The history of the mining industry is intimately connected with government regulation. As in many other countries, this reflects the fact that the Crown has reserved almost all mineral rights to itself. In many cases regulation has had adverse consequences for the sector. A notorious example was the ban on exports of iron ore in the 1960s, which depressed exploration activity and postponed the ...

The metals segment differs from other sectors in its strong dependence upon exploration and acquisition of the best ore bodies and in its greater globalization of operations. Metals producers thus spoke the most about international technology trends and lessons to be gained from abroad. Despite present low metals prices, product demand remains high, and hence increasing productivity and lowerin...

Advancements in sensors and database technologies have resulted in the collection of huge amounts of process data from chemical plants. A number of process quantities such as temperature, pressure, flow rates, level, composition, and pH can be easily measured. Chemical processes are dynamic systems and are equipped with hundreds or thousands of sensors that generate readings at regular interval...

As the information technology and internet grows, industries are able to store more and more amount of data. With the use of data mining, it is easy to analyze or process the data or to generate knowledge based on the data. Pharmaceutical industry is a huge industry which manufactures drugs in various formats such as tablets, capsules, and ointment or injection materials. Production of drugs or...

The 15th Annual Conference of the Mineral Economics and Management Society will take place in Golden Colorado, April 19 -21, 2006. This year’s theme focuses on one of the most critical issues facing mining and minerals – the issue of energy. Entitled “Mining Energy Outlook: Economic Barriers and Solutions to Energy Issues in Mining”, the conference will look at energy through three lenses impor...