Mining

Synteen Technical Fabrics has announced that the company will expand its wide-width weaving capacity by 400% at the Lancaster, South Carolina plant. Synteen Technical Fabrics weaves high-strength polyester geosynthetics for soil reinforcement and stabilization applications, such as for segmental retaining walls, base course and subgrade stabilization for roadway construction, and slope stabilization and repair. Read more in the release.

On 13 and 14 November 2008, Rick Thiel, P.E., will conduct a workshop titled "Design of Waste Containment Liner and Final Closure Systems" in Philadelphia. This American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) training opportunity is for those who work with municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, hazardous waste landfills, superfund sites, industrial landfills, mine tailing closures, or mining heap leachpads. Comprehensive coverage of the latest technology is covered. Learn how to design waste containment liner systems and final closure systems. Design and failure examples throughout. Read more and download the brochure at the following link. Learn more here.;

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has announced some short courses. The current offerings include: Geosynthetics in Waste Containment Liner and Cover Design. The course will be offered 8 December 2008 and 9 March 2009 ** Quality Control / Quality Assurance of Geosynthetics Installation. The course will be offered 9 December 2008 and 10 March 2009. ** Examinations for Inspector Certification. This certification exam will be offered 10 December 2008 and 11 March 2009. For more information, please download the short course brochure (PDF).

Australia-based Nylex, which among other products manufactures geomembranes, has announced it will revise its 2009 earnings estimates due to the current market turmoil. The civil engineering aspects of Nylex are not the culprit, though. The adverse conditions impacting the company stem largely from cutbacks in global automotive production, into which Nylex sells some products, and the declining value of the Australian dollar in the world market. Learn more here.;

GZA GeoEnvironmental has appointment Dan Stapleton, P.E., a principal to the company's Nuclear Practice. Stapleton will work as a technical lead for the New England-centered company. Part of his background involves the study of geosynthetics at Drexel University. We congratulate Dan on his new position. Learn more here.;

The town of Barrie in Ontario, Canada is digging into its past--literally. The old landfills is being "mined" for recyclables. The old waste is removed, inspected, recyclables are taken out, and the waste-to-be-reburied is sent to a modern, lined facility. This process produces new volume not only through removing waste but through improved compaction. It's estimated that a full decade of space is being created. The first global conference on waste mining just took place in London in October. Learn more here.;

The latest conference update from the Asia Mining Congress (23-27 March 2009, Singapore) is available. The current issue includes information on the latest speakers from mining, manufacturing, governments, and investment groups; workshops; sponsors; and the most current event brochure. Read the newsletter online. Learn more here.;

Mexican chemical and petrochemical firm Mexichem reported profits of US $108 million for the first nine months of 2008, which is relatively level with the same period last year. Mexichem has been busy with acquisitions in the past year, snatching up geotexile-manufacturers Geosistemas de Perú and Brazil-based Bidim and various other companies connected to mining, drainage and agriculture, such as Plastubos (Brazil), Dripsa (Argentina), Río Verde (Mexico), and Quimir (Mexico). Learn more here.;

With the sudden decline of oil prices and companies in the mining and oil extraction industries facing tighter credit markets--credit that otherwise would support expansion plans--some companies are delaying projects. HazMat Magazine reports that two key oil sands projects in Alberta are putting upgrades on hold. The mining and conversion of oil sands has generally been considered profitable only at higher global prices for oil. Learn more here.;

BC Local has published an update on the Mount Washington Mine remediation work. The former copper mine has received a grant of $4.5 million from the provincial government of British Columbia. Part of the money is going towards the installation of a bituminous geomembrane capping system. Work is now underway. Learn more here.;

The Asia Mining Congress 2009 is offering a complimentary seat at the congress's Sustainability Awards dinner with all registrations placed through 11 November 2008. This critical mining conference--the fifth in the series--will feature more than 100 speakers. It takes place in Singapore from 23-27 March 2009. Learn more here.;

We're a bit late on discovering this post, but we think it's worth a look. Mining engineer Ian Cawrse keeps a website/blog at which he tracks trends and mining issues. His 18 June 2008 entry on the Canadian mining industry's sustainability caught our eye. Learn more here.;

Though the current global economic slowdown is cause for concern, it is giving country's pause to discover the environmental degradation of so many boom years. In India, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has been studying the Meghalaya region and the degradation it has suffered due to poor mining controls. The Times of India reports. Learn more here.;

Tensar International has taken an industry initiative to invest in the development of specialist software that enables engineers and contractors to calculate CO2 savings that arise from the use of TriAx geogrids on specific ground stabilization projects. In addition, using Tensar's TriAx geogrids in ground stabilisation applications can enable reductions in aggregate thickness of over 40% for the same load bearing performance, compared to traditional methods. Learn more here.;

The 5th annual Asia Mining Congress will be held 23-27 March 2009 in Singapore. The coordinators are offering free awards dinner tickets with registrations made before November 10. Read the latest update from the conference here. Learn more here.;

We've heard a great many calls for increased infrastructure spending in the United States. The ASCE scorecards on American infrastructure paint a pretty bleak picture, and we were reminded of that last year after a major bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapsed. The 2005 ASCE scorecard gave its highest marks to the waste management sector, in which geosynthetics are required. And earlier this year the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) announced huge strides in working with Congressional legislators to have geosynthetics considered for requirement in other sectors, such as water management. Infrastructure was pushed higher in the public debate this morning with the publication of Paul Krugman's latest column in the New York Times. Krugman is the Princeton professor and Times columnist who was awarded this year's Nobel Prize for Economics. Regarding the ragged state of the American economy, Krugman argues for the need of government spending now. And he idenitifies infrastructure as one of the main, necessary targets. He writes: "The usual argument against public works as economic stimulus is that they take too long: by the time you get around to repairing that bridge and upgrading that rail line, the slump is over and the stimulus isn’t needed. Well, that argument has no force now....So let’s get those projects rolling." Read the rest of Krugman's op-ed column. Learn more here.;

To keep pace with the development of liner technologies and regulated requirements for geomembrane lining systems, I-CORP INTERNATIONAL announces two new services: review of project drawings and specifications for feasibility of performing geoelectric liner integrity/leak location services for the final stage of construction quality assurance (CQA) or to locate problematic leaks; and assessment of present condition and remaining lifetimes of exposed high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes. Read more.

geosynthetica is always interested in the latest news and articles regarding engineering and geosynthetics. Contact Chris Kelsey for submission information.

geosynthetica.net has launched a mining study. The report will gauge future mining needs and ways these needs are expected to be met by geosynthetics (in tailings ponds, access road construction, leach pads, etc.). Geosynthetics in the Global Mining Industry is already in motion and will be released 31 March 2009. Companies interested in pre-purchasing the study (at a significant discount) and learning how they can be part of the survey oversight board should contact Elizabeth Peggs for information and a brochure.

The latest issue of Geosynthetics International is now available. The current issue--volume 15, number 5--contains the following: "Best Geosynthetics International Paper for 2007"; "Performance of geosynthetic-reinforced alternative sub-ballast material in a railway track" by Fernandes, Palmeira and Gomes; " Liquefaction resistance of sand reinforced with geosynthetics" by Altun, Göktepe and Lav; "Seismic stability of reinforced slopes: failure mechanisms and displacements" by Huang, Horng and Charng; "Reinforcement design for construction of cover soil over soft sludge" by Espinoza and Sabatini; "Comparative study on performance and index tests simulating abrasion damage of a woven geotextile" by Huang; "Electrokinetic improvement of soft clay using electrical vertical drains" by Rittirong, Douglas, Shang and Lee; and a "Corrigendum."

GeoAfrica 2009 marks the first African regional conference on geosynthetics. Held under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) and hosted by the Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa (GIGSA)--a chapter of IGS--the September 2009 Cape Town conference seeks abstracts and proposals. Deadline for receipt of 350-word abstracts is 30 Septmber 2008. Geosynthetica encourages its readers to get involved with this historic event. Visit the abstract submission page. Learn more here.;

Companies interested in exhibiting at GeoAfrica 2009, 2-5 September 2009, Cape Town, South Africa should be aware that the exhibit hall is limited to 30 spots. The conference organizers report that more than half of them have already been booked. Visit the conference's exhibitor page for more information. Learn more here.;

In the Shasta Mountain, California area, cleanup of the abandoned Altoona Mine progresses. The area's newspaper has published an update and photograph of the work, which involves the installation of a triple bottom and cap system: clay, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane, and geotextile. Altoona Mine was once a gold mining site, and its cinnabar vein (inorganic, mercury sulfide) led to mercury production through 1968. Now that we have geosynthetic environmental controls, its hoped that future mining sites are protected during operations rather than only in retroactive legacy corrections. Learn more here.;

geosynthetica's new site organization still includes our most popular items of use, such as the Buyer's Guide, Industry Directory, Publications/Tech Docs and Abstracts Database, and much more. Use the links along the top row of the banner at the top of the page for easy access to these zones. And don't forget to try out our new channel pages for geosynthetics functions (row two of the link buttons along the page's top banner) and applications (row three). For information on how to get listed in any of these databases, directories and guides, please contact Chris Kelsey.

Andrew Aho, managing director of the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), has met with staff members of the US House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. This meeting was related to the Transportation Reauthorization Act. Those Andrew and his colleague met with have requested geosynthetic case studies in stormwater runoff and clean water management. This is a tremendous, unprecedented opportunity to deliver geosynthetics into federal infrastructure legislation. If you have the appropriate case study information, please contact Andrew to find out how to become part of this effort. Learn more here.;