One of the most beloved members of the International Erosion Control Association (IECA), Alfred Tsuguo Nitta, CPESC, founder of Nitta Erosion Control, passed away on 31 May 2010 on the family ranch in Loomis, CA where he was born on 19 March 1923. Al was 87 years old. Al joined IECA in 1977 and was awarded the Environmental Achievement Award for his innovative retrofit designs and, at 85 years of age, was named Contractor of the Year at EC08 in Orlando, FL. Read more.

As workers battle the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and officials attempt to decontaminate a clam boat that dredged up old munitions containing mustard gas, a Texas Tech University researcher said his product Fibertect® can handle both dirty jobs. Seshadri Ramkumar, an associate professor of nonwoven technologies, said the Texas Tech-created nonwoven cotton carbon absorbent wipe can clean up crude oil and adsorb toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon vapors reportedly sickening oil spill clean-up crew members.

Frontier Refining has entered into a $900,000 settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violations at one of its wastewater ponds. Kevin Burke, vice president and refinery manager at Frontier, said the settlement came after the EPA claimed $6.8 million in violations. Burke indicated the pond will be modified so that it can be closed, thus creating no future issues. The refinery also has installed a barrier wall in working with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. Learn more here.;

TIE Technologies, Inc. has announced that its OilDam® solution has been scheduled for testing by the BP and U.S. Coast Guard Field Technical Operations Group for 28 June 2010. The team of companies involved includes Geocomp Corporation, James Lee Witt Associates, Gunderboom Inc., and Tencate Geosynthetics. Learn more.

North American Green's HydraMatriCx™ hydraulically-applied erosion control products have posted the best results ever published to date in large-scale slope protection tests by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Official's National Transportation Product Evaluation Program (AASHTO-NTPEP). HydraCX2™ Extreme Slope Matrix™ demonstrated an unprecedented 100% soil protection and HydraCM™ Steep Slope Matrix™ registered an outstanding 99.7% effectiveness in reducing soil erosion.

Ian Peggs writes, "We are seeing an increasing number of LIS specifications requiring 15,000,000 ft2 of experience within the previous 3 years. This is excessive and totally unnecessary; and, I suspect, only one company can comply. But, would you be getting an individual survey operator with that experience, or a company with several operators totaling that experience? LIS technology is far from rocket science and can be learned by anyone with common sense, patience, and a little understanding of electricity principles." Read more.

TIE Technologies, Inc., an information technology, smart logistics, and telemetrics company, today announces BP's escalation of TIE Technologies' previously submitted OilDam® Emergency Containment Proposal to field review by BP and U.S. Coast Guard. TIE Technologies' revised OilDam® proposal has been escalated to final technical engineering review by BP's Horizon Alternative Response Technology Team and is now under consideration for immediate field testing by the BP and U.S. Coast Guard Field Technical Operations Group.

Critical applications such as maritime spill containment require materials that will stand up to rough weather and harsh climates. Cooley manufactures a wide variety of quality fabrics engineered specifically for the oil boom industry; one is just right for your application. Currently, Cooley's oil boom technology is deployed in the Gulf of Mexico to help contain the BP oil spill. Learn more here.;

Solmax International has posted a letter with two new email addresses to help facilitate communication with its international client base. The letter notes: "From now, you can send your requests/ comments/ claims directly to the following email address: For any clients located in the Asian and Pacific Area: customersatisfactionasia@solmax.com. For any clients elsewhere: customersatisfaction@solmax.com." Read more.

Those bright orange, yellow and red oil-containment booms you see on the news symbolize the fight against the unfolding environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The question is: Will there be enough to go around? As reports have painfully documented, nobody prepared for an accident of this magnitude. No one set aside a massive stockpile of booms. Learn more here.;

Each year, Geosynthetica participates in a number of conferences. Participation may include exhibiting, presentations (or paper co-authorship), session coordination and attendance. Also, Geosynthetica serves as a media partner or cooperating organization to many of these events. Some of these forthcoming events are briefly noted in this roundup article.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has published its June 2010 Country Analysis Brief. The current focus is on Egypt. Egypt is a significant oil producer and a rapidly growing natural gas producer. The Suez Canal and Sumed Pipeline are strategic routes for Persian Gulf oil shipments, making Egypt an important transit corridor for world oil markets. Learn more here.;

During the 9th International Conference on Geosynthetics (9ICG), which was held in May 2010 in Brazil, the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) announced results of its most recent election cycle. The IGS Council met so that the expiring council could conclude business and hand over control to the new council, which welcomed both new and returning council members. This includes both those elected and those co-opted.

At the recent 9th International Conference on Geosynthetics (9th ICG) held in Guarujá Brazil the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) Council marked the beginning of a new Council term. At the General Assembly the officers and council members elected to serve for the 2010-2014 term were announced and officially took office.

Oil and gas company Williams has been struggling with pit liner code changes that would require the landfilling of liners--only much of the company's operations have been in a county which lacks a landfill that will accept the liners. The company sought alternative uses and found an intriguing one: the nonwoven geotextile cushion and geomembrane are separated, and then they are sent to facilities in Utah and Colorado to be converted into asphalt and non-food grade plastics. Learn more here.;

SKZ, with scientific committee support from Cemagref and the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), will host the 3rd International Symposium on Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GBR-C 2k10) 15-16 September 2010 at the Fortress Marienberg in Würzburg, Germany. Technical sessions will address shear and mechanical behaviour of GCLs, chemical resistance of GCLs, testing of GCLs under unsaturated conditions, behaviour of GCLs in landfill covers (case studies), regulations, new concepts and developments in the use of GCLs, and GCLs for hydraulic and construction applications. Visit the conference's website for the latest. Learn more here.;

SpectraPave Software is an interactive design/analysis tool that incorporates the state-of-practice design methodologies for both flexible pavements and unpaved roads. The program features both design and cost analysis tools for evaluating and quantifying the benefits of Tensar® TriAx (TX) Geogrid for unpaved applications such as haul roads and working surfaces. SpectraPave4 Software, released in February 2010, incorporates the unpaved haul road design methodology developed by Dr. J.P. Giroud and Dr. Jie Han and has been calibrated and validated for the new TriAx Geogrid product. Learn more and download a copy. Learn more here.;

More than 60 members of the Industrial Fabrics Association International are preparing products for clean-up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico following the April 20 explosion of the BP-owned Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The oil gusher at the source of the spill, located 5,000 feet below the ocean surface and about 40 miles southeast of the Louisiana coast, is emitting an estimated minimum of 210,000 gallons of oil per day with a possible maximum of more than 10 times that amount. Learn more here.;

Ausenco Limited (ASX: AAX) today announced the agreement of a new global banking facility with ANZ Bank and HSBC Bank. The new joint banking facility for $155.2 million with ANZ and HSBC increases Ausenco's global bonding capacity, incorporating extended debt and performance guarantee / bonding facilities. Ausenco Chief Executive Officer Zimi Meka said the extended facilities provided Ausenco with funding certainty and stability to support future growth.

TIE Technologies, Inc. (Pink Sheets:TTCS), an information technology, security and telecommunications company, and Geocomp Corp., a global leader in geo-engineering, today jointly released the details of the OilDam® product designed to mitigate damage from the Gulf oil spill. OilDam® is a comprehensive solution--utilizing geosynthetics--which can be immediately deployed to provide a reliable means to keep the oil from reaching the shore, contain it and enable its removal.

In a bid to meet unrelenting demand, oil boom manufacturers are working around the clock to supply their product to the Gulf Coast oil spill, with the ecological disaster creating opportunities for plastics sheet foam in particular. Protective and flexible packaging manufacturer Pregis Corp. has seized on the opportunity to promote its Microfoam low-density polypropylene (PP) sheet foam, looking to beat out polyethylene (PE) alternatives. Learn more here.;

Construction work has been started in the territory of Ust-Luga merchant seaport under the construction project of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) transshipment complex. The new export terminal will be the largest Russian LPG transshipment terminal. Its favorable geographic position will enable SIBUR to transport its products to previously inaccessible markets of North-West Europe.

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) has extended its abstract submittal deadline until Wednesday, 26 May 2010 at 12:00 pm (Mountain) for Environmental Connection 2011 (EC11). The event is the annual conference and expo of IECA. Combining quality education with a world-class expo, EC11 is the premier gathering place for the erosion and sediment control community, drawing attendees from over 20 countries and 150 exhibitors to Orlando, Florida, 20-23 February 2011. Any abstracts submitted after the deadline will moved to EC12 consideration. Learn more here.;