Russian diversified metals producer Nornickel announced on Tuesday it had successfully tested gypsum — a byproduct of its flagship environmental project, the Sulfur Programme — for its use in making construction materials. To conduct lab tests, the miner joined forces with Russian producer of mortars and drywall materials Volma. Now, only formal environmental impact assessment is required for Nornickel and...
Scientists from the Institute of Laser and Welding Technologies of the St. Petersburg State Marine Technical University (SMTU, or ‘Korabelka’) developed a multilayer material using direct laser growth, which will allow parts to withstand dynamic loads longer. The study was published in the International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology. Why it matters The new material will be useful in the...
Scientists at the US-based Sandia National Laboratory, in collaboration with the Ames National Laboratory, the Iowa State University, and Bruker Corp. used a 3D printer to create a high-performance metal superalloy with an unusual composition that makes it stronger and lighter than modern materials currently used in gas turbine equipment, the Sandia lab announced. Experiments showed that a new superalloy...
Chemists at Russia’s Tomsk State University (TSU) have developed a method for obtaining Ti–Al composites (titanium aluminides) doped with rare earth metals zirconium and neodymium, and have already produced prototypes of the alloys, the university said. Why it matters: Ti–Al alloys can be used in various fields including the nuclear industry, aviation, shipbuilding, space and rocket technology, transport engineering and...
Scientists in New Zealand and Australia have made a significant discovery in the field of nanomaterials by creating tiny metallic snowflakes. Who Professor Nicola Gaston and research fellow Dr Steph Lambie, both of Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and Dr Krista Steenbergen of Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington, collaborated with colleagues in Australia led by Professor Kourosh...
Glencore is to sign a long-term agreement with recycling technology firm ACE Green Recycling, whereby the latter will supply recycled lead and key metal-based battery end products from recycled lithium-ion batteries. Under the 15-year agreement, Glencore will receive up to 100% of ACE’s products from four of its proposed lead-acid and lithium-ion battery recycling parks in the US, India and...
As part of the Think & Act Differently (TAD) incubator initiative, funding and support will be offered to innovators seeking to reimagine mining and processing to remove, minimize, find value in or reuse mine tailings. Who Anglo-Australian mining firm Rio Tinto, copper miner OZ Minerals and Sweden-based metals firm Boliden have agreed to partner on developing new solutions to manage...
New porous titanium technology for implants developed by Russian scientists Who The Department of Materials Science and Materials Technology of the Moscow Aviation Institute claims to have developed a crystallization technology that allows for the relatively inexpensive production of titanium “cotton” for implants, which is set to be 5–6 times less expensive and more consistent than existing technologies. 3D printing...
A green and efficient new rare earth mining technology that uses electricity instead of chemicals has been proposed. Who Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry proposed a new approach in the Nature Sustainability journal earlier this month, showing that employing electrokinetic mining techniques to extract rare earth elements from weathering crusts can be both clean...
A new theory of iron–nickel alloy solidification has been proposed. Regulating the process of creating Invar (iron–nickel, Fe–Ni) could bring about a more uniform structure, controlled characteristics, and improved properties in the final product. Who Physicists at the Ural Federal University (UrFU) have determined that oncoming flow plays an important role in the technology for creating Invar products, namely in...
