#Brazil has joined the global race to commercially develop #Graphene, with the opening of the Graphene and Nanomaterials Research Center, known as #MackGraphe, at Mackenzie Presbyterian University in #SãoPaulo.
Read more at: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2016/05/mackgraphe-brazil-graphene-nanomaterials-research
#Chilean chemicals group #SQM said on Thursday it has asked local authorities to block #US #Lithium producer #Albemarle Corp from expanding production in the South #American nation for environmental reasons.
Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sqm-albemarle-idUSKCN0XW1OT
Mining companies #Vale SA and #BHP #Billiton were hit with a 155 billion-real ($43.5 billion) civil lawsuit for the collapse of a dam at a mine last year that killed 19 people and caused damage that prosecutors said was comparable to #BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of #Mexico.
Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-damburst-prosecutors-idUSKCN0XU2AH
An ‘impossible’ fuel-free engine, that could take humans to Mars in just 10 weeks, has been shown to work – but no one knows why.
The so-called EmDrive creates thrust by bouncing microwaves around in an enclosed chamber, and uses only solar power.
The #SouthAfrica-based miner is to sell the #Brazil-based arm to #China #Molybdenum for $1.5bn (£1bn) in cash. Most analysts had been expecting the business to fetch around $1bn.
Read more at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/04/28/anglo-american-pleases-investors-with-15bn-sale-of-niobium-and-p/
#Indonesia estimates the value of a 10.64 percent stake in the local unit of miner #Freeport #McMoRan Inc at about $630 million and has asked the #US-based parent to revise its offer, a mining ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.
Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/freeport-indonesia-idUSJ9N16U01E
#Chinese investment in #Indonesia jumped five-fold in the first quarter, highlighting the importance of the country to the growth prospects of #SouthEastAsia’s largest economy.
Read more at: http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/04/26/china-investment-in-indonesia-surges/
As the automotive industry pushes for a greener tomorrow, automakers will have to work with the rising cost of #Lithium. The price of the chemical element — otherwise known as #LithiumCarbonate, which is used in pure electric and hybrid battery packs — has risen to $23,000 (#US) a ton in the past few weeks, and experts believe with more demand, that price will continue to climb.
If Tesla is able to fill all of its Model 3 orders, there could be a future shortage of lithium, which is already in short supply and controlled by only a few countries: #Australia, #China, #Argentina, #Bolivia and #Chile.
Read more at: http://www.thestar.com/autos/2016/04/21/will-the-price-of-lithium-continue-to-climb.html
A potential sale of #Newmont Mining Corp.’s #Indonesian assets to a group of private investors could include a stake that the government has so far snubbed, according to the biggest #US #Gold miner.
Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-21/newmont-hoping-to-sell-entire-indonesia-stake-to-private-group
Designed at the University of #California, #Irvine, the #Battery is made up of #Gold #Nanowires coated in a manganese dioxide shell, and set in an electrolyte made of a Plexiglas-like gel.
By coating the nanowires in both a shell and the gel, the US researchers managed to prevent the nanowires from growing brittle.
Read more at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/04/21/researchers-create-an-infinite-battery-that-will-never-die/
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