geologist http://www.artwoo.com Returned search results for geologist Copyright 2008 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 05:49:56 +0000 http://www.artwoo.com/rss/geologist Geologist Career http://www.artwoo.com/article/geologist-career http://www.artwoo.com/article/geologist-career#comments Wed, 15 Nov 2006 20:27:10 +0000 geologistcareer descriptionscomposition of the earthgeologywww careerrock formationscareers available http://www.artwoo.com/article/geologist-career geology can be very rewarding in a number of different ways. But before you get too excited about a career you will want to make sure that you know what you are getting yourself into. After all, a geologist career is not among the most common. Sure, there are many geologist , but if you do not know what you are getting yourself into you may not have much luck when it comes to finding the job that is right for you.

Generally speaking, a geologist career has to do with somebody who studies the ; more particularly the . As you can probably imagine, there are not too many of these jobs available. But if you think that a geologist career is right for you, there is no reason for you to back down from the industry. Sure, you are going to be up against a lot of competition, but this is the truth no matter what career you are interested in. As long as you know what types of geologist careers are available, you will be able to give yourself the best chance of finding one that suits your needs.

If you think that a career in geology is right for you, look into the details a bit further. You can do plenty of research on geologist careers by simply going online and searching for it. In addition, there are many books that are devoted to geology as well. They will give you a good idea as to what is available in the industry today. All you have to do is take the time to search for the information that will best help you out.

Overall, a geologist career is a great way to spend your life. You can make a lot of money in the field of geology, and it is also a very interesting. As long as you know what a geologist career is all about, you should not have any problems getting started. Francois is an author at http://www.career-descriptions.co.uk and a popular publisher of many Geologist Career articles. ]]> Persuade With Logic, Evidence Or Authority? http://www.artwoo.com/article/persuade-with-logic-evidence-or-authority http://www.artwoo.com/article/persuade-with-logic-evidence-or-authority#comments Thu, 14 Jun 2007 03:29:54 +0000 observable evidencezion national parksarojlogicsandstone cliffseasily persuadeddo you really know http://www.artwoo.com/article/persuade-with-logic-evidence-or-authority
I was reminded of this again today as I was hiking with my wife, , in . And not just any old hike, but up the Narrows, which is a hike literally up in the river that winds it's way through the canyon.

You get wet but that is more than compensated by the amazing scenery. On either side of us were magnificent, 1,500-foot red rising straight out of the water.

In one section that actually overhangs the river, the rock is black, not red. I explained to Saroj that this was probably due to the fact that the dampness of the rock and lack of sun supports the growth of mildew and bacteria that ultimately stains the red rock black. Makes sense, right?

Well, she wasn't too sure. She thought it was a different kind of rock. So I pointed out that the black blended right into the red. You could see that it was clearly the same rock.

If at that moment, a geologist had waded up the river beside us and confirmed my assertion, I'm quite sure she would have finally believed me (or not, depending on what he said).

You see, I was using and evidence to make my case. But Saroj much prefers authority to determine if a thing is true on not. (I know you're brilliant at marketing, but what about rocks, Sweetie?)

This, of course, is the source of many an argument. But that's another story...

The fact is, different people are persuaded by different things. I am by logic and , while others much prefer to get confirmation from someone who is certified to be an expert.

This is something very useful to consider when you're trying to persuade someone of something, such as trying to get a prospect to see the value of your services.

What should you use? Logic, evidence or authority?

Simple, use all three in as many ways as you possibly can. Let's take the example of a firm, Turnaround Wizards, who is working at persuading a client that they can get the job done.

1. Use logic to build a sound, credible argument:

Explain the difference that your service makes by comparing it to other things they are familiar with. Build your argument one step at a time so that it holds together and makes logical sense.

"Turnaround Wizards offers a one-year program instead of a weekend workshop because the learning really sticks when you apply our models, evaluate the results and then fine tune performance. It's like learning anything, a musical instrument, a language or a professional skill. None of those come instantly and neither does the ability to consistently meet or exceed your business targets."

2. Use evidence to show how your service actually works:

One of the best ways to do this is to cite before and after examples. The use of case studies, especially with similar companies, is very persuasive because it clearly demonstrates that your program works, through actual, observable results.

"A large manufacturing division was losing over $10OK per month. The workers were on the verge of revolt when our performance system was introduced. But once they started to apply the Turnaround Wizard program, things turned around quickly. They are now the top performing division in their company."

3. Use authority to add weight and credibility:

For some people, logic and evidence only gets you so far. After all, you're the one presenting that logic and evidence and you have a built-in bias. But a testimonial or endorsement from a credible source is very persuasive, simply because it's from a third party who is more objective.

"We did a test program with Turnaround Wizards and, although somewhat skeptical at first, were very impressed with the final results. The profit gains were significant. The whole attitude of the division also turned around. We were so happy with their performance that we are bringing them into all our divisions."

By using all three means of persuasion, don't you think the prospect will be much closer to signing your contract?

Whether you're trying to persuade your wife why red rocks turn black in the Narrows of Zion National Park or attempting to persuade a potential client to do business with you, I recommend you use all three - logic, evidence and performance - every chance you get.

I'm still looking for that geologist! Robert Middleton, the owner of Action Plan Marketing, has been helping Independent Professionals be better marketers since 1984. On his web site http://www.ActionPlan.com find valuable resources, products and programs for attracting more clients. Get a free copy of his Marketing Plan Sart-Up Kit. ]]> How To Rate Your Favorite Uranium Company http://www.artwoo.com/article/how-to-rate-your-favorite-uranium-company http://www.artwoo.com/article/how-to-rate-your-favorite-uranium-company#comments Sun, 02 Jul 2006 04:27:08 +0000 uranium producerssprott asset managementresumesexit strategypreferred investmentinvestment vehiclesinvestment risk http://www.artwoo.com/article/how-to-rate-your-favorite-uranium-company exit strategy for the early and nimble speculator.

We have created a 7-point ratings system to help you in determining which companies might be best suited for your degree of . It's a guideline you can use, and we've not assigned a weighting to each item. Nor have we named any uranium companies. This is a do-it-yourself ratings system, which requires but two actions on your part: (a) be persistent in your data-gathering from each company by asking the questions we posed below, and (b) be honest in your assessment when you review this data.

Some of the more speculative, pure exploration plays might abandon their properties by the end of the year or in 2007. Those would include under-capitalized companies with the more speculative properties and who also fare poorly on our ratings system. This ratings checklist would also apply to the pure specs. We began with our article, "How to Choose a Uranium Stock," featuring Market Strategist Kevin Bambrough and Senior Portfolio Manager Jean Francois Tardif, as a starting point to create a more advanced ratings system for you.

are likely to make a strong comeback as they cross over or switch to more lucrative long-term contracts. But, it could be the smaller, but more solid, uranium development companies which could emerge as the vehicles, when the bull the next leg of its long run. Now that we have had a shakeout, with possibly another one on the horizon, it is wise to properly evaluate the important merits of the more serious uranium development companies.

Below are some of the key criteria we are using in our ratings system to objectively evaluate uranium companies covered in our new book, "Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market: A Practical Investor's Guide to Uranium Stocks." Please determine if your favorite exploration and/or development company meets these standards. This is one way of obtaining sufficient data to help you form a snapshot of a company's prospects.

1.Cash Position. The more cash a company has in its treasury, the longer it can survive. Find out if your favorite company has a minimum of $20 million in cash. More than $30 million gives a company some breathing room. Exploration and development are very expensive propositions. Raising money in a down market is very tough.

2.National Instrument 43-101. This independent geological assessment determines how many pounds of uranium a company's property hosts. While there are flaws with this system, it can be a workable yardstick. Find out if your favorite company has a minimum of 20 million pounds of a NI 43-101-compliant uranium resource. One should consider historical resources inadequate for evaluation purposes. They may also be misleading and open to hyperbole.

3.Pedigree of Known Deposits. Many of the uranium development companies hold properties, which were once held by the minerals or uranium divisions of major oil companies. Some were continuously held, during the 20-year bear market in uranium by one company or another, and then abandoned during the nadir of the drought. Find out if your favorite uranium company's primary properties were continuously held until 2000 or a bit longer, but before the spot uranium market reversed. The earlier a company acquired its properties, the greater the probability that company got the best ones. Those who came into the game late often got the crumbs.

4.Drill Databases. Those previous land tenants, the major oil companies, who spent tens of millions of dollars drilling the uranium properties, accumulated drill databases. Some companies got the property, but not the drill databases. Some companies bought the drill database as part of their property acquisition. Find out if the company's primary properties also have the drill database accompanying it. You may be surprised at what you find.

5.Pedigree of Uranium District. There are several premier uranium districts, which have a history of large-scale uranium production: Athabasca, Australia's Northern Territories or South Australia, Grant's New Mexico, Wyoming, Kazakhstan, Niger, and Namibia. Find out if your favorite company has holdings in these districts. Some companies have holdings in multiple uranium districts, which may also become recognized as a wise decision by their management.

6.Management's Technical Experience. There are three categories of uranium experience: exploration geologist, project geologist and mine operations. Find out how much experience your company's geological team has in each of those three categories. Those with less than 100 man-years of uranium experience behind them may be lacking. Those companies which have strength in all three categories could become the next uranium producers.

7.Political or Environmental Risk of Primary Assets. Finally, you should assess the risk of the company's primary assets with regards to its location. Primary uranium assets in North America or Australia's Northern Territories hold the lowest risk. Those companies exploring or developing in Niger, Namibia or Brazil have slightly higher political risk. Companies with prospects in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kazakhstan or Mongolia hold more risk than some investors may wish to tolerate. Areas which forbid mining such as Queensland, Western Australia or the U.S. state of Virginia carry an enormous degree of risk and a Kierkegaardian leap of faith.

Now you can rate your favorite uranium company and use this ratings system to help you sift through the more than 300 potential stocks in which you might have considered investing. James Finch contributes to http://StockInterview.com and other publications. Sign up now and get your free copy of our new book, "Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market: A Practical Investor's Guide to Uranium Stocks." Just visit http://www.stockinterview.com for details. ]]> Appreciating Quality Educational Toys http://www.artwoo.com/article/appreciating-quality-educational-toys http://www.artwoo.com/article/appreciating-quality-educational-toys#comments Wed, 07 May 2008 19:15:51 +0000 great white sharksglow in the dark starsreptile habitatsastronomy toolstrap insectsquality telescopesworld clock http://www.artwoo.com/article/appreciating-quality-educational-toys
Examples of quality educational toys are toys that connect to science and discovery. These toys are very functional and enjoyable for children with the ambition to be a scientist, geologist, chemist and other science related professions.

A very wide variety of toys are in store for these children to explore the world around them and widen their knowledge. Toys like binoculars, animal kits, archeology and and play kits, robotic kits, advanced books about science and a lot more.

Animals have this extraordinary charm on most children. They might have the same effect on your child. Toys like habitats and animal play sets will make your kid happy for hours. Three examples of entertaining toys are the , the creature keeper used to and bugs and the foam .

Being astronomers in the future is also famous among children. For them, anything that has to do with stars, galaxies, moons, planets and the universe are great quality toys. Space mission play sets, handy star navigators, and binoculars, and solar systems and rockets are some quality educational toys you can provide your child to have fun and dicover with.

Aspiring geographers will definitely love and find out a whole lot from the globe. The globe may seem boring, but they actually provide knowledge and also fun. Plus, globes today have wider varieties of designs for you to choose from. Some globes have embossed land formations that the children can touch.

Others are electronic and have built in geographical facts, times and trivia that would help your children learn and discover the world.

Besides globes, electronic interactive books provide excellent and fun learning for your little ones. These books have maps that talk and say different names of capitals and states. And, of course, the very popular puzzles are helpful to your little geographer wannabes. They come in different fun shapes, designs and sizes.

One of the top quality learning aids for aspiring physicists and chemists is the snap circuit kits. These kits help your child in conducting experiments and making projects like radios, light bulb set ups and much more.

Water wizardry kits that can be used by children to create rainbows, gels and snow in a test tube with only some water also enhances your child's abilities.

Children will definitely learn a lot from quality educational toys like those toys that teach science and encourage discovery. These quality toys are absolutely worth the price. Low Jeremy maintains http://Educational-Toys.ArticlesForReprint.com. This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included. ]]> Appreciating Quality Educational Toys http://www.artwoo.com/article/appreciating-quality-educational-toys http://www.artwoo.com/article/appreciating-quality-educational-toys#comments Fri, 02 Feb 2007 18:27:07 +0000 educational toyschild toysquality toysworld clockglow in the dark starsgreat white sharksreptile habitats http://www.artwoo.com/article/appreciating-quality-educational-toys
Examples of quality are toys that connect to science and discovery. These toys are very functional and enjoyable for children with the ambition to be a scientist, geologist, chemist and other science related professions.

A very wide variety of toys are in store for these children to explore the world around them and widen their knowledge. Toys like binoculars, animal kits, archeology and astronomy tools and play kits, robotic kits, advanced books about science and a lot more.

Animals have this extraordinary charm on most children. They might have the same effect on your child. Toys like habitats and animal play sets will make your kid happy for hours. Three examples of entertaining toys are the , the creature keeper used to trap insects and bugs and the foam .

Being astronomers in the future is also famous among children. For them, anything that has to do with stars, galaxies, moons, planets and the universe are great . Space mission play sets, handy star navigators, quality telescopes and binoculars, and solar systems and rockets are some quality educational toys you can provide your child to have fun and dicover with.

Aspiring geographers will definitely love and find out a whole lot from the globe. The globe may seem boring, but they actually provide knowledge and also fun. Plus, globes today have wider varieties of designs for you to choose from. Some globes have embossed land formations that the children can touch.

Others are electronic and have built in geographical facts, times and trivia that would help your children learn and discover the world.

Besides globes, electronic interactive books provide excellent and fun learning for your little ones. These books have maps that talk and say different names of capitals and states. And, of course, the very popular puzzles are helpful to your little geographer wannabes. They come in different fun shapes, designs and sizes.

One of the top quality learning aids for aspiring physicists and chemists is the snap circuit kits. These kits help your child in conducting experiments and making projects like radios, light bulb set ups and much more.

Water wizardry kits that can be used by children to create rainbows, gels and snow in a test tube with only some water also enhances your child's abilities.

Children will definitely learn a lot from quality educational toys like those toys that teach science and encourage discovery. These quality toys are absolutely worth the price. Low Jeremy maintains http://Educational-Toys.ArticlesForReprint.com. This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included. ]]> The Fossil Record And Creation Science http://www.artwoo.com/article/the-fossil-record-and-creation-science http://www.artwoo.com/article/the-fossil-record-and-creation-science#comments Mon, 17 Apr 2006 23:50:04 +0000 fossil recordearth creationismfossilsrandomtrilobiteabstracttrilobites http://www.artwoo.com/article/the-fossil-record-and-creation-science fossil record in order to support their position. In one instance, the article "The Fossil Record: Becoming More All the Time" by John Woodmorappe, has some very good points to it (Footnote 1). Read it if you like, (its a long one), but you don't have to much farther than the to see problems. Actually, some are problems, and some are deceptions.

The abstract states that "The reality of the geologic column is predicated on the belief that have restricted ranges in rock strata." Of course it is...this has been the "reality" all along. His wording makes it sound as if the geologist has been up to some deceit...but this is not the case. He goes on to claim, "as more and more fossils are found, the ranges of fossils keep increasing." Welcome to the world of science! This is nothing new. As new discoveries are made, the timelines that we thought species were living is extended. So what! He states that stratigraphic-range extension is not the exception but the rule. OF course it is, by its very nature it HAS to be. You are not going to "shorten" ranges...the only way to go is to extend them. It has always been this way, and always will be this way. It in no way makes dating through the use of fossils invalid.

Does it make "it easier for the Genesis Flood to explain an increasingly-random fossil record" as the author claims? Yes, if it were "increasingly random," but it is not. Because you increase the range of an organism's lifespan on earth does not prove more "randomization." He states further down, when expressing questions from evolutionists, "why a layer of rock containing s is never found to contain dinosaurs," and vice-versa. Great point...if we are to suddenly find a trilobite in a dinosaur layer...great, they lived longer than expected. If we find a trilobite with a human fossil, then great. It has no implications for young or old .

The author is trying to establish credible proof for a completely random fossil record. A completely random fossil record should have been created from the Flood, if you follow the model proposed by young-earth scientists. What is meant by "random?" If the fossil record was random, we should have humans, and dinosaurs, and all together...but we don't. In fact, look at the Grand Canyon...you would expect many fossils in the rocks at the bottom, but starting from the bottom, you have to go thousands of feet up the rock strata before you even get to any vertebrate fossils. Why are they not lower down? By the flood model, while these thousands of feet of strata were laid down, all the vertebrates were busy "treading water" for months, until they finally died and sank? Not only is this not possible, it is not supported in the fossil record. The fossil record shows increasingly complex organisms, as you go upward (or, younger) in the geologic column, which is exactly what you would expect in an old earth.

Boundary Fossils

Many points on the geologic time scale were made with the use of boundary fossils. This is a means of dating a rock, albeit not precisely, by using the range that an organism existed as a boundary. In other words, for instance, the Cretaceous period ended 65 million years ago. You could use a dinosaur fossil in a rock layer, and state with certainty that the rock is older than 65 million years.

Yes, boundary fossils are used to create imaginary timelines, so that earth history can be better understood. Does finding a boundary fossil outside their previously-believed range invalidate the timeline...no, it just increases that organism's life range. So what if new timelines are made. That's just science reacting to a change of the "evidence" in the rock record. Is it a perfect system? No. Is it a reliable method that considers all the evidence fairly, and reaches a logical, reliable conclusion? Yes.

What's So Hard to Understand?

That's what we call science...something familiar to a scientist, but for some unknown reason it is a hard concept to grasp for a young-earth scientist. When new discoveries are made, theories change, textbooks re-written, research articles published. It is a great process.

Why do young-earth scientists like to disavow scientific methods? Mud-slinging, mis-statements, and controversies over ages which are taken out of context are all the weapons that a young-earth scientist has left, because they can't prove a young earth from science.

The author claims, "Creationists, including myself, have provided a variety of alternative explanations for fossil succession." Have they been accepted by the scientific community...NO, because there are no facts to back them up from the geologic record. They are only accepted within the small community of young-earth scientists, and their devoted followers. They say the world scoffs at them, because the Bible says they will be persecuted for holding to their faith...no, that's not true. The world scoffs because they hold to an unprovable, unbelievable theory based on an inaccurate interpretation of the Bible and science.

The God of the Bible is real, and yes, the earth is old. God's creation testifies to this. The Bible says, "speak to the earth, and it will teach thee" (Job 12:8). Let's all listen to what the earth has to say.

Conclusion

The author assumes that the fossil record is becoming more random, and will eventually prove the flood. Unfortunately for him, this is far from the truth. Randomness will never be proved. In fact, the rock record has already disproved it.



Footnote 1: "The Fossil Record: Becoming More Random All the Time" (answersingenesis.org/home/area/magazines/tj/v14n1_fossil-rec.asp) Greg Neyman is the founder of the website ministry Answers In Creation, located at http://www.answersincreation.org.. The original location of this article is at http://www.answersincreation.org./fossilrecord.htm. ]]> What Is ISL Uranium Mining? http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-is-isl-uranium-mining http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-is-isl-uranium-mining#comments Thu, 27 Apr 2006 23:50:01 +0000 uranium explorationuranium depositplumbing systemislwyoming mining associationaquiferssandstone http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-is-isl-uranium-mining ISL), also known as in-situ mining or solution mining, was first used as a means to extract low grades of uranium from ore in underground mines. First used in Wyoming in the 1950s, originally as a low production experiment at the Lucky June mine, it became a high-production, low cost method of fulfilling Atomic Energy Commission uranium requirements at Utah Construction Company's Shirley Basin mining operations in the 1960s. Pioneered through the efforts of Charles Don Snow, a and mining geologist employed by Utah, many of his developments are still used today in ISL mining.

What is ISL mining? According to the website, ISL mining is explained in the following manner. (We choose Wyoming because it is the birthplace of "solution mining" as it was originally called.)

"In-situ mining is a noninvasive, environmentally friendly mining process involving minimal surface disturbance which extracts uranium from porous by reversing the natural processes which deposited the uranium.

To be mined in situ, the must occur in permeable sandstone aquifers. These sandstone aquifers provide the "" for both the original emplacement and the recovery of the uranium. The uranium was emplaced by weakly oxidizing ground water which moved through the plumbing systems of the geologic formation. To effectively extract uranium deposited from ground water, a company must first thoroughly define this plumbing system and then designs well fields that best fit the natural hydro-geological conditions.

Detailed mapping techniques, using geophysical data from standard logging tools, have been developed by uranium companies. These innovative mapping methods define the geologic controls of the original solutions, so that these same routes can be retraced for effective in situ leaching of the ore. Once the geometry of the ore bodies is known, the locations of injection and recovery wells are planned to effectively contact the uranium. This technique has been used in several thousand wells covering hundreds of acres.

Following the installation of the well field, a leaching solution (or lixiviant), consisting of native ground water containing dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide, is delivered to the uranium-bearing strata through the injection wells. Once in contact with the mineralization, the lixiviant oxidizes the uranium minerals, which allows the uranium to dissolve in the ground water. Production wells, located between the injection wells, intercept the pregnant lixiviant and pump it to the surface. A centralized ion-exchange facility extracts the uranium from the barren lixiviant, stripped of uranium, is regenerated with oxygen and carbon dioxide and recirculated for continued leaching. The ion exchange resin, which becomes "loaded" with uranium, it is stripped or eluted. Once eluted, the ion exchange resin is returned to the well field facility.

During the mining process, slightly more water is produced from the ore-bearing formation than is reinjected. This net withdrawal, or "bleed", produces a cone of depression in the mining area, controlling fluid flow and confining it to the mining zone. The mined aquifer is surrounded, both laterally and above and below, by monitor wells which are frequently sampled to ensure that all mining fluids are retained within the mining zone. The "bleed" also provides a chemical bleed on the aquifer to limit the buildup of species like sulfate and chloride which are affected by the leaching process. The "bleed" water is treated for removal of uranium and radium. This treated water is then disposed of through waste water land application, or irrigation. A very small volume of radioactive sludge results; this sludge is disposed of at an NRC licensed uranium tailings facility.

The ion exchange resin is stripped of its uranium, and the resulting rich eluate is precipitated to produce a yellow cake slurry. This slurry is dewatered and dried to a final drummed uranium concentrate.

At the conclusion of the leaching process in a well field area, the same injection and production wells and surface facilities are used for restoration of the affected ground water. Ground water restoration is accomplished in three ways. First, the water in the leach zone is removed by "ground water sweep", and native ground water flows in to replace the removed contaminated water. The water which is removed is again treated to remove radionuclides and disposed of in irrigation. Second, the water which is removed is processed to purify it, typically with reverse osmosis, and the pure water is injected into the affected aquifer. This reinjection of very pure water results in a large increment of water quality improvement in a short time period. Third, the soluble metal ions which resulted from the oxidation of the ore zone are chemically immobilized by injecting a reducing chemical into the ore zone, immobilizing these constituents in situ. Ground water restoration is continued until the affected water is suitable for its pre-mining use.

Throughout the leaching and restoration processes, a company ensures the isolation of the leach zone by careful well placement and construction. The well fields are extensively monitored to prevent the contamination of other aquifers.

Once mining is complete, the aquifer is restored by pumping fresh water through the aquifer until the ground water meets the pre-mining use.

In situ mining has several advantages over conventional mining. First, the environmental impact is minimal, as the affected water is restored at the conclusion of mining. Second, it is lower cost, allowing Wyoming's low grade deposits to compete globally with the very high grade deposits of Canada. Finally the method is safe and proven, resulting in minimal employee exposure to health risks."

ISL mining may be the wave of the future of U.S. uranium mining, or it may become an interim mining measure, in areas where the geology is appropriate for IS. Until sufficient quantities of uranium are required by U.S. utilities to fuel the country's demand for nuclear energy, ISL mining may remain the leading uranium mining method in the United States. At some point, an overwhelming need for uranium for the nuclear fuel cycle may again put ISL mining in the backseat, and uranium miners may return to conventional mining methods, such as open pit mining. James Finch contributes to http://StockInterview.com and other publications. You can email James Finch at jfinch@stockinterview.com. All of his archived articles (with photos, maps and charts) can be read at http://www.stockinterview.com ]]> What Is ISL Uranium Mining? http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-is-isl-uranium-mining http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-is-isl-uranium-mining#comments Thu, 27 Apr 2006 22:50:01 +0000 uranium explorationuranium depositplumbing systemislwyoming mining associationaquiferssandstone http://www.artwoo.com/article/what-is-isl-uranium-mining ISL), also known as in-situ mining or solution mining, was first used as a means to extract low grades of uranium from ore in underground mines. First used in Wyoming in the 1950s, originally as a low production experiment at the Lucky June mine, it became a high-production, low cost method of fulfilling Atomic Energy Commission uranium requirements at Utah Construction Company's Shirley Basin mining operations in the 1960s. Pioneered through the efforts of Charles Don Snow, a and mining geologist employed by Utah, many of his developments are still used today in ISL mining.

What is ISL mining? According to the website, ISL mining is explained in the following manner. (We choose Wyoming because it is the birthplace of "solution mining" as it was originally called.)

"In-situ mining is a noninvasive, environmentally friendly mining process involving minimal surface disturbance which extracts uranium from porous by reversing the natural processes which deposited the uranium.

To be mined in situ, the must occur in permeable sandstone aquifers. These sandstone aquifers provide the "" for both the original emplacement and the recovery of the uranium. The uranium was emplaced by weakly oxidizing ground water which moved through the plumbing systems of the geologic formation. To effectively extract uranium deposited from ground water, a company must first thoroughly define this plumbing system and then designs well fields that best fit the natural hydro-geological conditions.

Detailed mapping techniques, using geophysical data from standard logging tools, have been developed by uranium companies. These innovative mapping methods define the geologic controls of the original solutions, so that these same routes can be retraced for effective in situ leaching of the ore. Once the geometry of the ore bodies is known, the locations of injection and recovery wells are planned to effectively contact the uranium. This technique has been used in several thousand wells covering hundreds of acres.

Following the installation of the well field, a leaching solution (or lixiviant), consisting of native ground water containing dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide, is delivered to the uranium-bearing strata through the injection wells. Once in contact with the mineralization, the lixiviant oxidizes the uranium minerals, which allows the uranium to dissolve in the ground water. Production wells, located between the injection wells, intercept the pregnant lixiviant and pump it to the surface. A centralized ion-exchange facility extracts the uranium from the barren lixiviant, stripped of uranium, is regenerated with oxygen and carbon dioxide and recirculated for continued leaching. The ion exchange resin, which becomes "loaded" with uranium, it is stripped or eluted. Once eluted, the ion exchange resin is returned to the well field facility.

During the mining process, slightly more water is produced from the ore-bearing formation than is reinjected. This net withdrawal, or "bleed", produces a cone of depression in the mining area, controlling fluid flow and confining it to the mining zone. The mined aquifer is surrounded, both laterally and above and below, by monitor wells which are frequently sampled to ensure that all mining fluids are retained within the mining zone. The "bleed" also provides a chemical bleed on the aquifer to limit the buildup of species like sulfate and chloride which are affected by the leaching process. The "bleed" water is treated for removal of uranium and radium. This treated water is then disposed of through waste water land application, or irrigation. A very small volume of radioactive sludge results; this sludge is disposed of at an NRC licensed uranium tailings facility.

The ion exchange resin is stripped of its uranium, and the resulting rich eluate is precipitated to produce a yellow cake slurry. This slurry is dewatered and dried to a final drummed uranium concentrate.

At the conclusion of the leaching process in a well field area, the same injection and production wells and surface facilities are used for restoration of the affected ground water. Ground water restoration is accomplished in three ways. First, the water in the leach zone is removed by "ground water sweep", and native ground water flows in to replace the removed contaminated water. The water which is removed is again treated to remove radionuclides and disposed of in irrigation. Second, the water which is removed is processed to purify it, typically with reverse osmosis, and the pure water is injected into the affected aquifer. This reinjection of very pure water results in a large increment of water quality improvement in a short time period. Third, the soluble metal ions which resulted from the oxidation of the ore zone are chemically immobilized by injecting a reducing chemical into the ore zone, immobilizing these constituents in situ. Ground water restoration is continued until the affected water is suitable for its pre-mining use.

Throughout the leaching and restoration processes, a company ensures the isolation of the leach zone by careful well placement and construction. The well fields are extensively monitored to prevent the contamination of other aquifers.

Once mining is complete, the aquifer is restored by pumping fresh water through the aquifer until the ground water meets the pre-mining use.

In situ mining has several advantages over conventional mining. First, the environmental impact is minimal, as the affected water is restored at the conclusion of mining. Second, it is lower cost, allowing Wyoming's low grade deposits to compete globally with the very high grade deposits of Canada. Finally the method is safe and proven, resulting in minimal employee exposure to health risks."

ISL mining may be the wave of the future of U.S. uranium mining, or it may become an interim mining measure, in areas where the geology is appropriate for IS. Until sufficient quantities of uranium are required by U.S. utilities to fuel the country's demand for nuclear energy, ISL mining may remain the leading uranium mining method in the United States. At some point, an overwhelming need for uranium for the nuclear fuel cycle may again put ISL mining in the backseat, and uranium miners may return to conventional mining methods, such as open pit mining. James Finch contributes to http://StockInterview.com and other publications. You can email James Finch at jfinch@stockinterview.com. All of his archived articles (with photos, maps and charts) can be read at http://www.stockinterview.com ]]> Safest Ways To Invest In Uranium Companies http://www.artwoo.com/article/safest-ways-to-invest-in-uranium-companies http://www.artwoo.com/article/safest-ways-to-invest-in-uranium-companies#comments Sun, 30 Apr 2006 02:50:04 +0000 uranium mininguranium supplyuranium pricesuranium depositsexploration companiesjunior explorationcarbonated water http://www.artwoo.com/article/safest-ways-to-invest-in-uranium-companies uranium prices, hundreds of companies have formed to capitalize upon the latest craze. How do you avoid being fooled? Look to ISL uranium companies. About 21 percent of the world's nuclear reactors are now fueled by uranium mined using this method. How do you evaluate the many uranium companies now developing their ISL operations?

Now that the spot uranium price has sustained above $40/pound, after a 20-year drought and a bottom of $6.40/pound at the end of December 2000, hundreds of junior have thrown their hat into the ring. Both Canadian and Australian junior uranium companies hope to raise the big money required to bring a uranium property into production. A perceived crunch has added to this frenzy. As occurred with previous uranium cycles, only the strong will survive.

While numerous Canadian companies hope to find a new discovery in various uranium-prospective regions through Canada, a safer investment strategy is to speculate on companies, whose properties were previously drilled during the uranium bull market of 1974-1980). Some of those properties had delineated by major oil and uranium companies, who did not blush at spending tens of millions of dollars in exploration.

Some of the newly arrived uranium companies acquired those drilling databases and their properties, which were abandoned by the previous owners. Some companies have been actively moving their projects forward to production, using a more environmentally friendly mining method than an open pit or underground mine. It is called In Situ Leach (ISL) , and the operation is much like a water treatment plan. Oxidized, or carbonated, water is pumped into an orebody, and uranium is flushed into a processing plant. These are relatively inexpensive to install, possibly for as little as $10 million.

There are pitfalls when investing in those companies which plan to establish ISL operations. During the initial phase of this bull market, a common myth, circulated among investors, had been "pounds in the ground." How many pounds of uranium oxide, or U3O8 for short, does a company have in the ground? The more pounds a company claimed, the higher its market capitalization ran. Once you sift through the companies with very real prospects from those who are cheerleading their "pounds in the ground," you should have a realistic short list.

These are the four key questions which must be answered if you wish to minimize your risk when investing in uranium stocks:

• How permeable are the ore bodies you plan to mine? • What is your average grade? • Over what area does your rollfront extend? • What is the depth of your ore body?

One of the most important factors to consider is the permeability of the sandstone, from which the uranium will be mined. Permeability is the flow rate of the liquids through the porous sandstone. Knowing what the permeability of the orebody will let you know how much water you can get through the sandstone formation. Harry Anthony, an internationally recognized ISL expert, noted, "You need higher grade ore for tight formations. With high permeability, you can space your wells further apart."

The make-break point for a formation's permeability is its Darcy rating. How high is the Darcy? A typical Darcy can range from minus 1000 to plus 3. The higher the Darcy, the more permeable the formation. This helps determine how economic the orebody is. An acceptable range would be one-half to one Darcy. What is a Darcy? Uranerz Energy CEO Glenn Catchpole, who is also a hydrologist, said, "It is gallons per day over feet squared." He added a pure hydrologist would calculate the feet per day or centimeters per second to get a more accurate permeability assessment.

With low permeability in a tight formation, you may need to space more wells in a typical well field pattern. While explaining that costs are fixed and variable, Anthony computed the cost of a production well for a 500 foot deposit at $15,000. An injection well could cost $11,000 to install. By comparison, in New Mexico, where the deposits are wider and of higher grade, a 2000-foot production well might cost $27,000 and the injection well could cost $18,000, and it would still be economic. Obviously, the deeper the deposit, the more it will cost to extract the uranium. Not only will the capital costs increase, but operating costs will be greater.

Uranium grades can be a contentious point. "Grade is the driving force," Harry Anthony shot back. We asked him about companies which said they could run an economic ISL operation with grades as low, or lower than 0.02. Anthony laughed, "They'd be out of business before they started." Strathmore Minerals' president David Miller offered a more technical analysis, "That will not likely have enough recoverable pounds. The operating grade feeding the plant will be too low." What is the best grade? Miller wanted to see properties with deposits that average on the order 0.5, 0.10, or 0.15.

Uranium grades can impact the cost of operating an ISL plant. An ISL plant may operate at 5000 gallons per minute. Running 24 hours daily, the plant would process 7.2 million gallons of water. Operating costs are based upon cost per thousand gallons of water. "This includes electricity, reagents and labor," said Anthony. On a daily basis, it would cost more than $21,000 to run an ISL plant, based upon Anthony's calculations of $3.03 per thousand gallons of water. Under this scenario, a plant might produce 2360 pounds of U3O8 every day or 80,000 pounds monthly. The cost to produce each pound would be $8.18. Using that math, the uranium grades would be about 44 parts per million (ppm) or 0.08. Anthony said, "I like to see 70ppm or higher." That comes to a uranium grade of 0.13.

Another way to evaluate a company's uranium property is looking at each part of its development costs. In a well field pattern, David Miller can determine the economic viability of the ground. "The keys to what is recoverable include how many pounds are recoverable per pattern and what it costs to install a pattern," Miller explained. "If you have 10,000 pounds in place and can recover 8000 pounds, your well field development cost can be $8/pound, if it costs you $80,000 to install that pattern.

The cost to install a pattern also depends over how much territory your uranium deposits run. "Ten million pounds over an area of one-half mile will cost less than those same pounds over an area of two to four miles," explained Terrence Osier, Strathmore Minerals senior geologist. "That means more injection wells and more production wells." Depth of the wells influences installation cost and impacts its daily operating cost. "When uranium costs were very low, a company needed 70,000 pounds per pattern," Anthony commented. "Now a company might only need 20,000 pounds per pattern to make it economic."

There are many variables within the above advices provided by these experts. However, the important point to realize is the time of hyperbole and hoopla over "pounds in the ground" has passed. As more uranium development companies move closer to establishing an ISL operation, the go/no-go consideration, as UR-Energy CEO William Boberg aptly described it, will come down to permeability. After that, the economics of a project will either make it viable or not. Using these criteria, you can avoid the hysteria by speculating with the odds stacked more in your favor. James Finch contributes to http://StockInterview.com and other publications. The above article can be read in its entirety with full graphics and additional data at http://www.stockinterview.com.. Feedback to James Finch is welcome and encouraged. Please contact him at jfinch@stockinterview.com ]]> Investment Manager Warns About Investing In Uranium Projects http://www.artwoo.com/article/investment-manager-warns-about-investing-in-uranium-projects http://www.artwoo.com/article/investment-manager-warns-about-investing-in-uranium-projects#comments Sun, 10 Sep 2006 22:27:04 +0000 uranium projectsyamana goldbarrick goldglamis goldwestern silvergeologistsstocks http://www.artwoo.com/article/investment-manager-warns-about-investing-in-uranium-projects stocks, who gets in early and then enjoys sizeable profits as, one by one, his companies become takeover targets. "I've been fortunate," the humble Halvorson told us, "I've gotten associated with top explorationists, the people who do know a quality project." And because they have credibility, quality projects come to those . Halvorson claims his wealth-building strategy comes from investing in the projects of these credible geologists.

On May 3rd, acquired . "I recognized the project and the main geologist behind it, Tom Patton," Halvorson explained. "I was a director of Western Silver. I didn't stay associated for the whole run, but I was there for the best part of it." August has been his busiest month. As a director of NovaGold, recently announced a hostile takeover of this company, and which is now being disputed. In mid August, made a bid to take over the shares of Viceroy Exploration, which has proven and probable gold reserves in excess of seven million ounces in Argentina.

So how does someone emulate Mike Halvorson's success in picking major winners in the mining sector? "The average investor is going to have a tough time," he commiserated during our phone conversation. "If I were an average investor, I would rely on some sort of advisory service, or two or three, to help me pick my stocks." We both agreed some of the weren't going to make it. "So many of these uranium projects will never see a shovel to the ground, they will never see anything close to production," he cautioned.

But many advisory services look out for themselves first, then their subscribers, maybe if at all. He advised us to avoid the self-serving ones. "I have a long record with a couple of guys that are honest and have good abilities," Halvorson said. He subscribes to Bob Bishop's Gold Mining Stock Report. "I like Bob," Halvorson told us. "He covers people. He knows a lot of individuals in the industry. One of the gifts, a guy like Bishop has, is he doesn't try to fit the same model over every company, like a lot of analysts do. He just tries to figure out whether the stock is going up. What makes Bob Bishop better at picking stocks than most of the guys is that he doesn't walk around with a model. He walks around with instincts and the ability to judge the people involved. He has a great network to check facts out with."

"I guess for the average person, if they don't rely on an advisory service, they should go to the (resource) conferences," Halvorson recommended. Such conferences occur throughout the year. One resource conference takes place this week in Las Vegas. Another popular resource show will be held later in September in Toronto.

Valuing Uranium Mining Stocks

"The (uranium) companies are so new," Halvorson said. "Some of them aren't really that acquainted with their own assets, let alone the assets of other companies. It's not like the oil and gas business where you've got ... in western Canada, there are a dozen or fifteen blue-chip engineering firms that provide reserve and reservoir evaluations. If you see one of those engineering reports, you can really put a market value on those assets."

Not so in the uranium business. With uranium assets, Halvorson explained, "A lot it is historical work, some of them are National Instrument 43-101 and some aren't." But he warned that despite the regulatory insistence that companies file independent geological documents confirming their resources, "You have to be careful if you run out and buy some 43-101 resources." He added, "I'm not sure that one would solely base investment decisions on them."

For example, he described how it might be possible that a company could only solution mine (ISR uranium recovery) the resource. What happens if after doing the tests, the company discovers solution mining won't work? "That is something that will concern me," he told us. "I think there are an awful lot of projects out there that are being called 'good projects' by companies that have them. And I don't think these people have a clue as to what is required for solution mining."

If so, then what should investors be looking for in uranium mining stocks? "At this stage, I would try to look at undervalued companies because that's the least risk," Halvorson advised. "I don't think I would look at the market leaders, per se. Companies like Cameco and Denison are awfully pricey. International Uranium is pricey in my opinion." So where would Halvorson look today? "I would look at the undervalued ones, the ones that have projects, but for some reason maybe not as much traction in the market," he suggested. "I think ultimately the market will recognize those values or they'll get taken over at premiums."

Two of Halvorson's favorites came from his network. "I originally got involved in Strathmore Minerals because I knew they had some good properties and some very good consultants and contacts in the business," he explained. "And, they have David Miller, who really knows the business inside out. Talking to him, I got comfortable with those U.S. assets. So, I literally backed the truck up and bought lots of stock." Halvorson subsequently became a director of Strathmore Minerals.

Another Halvorson favors is Kilgore Minerals. "With Kilgore, it is because Norm Burmeister had such a good track record with Silver Standard and Bull Run," Halvorson said. "Norm is the kind of guy who has a great appreciation for an economic play. I got involved with Kilgore fairly early on and was semi-responsible for the stock moving out of the 30 - 50 cent range. Norm has a huge gold property. We both laughed about Kilgore's major downside, and he added, "There's a company that if it was aggressively promoted, would probably be trading at maybe three times where it's at. Their gold property is probably worth what they trade for."

Halvorson discussed his other uranium holdings, "I was a fairly substantial shareholder of UR-Energy, but you can't own all your stocks all the time. They had a very good market so I left." He noted those were his three substantial holdings and that he also has minor holdings elsewhere. One of those holdings, Santoy Resources, comes from his association with Ron Netolitzky, who is also a director of Viceroy. "There's not anybody who's got a better track record than Ron of recognizing an economic deposit early," Halvorson said of his long-time acquaintance. "Ron worked in the uranium field in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the gold sector, so he knows all about uranium exploration."

Of the sector, Halvorson believes there is more consolidation ahead with the quality uranium companies. "Some of these guys have got pretty rich valuations, such as SXR Uranium One with their pricey currency and extremely strong market support from Europe and Canada," he told us. "Because of their market cap, they're big enough that they can use their currency and do acquisitions." He spoke highly of SXR Uranium One, "I've been to their main project in South Africa. They're building it. It's happening. They will be mining. And they are miners."

And that's the big difference, going back to his comment about some projects which will never see a shovel in the ground. "How do you compare Denison to some of these other companies?" he asked. "That's part of the difference. Denison looks like it's priced through the stratosphere, but they are mining. I think if Strathmore Minerals, which is sort of undervalued right now, if we could get Church Rock producing, I think there would be a huge revaluation."

He sees a bright future ahead for the mining sector, and believes investors can do well if they study companies before investing in them and get the right advice. "For people coming new to the market, I would look for undervalued stocks," Halvorson advised. "I would probably take a portfolio approach. I wouldn't buy just one. I would buy several."

Halvorson expects more consolidation in the uranium sector. "As the companies get more comfortable with everybody else's share price, and also getting more comfortable with other people's assets, then you will see people saying, 'We can use our shares as currency because we're trading at roughly our Net Asset Value (NAV), but this company is trading at a discount of 30 percent to their NAV. So, if we can do a transaction with them, it's going to be accretive.'"

That's not the case right now, though. "You'll hear companies talking about this wonderful asset they've got," he said. "Then, I'll go ask somebody I know in the business about the play, and he might say, 'Oh god, I don't like that.' Right now, I don't think people have any way of judging a lot of these properties. If you remember the analogy I used in the oil and gas business, where you have companies trading properties all the time, it's because people can rely on engineering."

Right now, a lot depends upon the underlying commodity. Rising spot uranium prices have helped a large number of the uranium 'development' companies, such as Strathmore Minerals, UR-Energy, Uranerz Energy and Energy Metals, move higher. Most recently, according to TradeTech LLC, the spot uranium price reached a new high at $52/pound. Many of the U.S. uranium projects became economic above $30 and $40/pound, which offers investors more opportunity for profit. "I think I'm going to make a lot of money in the resource sector over the coming years," Halvorson said with excitement in his voice. "But you have to be nimble. If you buy high and just hold, you might just get your money back at the end of the day. If you like the sector and trade around core positions, I think it's going to be one of the most attractive sectors out there." James Finch contributes to http://StockInterview.com and other publications. Visit http://www.stockinterview.com to read the archived articles. ]]> Former President Bill Clinton Speaks Out About UFOs (Or Does He?) http://www.artwoo.com/article/former-president-bill-clinton-speaks-out-about-ufos-or-does-he http://www.artwoo.com/article/former-president-bill-clinton-speaks-out-about-ufos-or-does-he#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:30:00 +0000 roswell ufo crashbig d and bubba morning showformer president bill clintonteton ranchufo enthusiastpresident bill clintonjackson hole wyoming http://www.artwoo.com/article/former-president-bill-clinton-speaks-out-about-ufos-or-does-he former has done recently to help his wife`s presidential campaign, he was asked about the UFO subject. The question came from Big D and Bubba, Morning Show Jocks on the Premier Radio Network. Budda asked Clinton, "When will we, if we will ever know the truth about UFOs?" Clinton replied, "It's interesting that you ask that because when we celebrated the anniversary of that event out in New Mexico (the )=85I actually got all the government documents and read them and I'm convinced it wasn't a UFO there=85but who knows?"

It was no surprise that the former president managed to do the old political sidestep and failed to actually answer the question. I`m sure he was concerned about what any speculation regarding UFOs and government secrecy might do to Hillary`s Campaign. However, it was a surprise that Clinton has refused to share at least some of what he personally knows to be true about UFOs. Two major briefings on the subject took place during President Clinton's Administration. One was unofficial and the other was official.

Bill and Hillary Clinton were staying at the Rockefeller near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, when they were given an extensive briefing about UFOs by philanthropist and Laurence Rockefeller in August of 1996. Rockefeller assembled an impressive volume of information and attempted to sell the Clintons on the idea that they needed to stand up to the CIA and other forces within the government that sought to keep all the information about UFOs and Aliens secret from the public.

Although we have no comments from either of the Clintons about the briefing or their reaction to it, we do know that many of Clinton's advisors did their best to portray Rockefeller as a kind of nut that would waste their time with the UFO briefing. Most felt that the President and First Lady should give the material little weight and endure it as briefly and politely as possible. However, not everyone felt that way.

When John Podesta became President Clinton's Chief of Staff in 1998, it was well known that he was a fanatical fan of The X Files. Podesta was fascinated with the UFO subject. One White House Staffer said he would sometimes get on the phone and call places like Area 51 to ask the Air Force what was really going on out there. Given John Podesta's passion for seeking the truth about UFOs, it would be hard to believe that the Clintons were not given every opportunity to find out what the government really knew about UFOs.

Thanks to a Presidential Executive Order (#12958) signed by Bill Clinton, over 80 million secret documents were made available for declassification. Many of these documents had to do with UFOs. In fact, the Sci-Fi Channel became the direct beneficiary of some of that information using it as a springboard to call for the government to release more information about UFOs and to produce subsequent programming about various high-profile UFO events including the Roswell and Kecksburg UFO crashes.

A second briefing given to President Clinton (and Vice President Gore) is one that I have known about, but not publicized up to this point. That briefing was given over a secure phone connection by former U.S. Government Scientist and Air Force Officer, Dr. Michael Wolf. Among those present on the phone was my friend and fellow UFO Researcher, Dick Criswell. Dick was a member of Wolf's AlphaCom Team. Unlike the Rockefeller briefing, this one was official and provided very detailed and extremely sensitive information to President Clinton and Vice President Gore.

Former President Clinton is a very intelligent man. Although he likes to play the part of the good ole boy that happened to get lucky and end up in the White House, he is a force to be reckoned with and not simply the Hilary puppet that many pundits claim. Clinton knows the value of information and how to use it to get what he wants. It surprises me that he hasn't been more open about his own quest for UFO information and what he has officially learned about the subject from sources like Dr Wolf and the AlphaCom Team.

I do not know what lead up to the Wolf Briefing, but I know that politicians often find themselves up against a brick wall when it comes to getting information about UFOs from conventional government and military sources. And they are not alone. I have had many people serving in the military or working with them complain about the secrecy surrounding the subject. In 1993, I received a call from an Instructor that was teaching a course at the Air Force Academy. I was presenting a series of seminars in Colorado Springs and he heard me talking about the subject on a local radio station.

During our phone conversation, the Instructor stated that he and others at the Academy were always directed to the old Project Bluebook materials any time they had questions about UFOs or tried to get materials on the subject for their students. Knowing that I would be presenting my seminar entitled The Worldwide UFO Cover-Up (now available on DVD) the following evening; he asked if I would consider adding an additional seminar sitting for Air Force Academy Cadets, Instructors and interested parties.

I added the additional sitting and it was quite an experience presenting a seminar about the UFO Cover-Up to a room filled with several hundred Air Force Academy Cadets, Officers and Instructors. That experience really drove home the point to me that even those with good military connections may not have the juice to get to the truth or even a small portion of it. I can imagine that even U.S. Presidents might end up feeling the same frustration as they try to obtain information about UFOs and what the government knows about Aliens visiting Earth.

Given their political ambitions, Bill and Hillary must be concerned about something other than the status quo considering their relative silence about the UFO subject. Perhaps they feel some sort of political retaliation or worse. It is well known that Bill Clinton asked his friend and Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell for two inquiries as soon as he became president: 1) Are UFOs real and 2) What about the JFK Assassination. It's unknown what type response he received.

Given the fact that the former president idolized assassinated president John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton may have learned from what some feel was Kennedy's fatal error. Although his murder has been blamed on everyone from angry mobsters and government conspirators to a lone gunman, recent evidence indicates that President Kennedy was murdered by secret government insiders that believed he might reveal the truth about UFOs and Aliens to the public.

Still careful and deliberately vague whenever he comments about UFOs, Bill Clinton seems to understand the code of silence set in place for high-ranking ex-government officials and retired members of the military. Clinton probably believes that there is just no safe political currency to be gained in exposing the secrets about UFOs and Aliens and he may well be right. Those that sought to ignore that code have been murdered, died early deaths or been killed under suspicious circumstances.

New Mexico Congressman Steven Schiff died of cancer at age 51 after making many inquiries into the Roswell UFO Crash and raising public awareness on the matter. Former Navy Officer William Milton Cooper (Bill Cooper) was shot to death by law enforcement officers that claimed he charged after and shot at them (with his one good leg). Cooper spent years exposing the secret government in place to deal with Aliens. Former government geologist Phil Schneider was found dead with piano wire tied around his neck after years of speaking out about secret underground bases and hostile encounters between aliens and members of the military. Schneider had been shot several times and on other occasions before his death.

It's sad to think that the best the American Public can hope for is some occasional deathbed statement or confession from those involved with the cover-up to provide any reliable information about what the government knows about UFOs and Aliens. Part of the blame lies at the door of our news media as they chuckle about or make light of any and all stories of UFO sightings, alien encounters or the government cover-up of related information. One can only hope that some fearless politicians and reporters eventually appear who are willing to expand their reality boxes to include more than just what happens on this small planet and tell the truth to a public hungry for it.

For more, visit http://www.CanYouStandTheTruth.com for free articles, information, resources and DVDs related to this article. Bill Knell is a popular Speaker, Author and Consultant with eclectic interests. Featured in the Wall Street Journal and NY Times; seen on CNN, NBC Nightly News and Fox; heard on Mancow and Howard Stern; consultant to films like Men in Black and World of the Worlds. http://www.ufoguy.com ]]> Reversing Mother Nature, Part One http://www.artwoo.com/article/reversing-mother-nature-part-one http://www.artwoo.com/article/reversing-mother-nature-part-one#comments Fri, 05 May 2006 19:32:03 +0000 uranium mininguranium minerscontactisleonshydrogen sulfidegroundwater system http://www.artwoo.com/article/reversing-mother-nature-part-one ISL) engineers, and had them explain exactly how ISL worked. Most of the significant ISL operations in the United States were designed and/or constructed by these engineers. They explained how ISL mining is really just reversing the process of Mother Nature.

"Blossom" is what underground called the crystals forming on the tunnel walls. Because the ore was in with air inside an underground mine, and as ground water moved slowly against the mine's walls, a visible crust of uranium crystals would precipitate, or blossom along those walls. Making the uranium soluble doesn't require a lot of oxygen and water because oxidization is a natural process. Adding more oxygen to the groundwater found in, and around, a uranium-mineralized orebody is the principle upon which present-day In Situ Leach (ISL) uranium mining is based.

ago, the uranium was soluble and moved, on or below the surface, with the ground water. "In roll front uranium deposits the uranium was transported into the area through the natural and precipitated from solution due to some reducing environment," explained Harry Anthony, Chief Operating Officer of Uranium Energy Corp. Often, the reducing agent was something organic, such as coal, deep-seated oil and gas deposits, or gases. In its reduced form, the uranium crystals are insoluble. "It will precipitate as a coating on the existing sand grains of the sandstone," added Anthony. "As more water containing uranium sweeps through this area, and encounters this reducing environment, more uranium is precipitated until there is a sufficient concentration to make it a commercial deposit."

After the geological team has delineated a company's uranium "roll front" deposit and determined it is of economic value, the company must turn to its ISL design engineers to complete the "mining" process. While it takes stellar geologists such as David Miller of Strathmore Minerals, Bill Sheriff of Energy Metals, or William Boberg of UR-Energy to accumulate large, proven uranium-mineralized holdings, as they have done in Wyoming, New Mexico, Texas or elsewhere, each must turn to their engineers to extract the uranium from those sand grains and process them to produce an economic quantity of uranium oxide, or U3O8. The overwhelming majority of ISL facilities, designed in the United States, were engineered by Harry Anthony, Doug Norris and Dennis Stover.

Trained as a mechanical engineer, Harry Anthony has been involved with more than ten ISL uranium operations from Union Carbide's Palangana in 1976 to Uranium Resources' Bruni, Benavides, North Platte, Kingsville Dome and Rosita ISL projects. Anthony's consulting work has taken him to ISL projects in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the Czech Republic. Dennis Stover is best remembered for designing Smith Ranch in Wyoming, now owned by Cameco Corp. With a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, Dr. Stover helped develop the first commercial alkaline ISL project in south Texas for Atlantic Richfield and helped develop an additional five small ISL operations in south Texas. Also a chemical engineer by training, Doug Norris's paths have crossed with both Stover and Anthony. He helped build the Highland and Smith Ranch ISL operations in Wyoming, and designed Mestena's Alta Mesa ISL operation in south Texas.

HOW DOES ISL MINING REVERSE MOTHER NATURE?

"In its natural, reduced environment, uranium exists as a solid in the +4 valence," Anthony explained. "In the mining stage, we are reversing Mother Nature's process by adding oxygen, oxidizing the uranium from a valence of +4 to a valence of +6." The uranium was oxidized at one time, but then reduced by Mother Nature. By drilling wells into the ore zone, circulating the water and adding oxygen to it, the uranium is made soluble again.

Is it really this simple? Yes and no. Energy Metals Chief Operating Officer Dennis Stover outlined the process, "You're simply adding, into the injection well, gaseous oxygen, just pure oxygen, but you're doing it under the water level in the well. The natural pressure, created by that column of water above the injection point, allows the oxygen to dissolve into the water so that there's no free gas being put into the well."

Stover compared the oxygen dissolved in the liquid to the carbon dioxide dissolved in a bottle of soda. The soda remains clear, dissolved in the liquid, when stationery. "But when you shake it up, the gas will break out," added Stover. "The pressure that's available that lets you dissolve the oxygen is determined by the amount of naturally occurring water pressure that's on the uranium deposit." Stover explained that if the deposit is 100 feet below the water table, you can dissolve a certain amount of oxygen. "If the uranium deposit is 200 feet below the water table, or twice as deep, you can dissolve twice as much oxygen."

Historically, ISL mining evolved from acid leaching to leaching with sodium bicarbonate or sodium carbonate. "Most people add only carbon dioxide in dissolved oxygen at this point," Stover explained. "There's a chemical relationship between carbon dioxide gas, bicarbonate, and the carbonate ion. The host rock typically contains calcium carbonate or sodium carbonate minerals." By adding the carbon dioxide, Stover said, "It will lower the PH of the solution just slightly." That enhances the solubility of the naturally occurring calcium carbonate." According to Stover and the other experts, the addition of carbon dioxide is an effective replacement for the previously added bicarbonate ion.

The goal is to get the uranium out of the sandstone and soluble. "We're accelerating Mother Nature and making the uranium soluble again," said Doug Norris, engineering manager for Uranium Energy. "When it's soluble, we can just pump it out of the ground. But it is dissolved in the water like salt in sea water. You can't see it, but it's there."

"MINING" THE URANIUM

ISL "mining" and processing the uranium is a very simple process. It's a water treatment plant with hundreds of water wells. There are two types of wells: injection and production. The water plus reagent (oxygen, carbon dioxide) is injected into the ground via water wells. Outside the United States, where environmental regulations may be less restrictive, an ISL's aquifer may be bombarded with harsh acid leaching. On Harry Anthony's engineering services website, he describes the process he observed in the Czech Republic, "Over 4,100,000 tons of H2SO4 (sulfuric acid), 270,000 tons of HNO3 (nitric acid), 100,000 tons of NH3 (ammonia), and 25,000 tons of HF (hydrofloric acid) were consumed by the mine."

It would be nearly impossible to get an ISL project permitted in the United States using these chemicals to leach the uranium. The water quality division, within a state's Department of Environmental Quality (DQE), demands restoration to background, which is about where the groundwater was before ISL mining began. "The less things you add, the less you have to reclaim at the end of the process," Doug Norris pointed out. "The more stuff you add trying to get it out of the ground, the more you have to clean up."

Dennis Stover explained how the fluids presently used came about, "Historically, most ISL operations had a great deal of difficulty with plugging or fouling of their injection wells due to the precipitation of excessive amounts of salts." He pointed out that the chemistry miners were using in conventional milling operations didn't work in ISL mining. "Because they had very high concentrated salt solutions, they were trying to accelerate everything," Stover told us. "When you take those concentrated solutions and put them underground, Mother Nature is not always happy. Other salts that were present in the rock would dissolve, solutions would become supersaturated and they would precipitate out. The wells would plug up."

Some of the early U.S. operations tried to enhance their production, for example, by using ammonia to enhance the pH of their water. "They forgot that ammonia is easily locked up by clay and almost impossible to get back to background," explained Norris. "It's pretty reactive and doesn't occur that much in nature." Norris would give anyone using ammonia during the mining procedure, "a 95 percent chance of having a very bad time." Why, we asked? Norris responded, "It's bad from the fact that nobody has been able to successfully clean up a site that has used ammonia."

Norris explained that sometimes you have to add a carbonate source, such as carbon dioxide "to stabilize the dissolved uranium as uranyl dicarbonate." Norris said, "The uranium is in a solid state in the ore, as Mother Nature left it. We oxidize it and turn it into uranyl dicarbonate." What goes to the processing plant is called lixiviate, the dissolved uranium in its ionic form. According to Anthony, "Today, most ISL mining operates at neutral pH, and the uranium is complexed as a dicarbonate."

Water is circulated through the injection wells with the expressed purpose of separating the uranium coating the sandstone. Each time you circulate the water through the orebody, you are capturing some of the uranium. Each pass through is called a pore volume. "It's like filling up a bucket of sand with water," explained Anthony. "Once you have the bucket full of sand, you can still pour in water. The amount of water you can pour in until you just bring it up to the top of the sand is termed a 'pore volume.' Pore volume is the interspatial volume."

In Anthony's models for operating an economic ISL plant, he calculates 20 pore volumes (PV). Porosity, or the spaces in between the sand particles, where the water can travel (permeability), helps determine how much uranium can be recovered. "It takes about 20 PV to 30PV to recover the highest percentage," said David Miller, who was Cogema's chief ISL geologist in the United States, before becoming President of Strathmore Minerals. "But, as the price of uranium keeps going higher, it may be economic to recover a higher percentage of the orebody. Maybe 40PV to 50PV will be possible with the direction the prices are moving. Of course, your average processed grade will go down. A few years ago, you would want to shut wells off at 15 parts per million (ppm), but now you might want to run them at 10ppm. At $50/pound uranium, you may be able to run at 7 or 8ppm."

Typically, an ISL operation should recover about 70 percent of the uranium in the ore, under the 20PV to 30PV scenario. However, in the case of the Czech Republic's Diamo project, once Europe's largest uranium mining operation, only 55 percent was recovered. Clearly, the more uranium recovered with the least number of pore volumes, the lower the operating costs. Trying to recover more uranium is only possible if you have the plant capacity. Because of the rising price of uranium, we would expect more companies to attempt to recover a higher percentage of uranium. Miller warns, however, "You will not make your production quota if your plant is 'sized' at a certain gallons per minutes at a certain grade to meet your annual production. If you lower the average grade and fail to increase your flow rate, your annual production will decrease." James Finch contributes to http://StockInterview.com and other publications. Get your free subscription and receive the latest articles by James Finch by visiting http://www.stockinterview.com.. Write to James Finch at jfinch@stockinterview.com. More information about Harry Anthony is available at http://www.hanthony.com ]]>