Mining

Over at the Fabricated Geomembrane Institute's (FGI) website, the latest blog entry notes that the FGI's Tim Stark visited CLI/Clearwater Construction during a visit to the Denver area recently. The FGI is hosting a short course there on October 23. Dr. Stark is beginning to tour about and visit the Institute's members. FGI formed officially earlier this year after the PVC Geomembrane Institute (PGI) completed its core goals. Learn more here.;

The North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Geo-Institute (GI) have signed an agreement to co-organize Geo-Frontiers 2011. The last Geo-Frontiers was held in 2005 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 edition will be held at the Sheraton-Dallas Hotel 13-16 March 2011. A call for topics and sessions will be issued from IFAI in the near future. Learn more here.;

In 1996, a significant quantity of oil spilled near Milford Haven oil refinery when a ship ran aground. Today, measures are being taken to guard the refinery area against oil spill disasters with the installation of geosynthetic containment berms. Geomembranes, geotextiles and geocells are being installed. Read about it in Construction News UK. Learn more here.;

South Africa-based Cape Business News has published an article about the success of PSV Holdings acquisition of Engineered Linings. PSV, which specialises in pumps, valves and spares, paid R40 million to buy out various shareholders in Engineered Linings. Led by Du Toit Viljoen, Engineered Linings supplies and installs geosynthetic liners. The early 2009 numbers from the business have been very satisfying. Learn more here.;

The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI) will offer "Constructing with Fabricated Geomembranes," its popular short course, on 23 October 2009 in Lakewood, Colorado at the Sheraton Denver West Hotel. This course will be presented by many expert speakers from the industry. Course participants are eligible for 6 PDHs. Learn more and view an updated agenda here.

The organizers of GeoHalifax 2009 (20 - 24 September 2009) have released the conference's latest e-newsletter. (Interested readers can subscribe to the feed via the conference website.) Some of the highlights: registration will continue through the conference; the exhibit hall is sold out; and more than 400 abstracts were submitted. Presenters can use the online submission system for PowerPoint files. GeoHalifax 2009 is hosted by the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS) and the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH). Learn more here.;

A Michigan administrative law judge today affirmed the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's (MDEQ) decision to issue two permits to the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company for its proposed Eagle nickel and copper mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The determination is the most recent in a series of favorable legal decisions, and moves the Eagle mine project closer to construction, which will require hundreds of local workers. The State Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules rejected the environmental challenges brought by the National Wildlife Federation, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the Huron Mountain Club to the MDEQ's issuance of state mine and water discharge permits.

The new issue of Land and Water magazine includes Ian Peggs' article on geomembrane action leakage rates. He writes: "The objective of using a geomembrane liner in a potable water reservoir, a waste water treatment plant lagoon, a CAFO pond, or any other kind of liquid containment facility is, of course, to prevent loss of liquids which are obnoxious or valuable. Leaks are most undesirable, to say the least. But we have learned over the years that while non-leaking facilities can apparently be built, we should not rely on single liners to be totally impermeable, for nothing is." Read a PDF copy of the article from Land and Water.

Bloomberg News reports that China is increasing its oil and mining acquisitions by more than half, due to the favorable valuations of companies affected by the slump in commodity prices. For example, acquisitions in the past couple days have been in Australia, Syria, and Colombia. Chinese companies still face heavy opposition in so many sizable overseas acquisition endeavors, but it is expected that they will continue on this course while prices remain relatively low. Learn more here.;

JSC Gazprom Neft and SIBUR conducted a regular meeting of the working group on joint participation in promotion of polymer bitumen binders (PBB) substantially improving automobile roads' quality and lifespan. The participants of the meeting, involving representatives of JSC Soyuzdornii, discussed the issues of PBC production units launching and operating in the cities of Ufa (the Republic of Bashkiria), Bogoroditsk (the Tula Region) and Ivanteevka (the Moscow Region) in 2H2009. Production of PBB will be performed at the said units using DST-30-01 thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) produced by a SIBUR's subsidiary JSC Voronezhsintezkauchuk.

The International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) has published its latest edition of IGS News. The semi-annual publication contains reports from some of the IGS' 30+ international chapters, event recaps from around the world, short course announcements, and much more. This issue is particularly interesting for its IGS Chapter-centered pieces. John Cowland gives a review of IGS Asia, Jorge Zornberg discusses Chapter growth and communication, and Joanna Borkowska announces IGS Poland. Read more about this issue and link to its PDF version on line.

Applied Market Information (AMI) is offering a seminar titled "The World Plastics Industry" in Brussels, Belgium on 15 September 2009. The seminar will address global prospects, production rates, market conditions and more. AMI research director Andrew Reynolds writes on the event here.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has begun distribution of a draft Environmental Impact Statement regarding a proposal by P4 Production LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON), to open one of North America's most environmentally advanced phosphate mines. It will provide elemental phosphorus used in making the world's leading agricultural herbicide and other important products. Laminated geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) will be used to cover selenium waste rock piles.

In July, India-based FICCI helped organize a conference in Mumbai titled "Geo-synthetics : Opportunities and Challenges." The conference discussions pointed out needs in the Indian market, such as material testing facilities throughout the country, greater standardization, increased specification awareness, and much more. Read about it here.

The SIBUR's subsidiary OJSC Orton has conducted a ceremonial launch of new flat geogrid (geonet) manufacture facility under the Aprolat trademark. Operation of this new plant will secure for the SIBUR 13% share in this market segment. The design capacity of the plant is 3 thousand tons per year. Despite of economic difficulties, SIBUR has completed the investment project that will help it to reduce imports of construction materials and provide domestic consumers with competitive products. Read more.

Marchmont News, a daily, bi-lingual publication (Russian and English), reports that SIBUR Holding is investing $48 million in new geonet production in Kemerova and Orton. It is unclear from either SIBUR's official release or Marchmont's article whether geonets--for drainage--or geogrids--for reinforcement--are actually to be produced. Company comments in their official release would indicate higher-end geogrids are being produced. Learn more here.;

SKZ, with scientific committee support from Cemagref and the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), announces the 3rd International Symposium on Geosynthetic Clay Liners, to be held at the Fortress Marienberg in Würzburg, Germany 15-16 September 2010. Abstract and papers for oral or poster presentations are invited on the following topics: Application / case studies (Landfills, Canals, Reservoirs / Dams, Transportation Infrastructure) • Durability / Lifetime • Laboratory testing • Performance (Cation exchange, Desiccation, Experience from excavation • Regulations / Approvals. Abstracts must be submitted via e-mail to: gbr-c2k10@skz.de no later than 30 September 2009. View the flyer in PDF.

The 25th International Conference on Solid Waste Technology and Management conference has issued its Call for Papers. The event will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 14-17 March 2010. It's hosted by the Civil Engineering Department of Widener University and the Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management. Deadline for receipt of abstracts: 31 October 2009. Read the abstract invitation. Learn more here.;

The geosynthetics industry has learned that Samir T. Badawi has died while traveling in Germany. Badawi has served as chairman of Houston-based Gundle/SLT Environmental Inc.'s (GSE) Board of Directors since 1995 and as company CEO since 1998. In that time, the company expanded steadily, building upon what was already a highly respected name in geosynthetic manufacturing. Badawi's considerable global business experience proved to be a good fit for GSE, which has operations around the world. Not only did he oversee GSE's important merger with SLT/ Environmental, but its acquisition by a private equity firm (Code, Hennessy & Simmons). Read more.

GSE has released an official statement regarding the death of president and CEO Samir T. Badawi.

The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI) will offer "Constructing with Fabricated Geomembranes," its popular short course, on 23 October 2009 in Lakewood, Colorado at the Sheraton Denver West Hotel. This course will be presented by Timothy D. Stark, Stan Slifer, John Heap, Daren L. Laine, Bill Shehane, Stuart Lange, Andrew Mills, Gary Kolbasuk and other speakers. Course participants are eligible for 6 PDHs. Learn more and view an agenda here.

This is a quick reminder that the deadline for offering a paper at PVC Formulation 2010 is not far away at 18 September. If your company has new developments or an overview of PVC compounding and you would like to give a 25 minute PowerPoint presentation, please send a short summary to me before 18 September 2009. The 2nd international conference on PVC Formulation takes place 16-18 March 2010 at the Maritim Hotel in Cologne, Germany.

With an estimated 30 billion pounds of additional polymerization capacity coming online in the Middle East in the next five years, the region stands to become a major plastics processing center. Will geosynthetics be part of this boom in production? How will the Middle East's growth affect global markets? Applied Market Information (AMI) is bringing its one-day "Middle East Plastics Industry Strategy Seminar" to Philadelphia on 4 November 2009. Read a piece on the event from conference coordinator Lauren Fell. Read more.

Checkmate Geosynthetics Inc. is pleased to launch the Trigrid EX bi-axial geogrid range in addition to the existing Checkmate's product line in North America. Trigrid EX biaxial geogrids are manufactured by Samyang Corporation Korea and represented on Exclusive basis by Checkmate in North America. Checkmate will also provide the comprehensive technical and design support to the customers. Read more in the release.

The Stormwater Equipment Manufacturers Association has launched a new website: www.stormwaterassociation.com. The website contains information about the association's activities, membership, technical information and a buyer's guide. The buyer's guide is a free useful resource for end users needing information about stormwater equipment and other services. Read more in the release.