A Blog for Browsing Mining, Mineral Processing, and Metals Info

Tesla founder Elon Musk has set out his ambition to ‘fundamentally change the way the world uses energy’, by unveiling a $3,000 home battery which the company claims can run an entire home for eight hours.

Musk, who founded the company, best-known for electric cars, introduced the Powerwall device at a press conference in California and said the technology could change the world.

The device, which Musk said could be in homes by the end of summer, will be able to store electricity when conditions are favorable then discharge it again later in quantities large enough to be useful to homes and businesses.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3063262/Tesla-set-reveal-home-battery-Elon-Musk-unveil-power-pack-tonight-slash-electricity-bills.html#ixzz3YtLQr9Bh

ENLARGE
Brazilian miner Vale, led by CEO Murilo Ferreira, has pushed back the timeline of a possible IPO of its base-metals division after an expected rebound in nickel prices failed to materialize.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/vale-delays-possible-base-metal-division-ipo-1430422478

Operation of the EBM machine to produce a solid metal part from powder.

GKN Aerospace recently announced two collaborative research projects related to the advancement of additive manufacturing (AM) within the aerospace industry. One is a three-year, GBP3.1m (about $4.74 million) program to develop titanium powder specifically formulated and blended for AM of aerospace components. The program, called TiPOW (Titanium Powder for net-shape component manufacture), will also develop the techniques and equipment to produce the powder consistently, in quantity, and at a lower price than today’s material.

http://articles.sae.org/14119/

GE works closely with the government and universities and collaborates with innovation centers for that. GE has partnered with more than 25 universities and educational organisations across the region to support talent growth and development. The new partnership with Wamda will further accelerate close governmental, industry and academic linkages.

Read more at: http://gulfnews.com/business/economy/ge-focuses-on-innovative-solutions-to-address-regional-needs-1.1501364

Could Apple soon be bigger than Australia?

The tech giant’s latest financial results show its market capitalisation – the value of all of its stocks – is worth roughly $980 billion.

By comparison, the size of Australia’s economy is worth $1.58 trillion, by gross domestic product.

Read more at: http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/apples-revenue-bite-could-soon-be-bigger-than-australia-20150428-1muxuw.html

Elena Polyakova, Chief Operating Officer of Graphene 3D, will present details on the new water-soluble filament and discuss the effect of graphene-enhanced materials for the 3D printing industry.

Read more at: http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1525881/graphene-3d-lab-inc-to-announce-new-filament-at-canada-makes-additive-manufacturing-forum-in-hamilton-ontario

MELBOURNE/LONDON (Reuters) – Brazil’s Vale SA has chosen Barclays to advise it on the sale of some or all of its Australian coal assets, two people close to the situation said on Monday, as the company looks to raise money to ride out the commodities rout.

Read more at: https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/27383990/vale-taps-barclays-to-advise-on-australian-asset-sale-sources/

http://www.magazine.utoronto.ca/

The engineer, inventor, Inco executive and U of T prof is remembered for his boundless passion, spirit and energy

Nickel is a metal that’s both strong and remarkably versatile. These two qualities also describe Walter Curlook: an engineer, executive, community leader and teacher whose extraordinary career was forged not just in and around the nickel mines of his native Sudbury, but in work that took him around the world.

Read more at: http://samssa.ca/2015/04/walter-curlook-was-minings-green-pioneer/

For years, area business leaders and aviation enthusiasts have advocated the need for a general aviation airport in Oak Ridge to complement commercial air service provided by McGhee Tyson Airport, the largest commercial airport in East Tennessee.

The landing of the first corporate jet in Oak Ridge is still years away, but the long-sought airport is moving closer to reality.

“There is a real need for an Oak Ridge airport,” says Becky Huckaby, vice president of public relations for the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority.

“It will help reindustrialize the area, help with parts delivery. Just like the Research Triangle in North Carolina, Oak Ridge needs a general aviation airport.”

https://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2015/apr/25/new-oak-ridge-airport-awaits-review-by-doe/