New tool to find giant base metal deposits
By Neena Bhandari
Sydney, 08.07.2020 (SciDev.Net): Scientists have discovered a new tool to predict the location of base metal deposits, which are buried too deep beneath the Earth’s surface to be found using current exploration methods. This augurs well for targeted mining of metals, such as copper, lead, zinc, which are much in demand for their use in renewable energies.
The study, published on 29th June 2020 in the journal Nature Geoscience, found that 85 percent of all known base metal deposits and 100 percent of all “giant” deposits (those holding more than 10 million tons of metal) hosted in sedimentary basins are located on the edges of cratons – older regions of the continents, which are generally on thicker lithosphere, the rigid outermost cladding of the planet comprising the crust and upper mantle.
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Access to sustainable energy empowers Senegalese women
By Neena Bhandari
Sydney, 23.06.2020 (IPS): Aïssata Ba, 45-year-old widow and mother of seven children, has been practising market gardening for the past 30 years in Lompoul Sur Mer village in the Niayes area of north-west Senegal. For many women in the village, endowed with fertile soil and favourable climate, it is the primary source of income throughout the year.
But lack of infrastructure, access to sustainable energy, financial support, equipment and knowledge of modern practices makes it a hard toil for these women engaged in market gardening, which is small-scale production of fruits, vegetables, flowers and cash crops during the local growing season and sold directly to consumers.