Exploring Additional Resources

Estimated additional resources (EAR) is a term that appHes to resources that are iaferred to occur as extensions of weU-explored deposits, htde-explored deposits, or undiscovered deposits beheved to exist along a well-defined geological continuity with known deposits. There are two types of EAR, EAR-I and EAR-II, which are iaferred based on direct or iadirect evidence of existence, respectively. 

Detailed examples and figures throughout the text help readers successfully perform soil sampling and analytical methods as well as better understand soil s chemical characteristics. At the end of each chapter, a bibliography and list of references lead to additional resources to explore individual topics in greater depth. Each chapter also offers problem sets, encouraging readers to put their newfound skills into practice. 

CengageNOW s online self-assessment tools give you the choices and resources you need to study smarter. You can explore a variety of tutorials, exercises, and simulations (cross-referenced throughout the text by margin annotations) or take chapter-specific Pre-Tests and get a Personalized Study plan that directs you to specific interactive materials that can help you master areas where you need additional work. Access to CengageNOW for two semesters may be included with your new textbook, or can be purchased at www.ichapters.com using ISBN 0-495-39431-9. 

A miniaturized MB spectrometer MIMOS II was developed for the robotic exploration of Mars, where it provided fundamental information about mineralogical composition and alteration processes, helped to classify rocks and soils, aided geologic mapping, was instrumental in assessing habitability of past and present environments, and identified potential construction resources for future human explorers. The applicability of the instrument as a process monitor for oxygen production and prospecting tool for lunar ISRU has been demonstrated. The characterization of air pollution sources and the study of mixed-valence materials as a function of depth in soil are examples of terrestrial in situ applications. MIMOS lla with additional XRF capability will open up new applications. 

In these experiments we have balanced the resource allocations with the depth of data necessary for each of the processes. In addition, we were able to obtain the necessary information to complete the task efficiently. In classical experimentation, one factor was changed until the optimum was found and then the next set of experiments were done at the new optimum, while changing a second variable. This procedure continued until all the variables were "optimized . With classical experimentation, the true "c timum" was rarely found. This was because only a limited number of experiments were done at each level which did not adequately explore the possible solutions, and therefore, the possibility of missing the true optimum was high. In the experiments described in this study, the interactions were extremely important and may have been missed using a tra tional approach. The above examples underscore the need for designed experiments with Aeir ability to determine how each factor affects the system, and how each of the other factors interact with that individual factor. 

Property acquisitions represent an alternative to the risks associated with traditional exploration, and available to companies and countries with sufficient cash-on-hand or with joint-venture partners. Because many mineral properties are substantially undervalued, acquisitions represent an economically-favorable manner of securing future mineral resources, allowing companies and state entities to prepare for the next upswing in mineral commodity demand in addition, acquiring future resources provides some measure of economic security in that a source of minerals commodities is essentially guaranteed. 

The system for classification and disposal of hazardous chemical waste developed by EPA under RCRA does not apply to all wastes that contain hazardous chemicals. For example, wastes that contain dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), or asbestos are regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In addition, the current definition of hazardous waste in 40 CFR Part 261 specifically excludes many wastes that contain hazardous chemicals from regulation under RCRA, including certain wastes produced by extraction, beneficiation, and processing of various ores and minerals or exploration, development, and use of energy resources. Thus, the waste classification system is not comprehensive, because many potentially important wastes that contain hazardous chemicals are excluded, and it is not based primarily on considerations of risks posed by wastes, because the exclusions are based on the source of the waste rather than the potential risk. 

As the flow of new chemical molecules dries up, the chemical industry needs to look to other sources of innovation in addition to traditional chemical research, and also ensure that it captures the maximum value of each innovation. In order to do both successfully, chemical companies have to break down their traditional inward orientation, determine explicit strategies for innovation, and mimic the business patterns and mentality of successful venture capitalists and new startups to take advantage of outside resources. Among the attractive new technological sources of innovation that they should explore are biotechnology and e-commerce (see Chapters 6 and 7). 

Current estimates of the available reserves and further resources of uranium and thorium, and their global distribution, are shown in Figs. 5.44-5.50. The uraruum proven reserves indicated in Fig. 5.44 can be extracted at costs below 130 US /t, as can the probable additional reserves indicated in Fig. 5.45. Figure 5.46 shows new and unconventional resources that may later become reserves. They are inferred on the basis of geological modelling or other indirect information (OECD and IAEA, 1993 World Energy Council, 1995). The thorium resource estimates are from the US Geological Survey (Hedrick, 1998) and are similarly divided into reserves (Eig. 5.47), additional reserves (Fig. 5.48) and more speculative resources (Fig. 5.49). The thorium situation is less well explored than that of uranium the reserves cannot be said to be "economical", as they are presently mined for other purposes (rare earth metals), and thorium is only a byproduct with currently very limited areas of use. The "speculative" Th-resources may well have a similar status to some of the additional U-reserves. 

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