Algae and mining: A new frontier in sustainable site rehabilitation

Algae might seem an unlikely candidate to help transform Australia’s post-mining landscapes, but a new CSIRO -led project suggests these tiny aquatic organisms could provide sustainable futures for mine sites, surrounding ecosystems, and local communities. Looking down the microscope at the microalgae Nannochloropsis Australia’s mining sector is approaching a crossroads—where economic legacy and environmental responsibility must find common ground. A new CSIRO -led study, supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC TiME), suggests that one of the most promising bridges between these imperatives may come from an unexpected source: algae. Though small in stature, algae are emerging as giants in their potential to transform post-mining landscapes. The study, developed in partnership with the University of Queensland and Murdoch University , proposes that algae-based technologies could reduce mining’s environmental footprint while seeding new...

With Erdenes-Tavan Tolgoi's IPO, Mongolians "will suddenly be rich"

Christian DeHaemer, Editor, Energy and Capital, writes:

"In the next year, there will be a Mongolian energy IPO that will make headlines around the world and increase the wealth of the average Mongolian by a factor of 53. This company is known as Erdenes-Tavan Tolgoi ... commonly referred to as TT [which] has a massive deposit of coking coal. In fact the 6.4 billion metric tons is the world's largest untapped deposit.

"As I write this, the Mongolian government is looking for an operator. It will likely be a large, multinational corporation. The last successful Mongolian IPO was Mongolian Mining Corp., which was offered up in the fall of 2010. MM's IPO was listed in Hong Kong and raised $651 million. At the time, it was Mongolia's largest privately-held producer and exporter of coking coal ...

"TT will be even bigger, and is expected to raise as much as $10 billion. Here is where it gets fun. The government has given each of its three million citizens 538 shares, or 10% of the company. At $10 billion, the shares would be worth $360 — or $193,680 per citizen. According to the CIA's World Factbook, Mongolia had a total GDP of $11.02 billion in 2010. Per capita income was $3,600.

"In other words, Mongolians will suddenly be rich."