Category: Economic Geology

Desenvolvimento de Materiais Para as Novas Tecnologias Energéticas

Colóquio já esta semana, na sexta-feira, dia 14 pelas 1400 na Ordem dos Engenheiros.

Nos últimos anos, têm sido numerosos os desenvolvimentos relacionados com os materiais necessários para as novas tecnologias das energias renováveis e para sistemas de armazenamento de energia. Muitos desses materiais estão nas listas de Critical Raw Materials. Portugal tem, por sinal, recursos e um elevado potencial  para jazigos de lítio, uma dos materiais críticos para a construções das baterias na base da mobilidade eléctrica.

A Ordem dos Engenheiros organiza, através do Colégio de Engenharia de Materiais, um colóquio sobre o “Desenvolvimento de Materiais Paras as Novas Tecnologias Energéticas”.

Últimas inscrições, pormenores e informações adicionais aqui.

Lithium resources in Portugal

 

The Lithium Resources in Portugal workshop is sponsored by Sínese.
The workshop will be held later this month in Guarda.
Want to talk about exploration and (e)valuation of mineral deposits in Portugal, Africa or Brazil? Drop us a line; join us at the workshop.

A first (rough) look into 2017 diamond production

World diamond production

After almost a decade of production stagnation around 130 Mct, Kimberley Process 2017 diamond annual production data show a marked production jump for diamonds. Production of rough diamonds rose from 134 Mct and US$12,4 bn (2016) to 151 Mct and US$15,9 bn (2017), an apparent return to pre-2008 levels (not there yet, but getting closer) – data from the Kimberley Process (KP).

South African production explains most of the jump in value recorded in KP data. It more than doubles previous year’s South African production value and it is a record value. Most probably I am missing something: can this be, or is the published data wrong? again, drop me a line to comment on this.

The sharp (12,5%) increase in rough diamond volume production is due to:

  • +  3,1 Mct in Australia;
  • +  2,5 Mct in Botswana;
  • + 10,2 Mct in Canada;
  • –   4,3 Mct in DRC;
  • +  0,8 Mct in Lesotho;
  • +  2,3 Mct in Russia and
  • +  1,4 Mct in South Africa.

The even sharper (28%!) value increase was due to:

  • +   483 M USD in Botswana;
  • +   663 M USD in Canada;
  • –     89 M USD in DRC;
  • +   533 M USD in Russia and
  • + 1 840 M USD in South Africa.

World diamond value

 

SME Guide For Reporting Exploration Information, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves

The 2017 SME Guide for Reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Mineral Reserves has been adopted by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc. (SME) and is therefore strongly recommended to be used by members of this organization.

The Guide is recommended as a minimum standard for reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves for public and private purposes. In terms of the Guide, Public Reports are reports prepared for the purpose of informing investors or potential investors and their advisers on Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves.

MANUAL DO OPERADOR DE PRODUTOS EXPLOSIVOS – AP3E

A AP3E – Associação Portuguesa de Estudos e Engenharia de Explosivos promove a divulgação do MANUAL DO OPERADOR DE PRODUTOS EXPLOSIVOS destinado a apoiar a formação dos Operadores de Fogo.

Este manual foi elaborado pela AP3E em colaboração com a ANIET, seguindo o programa de formação aprovado pela EFEE para o Operador de Fogo Europeu na área do desmonte de maciços rochosos.

O projeto europeu PECCS – Pan-European Competency Certificate for Shot fier/blast designer by European Federation of Explosives Engineers (www.shotfirer.eu), iniciado em setembro de 2016, com uma duração de três anos, visa o desenvolvimento de material de apoio aos formadores para a formação harmonizada do Operador de Produtos Explosivos segundo os padrões da EFEE.

Também pode obter o manual – Manual do Operador de Explosivos.

AP3E, Reunião para discutir formação de operadores de explosivos – CONVITE

A AP3E – Associação Portuguesa de Estudos e Engenharia de Explosivos promove no próximo dia 4 de Julho (quarta-feira) no LNEC – laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil – Av. do Brasil 101, Lisboa – pelas 10.00 uma reunião para discutir a formação dos operadores de explosivos. A discussão organizada pela AP3E visa desenvolver e propor um modelo que possa ser incluído na revisão em curso da legislação dos explosivos .

É naturalmente importante o contributo dos engenheiros geológicos e de minas para esta discussão. Aparece e participa.

A participação é livre.

Transition into a new mobility: US National Academies perspectives

The trend towards electrification, especially in mobility, is a major priority in the European Union.  Electrical networks’ management, batteries’ technologies and raw materials  – e.g. Co, Li and REE, generally considered critical by the EU, US and Japan and lifecycle CO2 emissions of electrical vehicles are now core issues the European Union and the focus of intense research and development in Europe’s more advanced economies, e.g. Germany, Sweden, Finland and Norway (outside the EU but with close economic and geographical ties to the Union and arguably the country with the highest electric vehicles adoption rate).

Despite being home to the iconic Tesla and California’s long-term continuous push towards low emission vehicles, the US are (wrongly, possibly) perceived today as not being in the forefront of the transition towards new-technology vehicles. Yet, the theme is also being actively discussed, perhaps in a more (typically American) open and pragmatic perspective, a particular technology having not been elected.

The (United States) National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is organizing a study to assess technologies for improving the fuel economy of light-duty vehicles. The study committee will author a report identifying fuel economy technologies, estimating the potential cost of fuel economy improvements and the barriers to deploying technologies in the 2025 to 2035 time frame.

You are invited to participate in the second study committee meeting on July 16, 2018 from 1-5:30pm ET in Washington, D.C. If you are unable to attend in person, we invite you to register for the webcast. Government, industry and non-governmental experts will address the committee on its statement of task during this information gathering session.

For those able to attend, registration is needed: Registration

The (US) National Academies Press has also made available several publication on related issues:

  • Assessment of Fuel Economy Technologies for Light-Duty Vehicles.
    National Research Council. 2011.
    Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
    https://doi.org/10.17226/12924.

    Various combinations of commercially available technologies could greatly reduce fuel consumption in passenger cars, sport-utility vehicles, minivans, and other light-duty vehicles without compromising vehicle performance or safety. Assessment of Technologies for Improving Light Duty Vehicle Fuel Economy estimates the potential fuel savings and costs to consumers of available technology combinations for three types of engines: spark-ignition gasoline, compression-ignition diesel, and hybrid.

  • Cost, Effectiveness, and Deployment of Fuel Economy Technologies for Light-Duty Vehicles.
    National Research Council. 2015.
    Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
    https://doi.org/10.17226/21744.

    The light-duty vehicle fleet is expected to undergo substantial technological changes over the next several decades. New powertrain designs, alternative fuels, advanced materials and significant changes to the vehicle body are being driven by increasingly stringent fuel economy and greenhouse gas emission standards. By the end of the next decade, cars and light-duty trucks will be more fuel efficient, weigh less, emit less air pollutants, have more safety features, and will be more expensive to purchase relative to current vehicles. Though the gasoline-powered spark ignition engine will continue to be the dominant powertrain configuration even through 2030, such vehicles will be equipped with advanced technologies, materials, electronics and controls, and aerodynamics. And by 2030, the deployment of alternative methods to propel and fuel vehicles and alternative modes of transportation, including autonomous vehicles, will be well underway. What are these new technologies – how will they work, and will some technologies be more effective than others?

  • Review of the Research Program of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership: Fifth Report.
    National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017.
    Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
    https://doi.org/10.17226/24717.

    Review of the Research Program of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership: Fifth Report follows on four previous reviews of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, which was the predecessor of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership. The U.S. DRIVE (Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle Efficiency and Energy Sustainability) vision, according to the charter of the Partnership, is this: American consumers have a broad range of affordable personal transportation choices that reduce petroleum consumption and significantly reduce harmful emissions from the transportation sector. Its mission is as follows: accelerate the development of pre-competitive and innovative technologies to enable a full range of efficient and clean advanced light-duty vehicles (LDVs), as well as related energy infrastructure. The Partnership focuses on precompetitive research and development (R&D) that can help to accelerate the emergence of advanced technologies to be commercialization-feasible.

  • Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels.
    National Research Council. 2013.
    Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
    https://doi.org/10.17226/18264.

    For a century, almost all light-duty vehicles (LDVs) have been powered by internal combustion engines operating on petroleum fuels. Energy security concerns about petroleum imports and the effect of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on global climate are driving interest in alternatives. Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels assesses the potential for reducing petroleum consumption and GHG emissions by 80 percent across the U.S. LDV fleet by 2050, relative to 2005.

  • Overcoming Barriers to Deployment of Plug-in Electric Vehicles.
    Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2015.
    Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
    https://doi.org/10.17226/21725.

    In the past few years, interest in plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) has grown. Advances in battery and other technologies, new federal standards for carbon-dioxide emissions and fuel economy, state zero-emission-vehicle requirements, and the current administration’s goal of putting millions of alternative-fuel vehicles on the road have all highlighted PEVs as a transportation alternative. Consumers are also beginning to recognize the advantages of PEVs over conventional vehicles, such as lower operating costs, smoother operation, and better acceleration; the ability to fuel up at home; and zero tailpipe emissions when the vehicle operates solely on its battery. There are, however, barriers to PEV deployment, including the vehicle cost, the short all-electric driving range, the long battery charging time, uncertainties about battery life, the few choices of vehicle models, and the need for a charging infrastructure to support PEVs. What should industry do to improve the performance of PEVs and make them more attractive to consumers?

  • Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles.
    Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2010.
    Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
    https://doi.org/10.17226/12845.

    Vehicles evaluates various technologies and methods that could improve the fuel economy of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, transit buses, and work trucks. The book also recommends approaches that federal agencies could use to regulate these vehicles’ fuel consumption. Currently there are no fuel consumption standards for such vehicles, which account for about 26 percent of the transportation fuel used in the U.S.

  • Reducing the Fuel Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Phase Two: First Report.
    Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2014.
    Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
    https://doi.org/10.17226/18736.

    Medium- and heavy-duty trucks, motor coaches, and transit buses – collectively, “medium- and heavy-duty vehicles”, or MHDVs – are used in every sector of the economy. The fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of MHDVs have become a focus of legislative and regulatory action in the past few years. Reducing the Fuel Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Phase Two is a follow-on to the National Research Council’s 2010 report, Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium-and Heavy-Duty Vehicles. That report provided a series of findings and recommendations on the development of regulations for reducing fuel consumption of MHDVs.

  • Strategies to Advance Automated and Connected Vehicles.
    National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017.
    Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
    https://doi.org/10.17226/24873.

    TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has released Strategies to Advance Automated and Connected Vehicles: Briefing Document. It is intended for state, regional, and local agency and political decision makers who are framing public policy making for these transformational technologies. The briefing document makes the case for taking action in spite of uncertainties and presents 18 policy and planning strategies that may be useful in advancing societal goals.

  • Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass: Technological Status, Costs, and Environmental Impacts.
    National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Research Council. 2009.
    Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
    https://doi.org/10.17226/12620.

    TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has released Strategies to Advance Automated and Connected Vehicles: Briefing Document. It is intended for state, regional, and local agency and political decision makers who are framing public policy making for these transformational technologies. The briefing document makes the case for taking action in spite of uncertainties and presents 18 policy and planning strategies that may be useful in advancing societal goals.

     

 

Portugal: Energia (e Recursos Minerais) – II

Preços da electricidade doméstica em Portugal.png
Preços (€/kwh) da electricidade doméstica em Portugal desde 1985 – dados DGEG (recolhidos no Observatório da Energia). Domestic Electricity prices (€/kwh) in Portugal since 1985 (data from the Observatório de Energia) 

Portugal: Energia (e Recursos Minerais) – I

Consumos de energia e electricidade per capita em Portugal
Consumo per capita de energia (tep/hab) e de eletricidade (Mwh/hab) em Portugal – dados DGEG (recolhidos no Observatório da Energia). Per capita energy (tet/hab) and electricity consumption in Portugal – DGEG data published in Observatório da Energia)