Ancient Mars Had Widespread Water, Potential To Support Life Jul 17, 2008
The clay-like minerals, called phyllosilicates, preserve a record of the interaction of water with rocks dating back to what is called the Noachian period of Mars history, about 4 ... The phyllosilicate-containing rocks on Mars therefore preserve a unique record of liquid water environments possibly suitable for life in the early solar system ... " CRISM s combination of high spatial and spectral resolutions better than any previous imaging spectrometer sent to Mars reveals variations in the... (Science Daily)
Not just drops of water, but whole lakes, rivers evident on Mars Jul 17, 2008
The clay minerals are called phyllosilicates, and they were detected by a specialized instrument aboard the orbiter called the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, dubbed CRISM.. The high-tech imaging system, the most sophisticated sent to Mars to date, has not only sent back pictures of the water-bearing clay minerals, but has also identified several different types of the phyllosilicates, including one form of hydrated silica known on Earth as opal, the jewel ... The Mars... (San Francisco Chronicle)
Mars Was Warm, Wet, May Have Hosted Life, Study Says Jul 17, 2008
The telltale clays called phyllosilicates were found to be scattered broadly across the planet's surface in craters, valleys, delta formations, and dunes ... He and his team which includes Poulet documented a diverse assemblage of minerals deposited by water, including kaolinite, chlorite, and hydrated silica, all of which occur in a pattern that indicates a waterlogged Martian crust. (National Geographic)
Mars rover eyes hot spring-like deposits May 23, 2008
Deposits of near pure silica on Mars were formed by volcanic vapours or hot-spring-type events crossing through soil and could contain traces of past life, scientists say. The silica, detected in 2007 by the rover Spirit is fully described in today's issue of the journal ... "On Earth, hydrothermal deposits teem with life and the associated silica deposits typically contain fossil remains of microbes," says study team member astrobiologist Professor Jack Farmer of the (ASU) in Tempe. (ABC Science Online)
Yellowstone-like Hot Spring Deposits On Mars May 23, 2008
ScienceDaily (May 23, 2008) Deposits of nearly pure silica discovered by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in Gusev Crater formed when volcanic steam or hot water (or maybe both) percolated through the ground ... The silica discovery, announced briefly by NASA in 2007, is fully described in a multi-author paper that appears in the May 23, 2008 issue of the scientific journal Science ... The silica finding turns a spotlight on an important site that may contain preserved traces of ancient Martian... (Science Daily)
Recent Drill Holes Return Encouraging Chromium, Nickel and PGE Mineralization on the Spider, KWG and Freewest Joint-Venture Property Located in the McFaulds Lake Area, Northern Ontario May 2, 2008
5 metres the rock became heavily chloritized with silica flooding in the form of veins bearing sulphides (pyrite, pyrrhotite and minor chalcopyrite) ... 6 metres the volcanics were found to have undergone extensive alteration (chloritization and silica flooding) and brecciation. (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
Decaturville meteorite never quite panned out Apr 16, 2008
We have found a quantity of large sheets of silica glass and some sponge glass. We have here at Decaturville one mineral that requires 3,500 degrees centigrade to boil and it takes 1,710 degrees centigrade to melt. (Camdenton Lake Sun Leader, MO)
Edward Ching-Te Chao, 88, trailblazer in geology fields Feb 14, 2008
He was the first person to recognize two high-pressure forms of silica in nature: coesite and stishovite. For this work, Dr. Chao was awarded the Wetherill Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1965. (Boston Globe)
Kaminak Signs Landmark Agreement with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and Acquires Historic Deposit Reported to Contain 11.6 Million Pounds of Uranium (Non NI 43-101 Compliant) Jan 31, 2008
Mineralization consists of a steeply dipping series of fractures and veins, 1 to 3m wide, that contain variable amounts of pitchblende and sulphide minerals accompanied by hematite, carbonate, albite and silica alteration. The host structure is at least 1100m long and the mineralized portion measuring about 400m in length. (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
Stardust Comet Dust Resembles Asteroid Materials Jan 30, 2008
By comparing the Stardust samples to cometary interplanetary dust particles (CP IDPs), the team found that two silicate materials normally found in cometary IDPs, together with other primitive materials including presolar stardust grains from other stars, have not been found in the abundances that might be expected in a Kuiper Belt comet like Wild 2 ... The Livermore team specifically searched for two silicate materials in Stardust that are believed to be unique to cometary IDPs: amorphous... (Science Daily)
Retransmission: Latin American Minerals Intersects 6.5m With 26.64gpt Gold Including 4m With 43.08gpt Gold at its Paso Yobai Project, Paraguay Jan 18, 2008
Geo's Blog: In response to a number of requests from our geologist friends Dr. Waldo Perez reports that, "Paso Yobai is a very unique geologic setting in South America. Most gold deposits of the region are associated to the Andean Cordillera, the Patagonian plateau or the Brazilian Craton. Paso Yobai is an exception; because it is not related to any of those geologic settings. There is no significant gold producing mine within 2000 km of Paso Yobai and in that sense it is truly a new discovery.... (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
Stardust Formed Close To Sun Jan 9, 2008
Following entry into the aerogel at ~6 km/s (top) the particle was subject to intense frictional heating and fragmented, creating a prominent bulbous cavity (middle) walled with melted aerogel silica and small grain fragments. Samples analyzed in this study were taken from the cavity wall; the triangular quarry left by the sampling tool is visible at the upper left. (Science Daily)
Top story - Proppant’s request to operate sand mine turned down Jan 3, 2008
In the early days of 2007 came the news that Proppant Specialists LLC was proposing a silica sand quarry and processing plant just west of Hoffman Hills Recreation Area in the Town of Tainter ... On Sept. 24, Proppant Specialist LLC, now a Delaware limited liability company, submitted another application to the Dunn County zoning administrator s office for a special exception permit to operate a silica sand mine near Hoffman Hills ... Of the site s 362 acres, 183 acres would be actually mined... (Menomonie Dunn County News, WI)
Mar's Steamy Past Dec 13, 2007
The puzzle is what produced a patch of nearly pure silica -- the main ingredient of window glass -- that Spirit found last May ... "Whichever of those conditions produced it, this concentration of silica is probably the most significant discovery by Spirit for revealing a habitable niche that existed on Mars in the past," said Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the rovers' science payload ... Spirit explored the top of Home Plate, in the vicinity of... (Science Daily)
Is China Banning U.S. Movies? Dec 13, 2007
The rock turned out to have high levels of silica. The scientists directed the rover to crack it open to see if it was silica all the way through, or just on the outside ... That didn't work, but a nearby rock was cracked open and found to be rich in silica. (CBS News -- Evening News)
Consolidated Spire Exploration Program Underway On the Buenavista Gold Property, Mexico Nov 28, 2007
This includes areas of vuggy silica, opaline quartz and advanced argillic alteration. Also, quartz stockwork veining and quartz veins have been observed. (Primezone Releases)
Storing Carbon Dioxide Deep In Earth May Be Safe Solution To Global Warming Nov 27, 2007
Significantly, PhD student Stephanie Houston found that water pumped out with the oil was especially rich in silica. This showed that silicates, usually thought of as very slow to react, had dissolved in the newly-injected seawater over less than a year. (Science Daily)
Swimming a Salty Sea Nov 22, 2007
Calcium is drawn out of the ocean to build the shells of clams and other mollusks, while diatoms and other microorganisms pull out silica from the water to construct their cells. In this way, organisms on Earth deplete the water of certain elements by binding them up into solid form. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
> read more Nov 21, 2007
Diatoms are a type of eukaryotic algae with cell walls made of silica ... Calcium is drawn out of the ocean to build the shells of clams and other mollusks, while diatoms and other microorganisms pull out silica from the water to construct their cells. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Wheeler may place conditions on Fairmount Nov 20, 2007
WHEELER Although the Wheeler Village Board has not yet made any decisions concerning the proposal from Fairmount Minerals to ship silica sand by rail car, it appears that some options for conditions might be available. We re still getting information. (Chippewa Falls Chippewa Herald, WI)
Experts say the nuances of bottled water are like wine Nov 6, 2007
Silica may impart silkiness. Calcium can give the water a lactic taste some people find refreshing. (La Crosse Tribune, WI)
Fortress Intercepts Additional High Grade Gold at the Elena Prospect, Svetloye Project, Russia Oct 25, 2007
Gold is associated with extensive zones of vuggy silica, alunite and late stage veins. This style of mineralization is common to Pierina, Veladero and other high sulphidation epithermal deposits. (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
Geologists Recover Rocks Yielding Unprecedented Insights Into San Andreas Fault Oct 8, 2007
One of the big questions the researchers seek to answer is how, when most of the fault moves in violent, episodic upheavals, can there be a section where the same massive tectonic plates seem, by comparison, to gently tiptoe past each other with the delicate tread of little cat feet""There have been many theories about why the San Andreas Fault slides along so easily, none of which could be tested directly until now," Hickman said. Some posit the presence of especially slippery clays, called... (Science Daily)
Nature Leads The Way For The Next Generation Of Paints, Cosmetics And Holograms Oct 7, 2007
The tiny single-celled 'diatom', which first evolved hundreds of millions of years ago, has a hard silica shell which is iridescent -- in other words, the shell displays vivid colours that change depending on the angle at which it is observed ... Each diatom is encased in a silica frustule, or cell wall. (Science Daily)
Oglebay Norton Receives Multiple Proposals Valued Significantly in Excess of $31.00 Per Share in Cash Sep 28, 2007
00 per share, or in the consummation of any transaction); (8) the outcome of periodic negotiations of labor agreements; (9) changes in the demand for the Company's products due to changes in technology; (10) the loss, insolvency or bankruptcy of major customers, insurers or debtors; (11) difficulty in hiring sufficient staff that is skilled appropriately; (12) changes in environmental laws; (13) an increase in the number and cost of asbestos and silica product liability claims filed against the... (PR Newswire)
October Geology and GSA Today media highlights Sep 26, 2007
This rock type, with very high silica content, is a key element in reconstructing the conditions of the early Earth and of the environments where the earliest forms of life developed ... Van der Boorn et al. argue that Archean seawater is the dominant source of silica for one group of cherts and that hydrothermal fluids venting at the seafloor produced a different set of chert deposits. (EurekAlert!)
Oglebay Norton Board Recommends Shareholders Take No Action at This Time Regarding Harbinger's Unsolicited Tender Offer and Not Tender Their Shares Aug 23, 2007
" Given the recent deterioration of the financial markets, Harbinger could face significant challenges in its attempt to finance its offer. -- Harbinger's offer is highly conditional. Harbinger's offer is highly conditional for the benefit of Harbinger, resulting in substantial uncertainty for Oglebay Norton's shareholders as to whether it will be completed. In total there are 12 conditions, each of which must be satisfied before Harbinger will be obligated to purchase any shares tendered into... (PR Newswire)
Icebergs teem with diverse life Aug 17, 2007
On the submerged undersides of the icebergs themselves, researchers found diatoms, a class of phytoplankton with rigid cell walls composed of silica, attached to tiny fragments of volcanic rock embedded in the ice. The abundance of phytoplankton and associated microorganisms attracts predators: shrimplike Antarctic krill (Euphasia superba), tiny jellies and arrow worms. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
I-Team: Over 400 Mines Dot The Nevada Landscape Aug 8, 2007
The companies that own the largest mines are Apex quarry and plant, Pabco Gypsom and Simplot Silica products. In Clark County none of the mines are underground, and miners are all extracting the same products -- sand and gravel. (KLAS-TV)
Town of Red Cedar may make economic development history Aug 2, 2007
Fairmount Minerals, in conjunction with Cardinal Glass, is planning to operate a silica sand mine on approximately 450 acres south of Highway 12/29 in the Town of Red Cedar and in the city of Menomonie ... Fairmount Minerals will be operating the silica sand mine for 30 to 35 years and expects to employ about 18 people, Price said. (Menomonie Dunn County News, WI)
'Ungodly' fire destroys couple's ridge-top home Jul 30, 2007
A silica matrix makes granite hard, Angela explained. "The silica just went pfssst!" she said, leaving only more heat-resistant minerals. (Rapid City Journal, SD)
Rovers Begin New Observations On Changing Martian Atmosphere Jul 25, 2007
In recent months, the APXS on the Spirit rover measured the composition of soils consisting of 90 percent pure silica, which could have formed in a hot-spring environment or some other process involving water. The finding presents some of the best evidence yet that water once existed at Gusev crater. (Science Daily)
Grand Central Silver Mines, Inc. Names Lehman Brothers as Exclusive Financial Advisor Jul 19, 2007
All the highly anomalous samples and most of the samples with greater than 20 ppb gold and 5 ppm silver are hosted by highly fractured and/or brecciated quartzite with introduced silica, or by a prominent jasperoid ledge ... Nearly all of the rock samples containing 50 ppb gold or higher are characterized by fractured to brecciated quartzite with introduced silica. (Canada Newswire)
Laws fail to make SA's workers safe Jul 12, 2007
A major challenge was silicosis, caused by silica in gold mines. The industry aimed for 95 percent of mines to cut dust levels below the international benchmark of 0. (Business Report, South Africa)
Marathon PGM Initiates Program at Gossan's Bird River Property Jun 12, 2007
The Company also has a large deposit of magnesium-rich dolomite and a silica sand prospect. Marathon PGM has recently optioned Gossan's nickel-PGM property on the Bird River Sill. (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
Fairmont Minerals breaks ground for silica mining operation May 30, 2007
The event a ceremonial ground breaking occurred last Tuesday morning a couple miles east of Menomonie and marked the beginning of a silica mining operation by the Wisconsin Industrial Sand Co., a division of Ohio-based Fairmount Minerals ... Fairmount Minerals is the third largest producer of value-added silica products and has been in business for more than three decades. (Menomonie Dunn County News, WI)
Athabasca Announces Its Unaudited Financial Results for the Period Ending March 31, 2007 May 30, 2007
Athabasca's permit holdings of 710,023 hectares in the vicinity of Fort McMurray, Alberta have exploration prospects for an assortment of industrial minerals, including salt, silica sand, gypsum and limestone, and (in the Birch Mountains area) diamonds. Independent from its mineral exploration activities, Athabasca is also pursuing sand and gravel exploration and development projects throughout northern Alberta. (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
Dorex Minerals Inc. - News Release May 26, 2007
The Podpolom property is underlain by a strongly ferruginous oxidized breccia that has formed around the core of a very competent massive, barren silica zone. Gold mineralization at Podpolom is hosted in a hydrothermal breccia that is characteristically monomictic, developed at the core of a very competent barren silica zone, within a high sulphidation epithermal environment. (PR Newswire)
Strong evidence of wet past on Mars May 25, 2007
NASA's Spirit rover uncovers silica deposit on Mars Scientist: Water would have been necessary to produce such a large deposit Conditions may have been favorable for the emergence of primitive life It's still unclear how the silica deposit formed Adjust font size ... The robot analyzed a patch of soil in Gusev Crater and found it unusually rich in silica ... The presence of water would have been necessary to produce such a large silica deposit, scientists said. (CNN -- Science)
Mars Rovers Find "Best Evidence Yet" of Water May 24, 2007
When the rover scientists saw the white patch in the subsoil, they scanned it with an instrument called an x-ray spectrometer and discovered that it was 90 percent pure silica, said Albert Yen, a geophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. There are two ways such silica-rich deposits might have been formed, Yen said, but both require water ... One is that the minerals formed when volcanic gases dissolved in water percolated up through the soil, leaching away other minerals and leaving... (National Geographic)
Mars rover finds evidence of water May 23, 2007
Analysis of a patch of soil that was churned up by the stuck wheel on the the Spirit rover has revealed it is composed of about 90 per cent pure silica a mineral that would have required the presence of water to form. " /> Mars rover finds evidence of water-News-UK-Science-TimesOnline Listen to Champions League updates all day from Tony EvansNavigation - link to other main sections from here Brown loves to meddle where there is no needMichael Portillo Sponsored by Where am I? From Times Online... (Times Online)
NASA rover finds new evidence of wet history on Mars May 23, 2007
NASA/AP Photo A patch of bright-toned soil is so rich in silica that scientists propose water must have been involved in concentrating it ... The robot analyzed a patch of soil in Gusev Crater and found it was unusually rich in silica ... Scientists said the presence of water was necessary to produce such a large silica deposit. (International Herald Tribune)
Loup teams with firm to process excess sand May 13, 2007
he clear drinking glass you're using today is made up of 80 percent silica sand, he said. and is used in cosmetics, bricks and fortified ice cream just to name a few. (Columbus Telegram, NE)
Mistaken identity - Name will be removed from mining company’s list of officials May 1, 2007
The Lausted property had initially been identified as a backup site by Cardinal Glass but was no longer under consideration once Cardinal Glass/Fairmount Minerals identified the area along Highway 12/29 as the site the company wanted to develop for a silica sand mine. Cardinal Glass/Fairmount Minerals has no connection to Proppant Specialists. (Menomonie Dunn County News, WI)
10 Money-Saving Tips You Don't Know! Apr 27, 2007
Silicone is derived from silica which is one of the most abundant minerals on earth. It will not cause irritation and is suitable for women with sensitive skin, thrush, eczema or allergy. (Sky News)
Oglebay Norton could divest from sand segment to pay down debt, finance acquisitions, sources say Apr 26, 2007
In a recent regulatory filing, Ogelbay listed its principal competitors as Connecticut-based Unimin, Ohio-based Fairmont Minerals and US Silica, a wholly-owned subsidiary of West Virginia-based Better Minerals & Aggregates. The sector banker said these competitors could also be among possible acquirers of any sands-related divestitures. (FT.com -- Markets)
Bollom is baffled - Conceived as a graduate project, The Perfect Sand Company’ erroneously lists local consultant as CEO Apr 17, 2007
The sand is described as coming from a greenfield silica site for delivery in the summer of 2006, that the sand is white in color and that it is 99 ... In an attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery about The Perfect Sand Company listings, Bollom says he has researched registered businesses in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan, the four big silica sand states in the Midwest. (Menomonie Dunn County News, WI)
Info packet to BOA must be disclosed Apr 12, 2007
The packet also includes information about the proposed silica sand mine on the Darold Lausted property near Hoffman Hills as well as a map of the proposed mining site ... At the April 19 public hearing for a special exception for Proppant Specialists to operate a silica sand mine near Hoffman Hills, the BOA will have to disclose that the packet was received. (Chippewa Falls Chippewa Herald, WI)
Great Walls of China Mar 14, 2007
(These pieces contain less clay and more feldspar and silica. These lustrous minerals turn to glass during the firing process, resulting in ceramic that is nearly see-through. (SmartMoney)
Dusty clouds of a distant planet help in the search for ET Feb 23, 2007
The atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system has been analysed by scientists using techniques that could determine whether other worlds could harbour extraterrestrial life. Observations with the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope show that the planet HD 209458b, nicknamed Osiris, is shrouded in dusty clouds, but that its atmosphere does not contain water vapour, as had been expected. (Yahoo News -- Astronomy and Space)
Latin American Minerals Confirms IP Anomalies Coincident with Gold Soil Anomalies, Identifies Drill Targets and Increase Land Position at its La Carolina Gold Project, Argentina Feb 22, 2007
Resistivity values of up to 1230 ohm/m have been recorded suggesting moderate amounts of silica or resistive units in the limbs of the diatreme. Dr. Waldo Perez, P.Geo. (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
New quartz references for workplace safety Jan 20, 2007
Crystalline silica or quartz is one of the most common minerals on Earth. When finely powdered silica gets in the air it becomes a significant health hazard ... 7 million U.S. workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica in a variety of industries and occupations, including construction, sandblasting and mining (1991 data). (EurekAlert!)
Rimfire Minerals Corporation: Drilling Underway at the Poncho Property, Nevada Jan 19, 2007
The current exploration program is targeting vein structures underlying a series of silica caps, up to 600 metres in diameter, that occur at the contact between Mesozoic sedimentary rocks and Tertiary volcanic rocks near the intersection of the regional, northwest-trending Walker Lane fault and smaller, second-order northeast-trending faults. Three strong vein structures, some with at least three kilometres of strike potential will be tested. (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
Copper, Gold and Uranium Systems Discovered at Ivanhoe's Cloncurry Project in Northwest Queensland, Australia Jan 18, 2007
Chalcocite, bornite, chalcopyrite with carbonate veins and vein breccias occur in ACD002, while similar assemblages also were noted with silica, albite and hematite alteration in ACD004. Results from the preliminary diamond drilling program are presented below. (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
Oglebay Norton Company Announces Date for Its Annual Meeting Jan 16, 2007
The Company believes that the following factors, among others, could affect its future performance and cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the Company: (1) fluctuations in energy, fuel and oil prices; (2) fluctuations in integrated steel production in the Great Lakes region; (3) fluctuations in Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic construction activity; (4) economic conditions in California and population growth... (PR Newswire)
• Remnants of the stone age Jan 14, 2007
There is no shortage of sandstone in North Dakota, a sedimentary rock that ranges from sturdy and naturally well-cemented by minerals like calcium and silica, to loose and crumbly. State Geologist Ed Murphy said while butte outcrops of sandstone are fairly common across North Dakota, particularly in the southwestern region, the rock was not often used as a building material. (Bismarck Tribune, ND)
Nortec Announces Results From the Ganarin Gold-Silver Project, Ecuador Jan 13, 2007
Visible gold and silver minerals were seen at the Chamana zone in sheeted and stockworked quartz veinlets occurring below the silica breccia cap. The Company is evaluating the results. (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
Candente-Orex Mobilize Second Drill to Pamel Property, Central Peru Jan 4, 2007
Drilling has been slow due to fractured rock and the amount of silica being intersected in the holes, especially the most recent holes. The style of silica, as well as alteration minerals being intersected, are typical of high sulphidation systems such as those at the Yanacocha, Pierina and Alto Chicama gold deposits in Peru ... This target comprises a highly resistive body with features typical of massive silica which has been delineated over a length of 2 kilometres (km) and a width of up to... (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
