News in Brief 06_2016

In the presence of Federal Ministers Peter Altmaier and Heiko Maas, the new RAG representative office – a communications centre in a former machine hall – and the Saarpolygon landmark – a 30 m tall steel sculpture – have been opened in mid-September at the Duhamel plant in Ensdorf/Germany (Figures 1, 2). Peter Schrimpf, Vice Chairman of RAG Aktiengesellschaft, Herne/Germany, welcomed ...

The framework conditions for producing electricity in conventional large-scale power plants have changed substantially for the long-term as a result of the revised German energy policy. Prioritising renewable energies triggers economies of scale and price effects that place the owners and operators of fossil-fuel power stations in particular under considerable pressure in terms of earnings. In response to this, the ...

In a speech given in the state parliament of Saxony on the proposal made by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) (“Saxony unearths its wealth – pursue the raw materials strategy”), the Minister for Economic Affairs, Martin Dulig, declared himself in favour of the continued development of the Saxon raw materials industry. “By setting out ...

TU Clausthal (TUC), Clausthal-Zellerfeld/Germany, and the Georg Agricola Technical University (THGA) in Bochum/Germany, want to work together in future, particularly in the fields of mining, post-mining and process engineering. Prof. Alfons Esderts, TU Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer, and Prof. Jürgen Kretschmann, President of the Bochum-based university, have signed an appropriate cooperation agreement (Figure 1). The cooperation was ...

The Helmuth-Burckhardt Prize 2016, awarded by the German Raw Materials and Mining Association (VRB), Berlin/Germany, went to the young graduate mining engineer, Stephan Szigeti, from Freiberg. The Fach-spitzenverband des deutschen Bergbaus (Specialist Umbrella Organisation for the German Mining Industry) presented the young academic with his prize in Berlin on 29th September 2016 as part of its general meeting (Figure 1). ...

In August, the German Federation of International Mining and Mineral Resources (FAB), Berlin/Germany, and the Chilean Mining Association (SONAMI) agreed to step up their cooperation and signed a joint cooperation agreement accordingly. The purpose of this cooperation is to provide mutual access to the services of each institution and generate a continuous exchange of information. This should encourage cooperation between ...

In mid-September 2016, the first cars for the future transport of potash from the new Legacy site to Vancouver harbour were handed over to K+S Potash Canada (KSPC) by the Canadian manufacturer, National Steel Car (NSC). The cars, specially designed for KSPC, are shorter than conventional freight cars but have the same capacity – around 105 t – meaning more ...

Australia On 23rd September 2016, approximately 200 people attended the South Australian Resources Industry Innovation Summit in Adelaide. In addition to presentations on the subject of innovation from the two largest copper producers in South Australia, BHP Billiton and OzMinerals, as well as from research institutes such as the Future Industries Institute, the University of South Australia and Deep Exploration ...

With almost 1,300 exhibitors, MINExpo in Las Vegas/USA is the world’s largest forum for the mining industry and its suppliers. 27 German companies exhibited at the shared German stand in the North Hall (Figure 1), which was overseen by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (German Engineering Federation, VDMA) and Messe ...