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briarworthandoleander · 3 years

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Hello! I'm a biologist working on organizing some of the many studies and observations that have been brought back by the more adventurous folks of our settlement, and I noticed something odd. Nobody around here has been able to answer my question, so I decided to reach out to you in hopes that you can. Now, what I noticed was that there's a striking resemblance between Magnamalos and Teo/Lunastras- both in appearance AND behavior! I was wondering if this could be evidence of an evolutionary relation between the two species or if it is instead an example of convergent evolution? If there is indeed an evolutionary link, it would be extraordinary, and I'd be very curious to find out the conditions that caused the ancestors of 'stras to retain their wings while magnamalo's ancestors lost them!

I hope the sketches despite their simplifications of each monsters anatomy will help showcase that Magnamalo and 'Stras are a case of more parallel/convergent evolution than divergent.

A Teostras wings are very much a seperate limb from their foreleg, and as such have different bone, muscle, cartilage and skin formations from those of Magnamalo, Barioth and Nargacuga.

There is also a misconception with 'Stra and Magnamalo forming their explosive powers in the same or similar manner.

A Teostra or Lunastra actually have wings that are covered in small hairs used for storing and spreading an explosive powder, which is a byproduct from its diet that consists of not only meat, but in ores and minerals like coal. By snapping its jaws together, it produces a spark that causes the powder around it to explode almost instantly, damaging anything caught within the blast radius. Also the inside of its mouth is special saliva that it combines with the minerals its eats. Combining these two substances allows Teostra and Lunastra to breathe flames and cover themselves in a fiery aura.

Magnamalo however uses a gas to produce its "Hellfire". It is not triggered by the Magnamalo snapping its jaws shut either - but by the process of oxidation - which is why it takes a little bit of time to ignite and explode. It's also why you can actually very badly hurt a Magnamalo while it's releasing the gas by igniting it early before it has left the body.

So while Magnamalo and Teostra have adapted and evolved to thrive in the same biomes, they have done it in different manners.

Now, whilst it is known that Nargacuga and Barioth are distant relations there is also reason to believe that Barioth and Magnamalo are actually far more closely linked together in their evolutionary line.

Though Magnamalo are far more top heavy than Barioth and lack the mobility and extra flesh between foreleg and flank that acts as a rudimentary wing - they have elongated fangs, an external bone coming off the forelimb at an angle, and a heavily spiked tail that branches outward.

Now both have adapted to very different locations, but there is a varient of Barioth known as a Sand Barioth that lives in desert regions.

It is commonly believed that this is probably where the link originates; with an ancestor of Sand Barioth adapting to even more extreme high temperatures and locations and slowly becoming the species known as Magnamalo.

With a high amount of thermals in the volcanic areas making gliding a difficult process in terms of landing, it is theorised that heavier set Barioth over time lost usage of their wings and thus the adaption started to lose their original function. With the underdeveloped "spike" of a wing however the Magnamalo found a new usage for the appendage as a means of a defensive measure; and thus it adapted into a hardened and sharpened claw for the monster to use.

But again - this is all theory; not fact. It's just compounding what we do know about each individual species and lining up the similarities and the differences.

I am open to discussion on the matter, and while I believe that this theory does hold some weight I would be happy to be proven wrong for the sake of accuracy.

- Leo Briarworth

#barioth #teostra #lunastra #magnamalo #briarworthandoleander #monhun #monster hunter #monster hunter ecology #monhun ecology #monster hunter rise #monster hunter stories #monster hunter iceborne

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rwby-redux · 4 years

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Deconstruction

Worldbuilding: Geography

Full disclosure: I hated doing this post. Not because the writing was difficult or the topic was boring—far from it. No, the reason I hated doing this was because I got sucked into a wikihole. I started out researching climate zones, and ten hours later I was reading an article about Icelandic hot spring rye bread (which is called hverabrauð by the way and you should absolutely check it out). I only realized what time it was when I looked out my window and saw the sun starting to rise. Try to picture what my sleep schedule has looked like for the last few days, and you can see why I might be just a smidge upset.

Sorry. Where was I?

Ah, yes: geography. The bane of cartographers everywhere. If you’ve ever dabbled in writing stories with a non-Earth setting, you’ll know that one of the most fundamental aspects of worldbuilding is the lay of the land. Even before you’ve started working on the cultures of your fictional people (or hell, even the plot), you need to develop the locations. Any writer worth their salt will correctly tell you that geography dictates who the characters are, what the story’s about, when major actions occur, where the major story beats take place, why things progress the way they do, and how certain steps are achieved.

Want an example of this? Take a look at the geography of Avatar: The Last Airbender and how it influenced the Fire Nation’s culture and resulting imperialistic conquest: [1]

A geographic map of Avatar: The Last Airbender depicting the four major countries: the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes, and Air Temples. | Source: Imgur.

The Fire Nation, being located on a volcanic archipelago, was able to jumpstart its industrial revolution decades before anyone else, courtesy of access to natural resources such as coal and metal ore deposits (which were disproportionately scarcer in the other countries). This abundance of minerals was reflected in gold being commonly incorporated into Fire Nation royal attire, and the Fire Nation boasting some of the most proficient blacksmiths and swordfighters in the world (like Piandao).

Being an island nation, their culinary staples included aquatic and marine species such as waterfowl, fish, cephalopods, crustaceans, bivalves, and seaweed.

The mountainous regions of the Fire Nation made the land ill-suited for agriculture, which likely influenced the development of an oceanic trade route. This allowed for the import of otherwise-unavailable resources from the Earth Kingdom.

The trade route helped to reinforce a unified state by connecting all seaports, trading outposts, and settlements in the archipelago to the major urban capital. This interconnectivity created economic advantages, and solidified a sense of cultural unity and loyalty to the nation by making communication (via ship and messenger hawk) direct and expedient.

The navy emerged as a natural outgrowth of the oceanic trade route. Martial vessels would have been necessary for protecting merchant ships from pirates, collecting taxes from provincial settlements (because navies have steep operating costs), and enforcing the laws of the central authority. Similarly, as an island country, the only way the Fire Nation could have feasibly been harmed is through a naval attack, which would have given it the incentive to cultivate a naval defense.

At the beginning of the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation seized control of the northwestern Earth Kingdom because the region was rich in resources that they would need to sustain themselves if they were going to survive without international trade.

Their technologically-advanced navy and control of the major oceanic trade routes allowed the Fire Nation to orchestrate blockades, quickly transport troops and equipment between places, and limit the tactical movements of the other countries.

To say that geography dictates the story is an understatement—without it, the story wouldn’t exist. Good writing and likeable characters can only do so much to save a story that lacks this crucial component of worldbuilding.

So, how does this apply to RWBY?

In order to talk about that, first we have to address the unusual way that Remnant’s map was designed.

Back in 2012, while out at an IHOP with Shane Newville, Monty Oum had the idea of squirting a ketchup bottle into a napkin, crumpling it up, and then unfolding it to reveal the blotchy proto-topography of Remnant. His reason for doing so, as he explains:

“The philosophy behind [making the map that way] is that, I feel like, as a 3D animator […] utilizing all this technology, our process—all these computers, all these numbers and stuff—our process is so artificial, it’s riddled with so much artifice, that not only for that, but for everything else I do, I try to imbue kind of like an anarchy, an anarchic-like chaos, just to give it some sense of, like, randomness. Like, you need to preserve that sense of chaos because the process we do is so robotic. […] But the important thing was, like especially with everything that we just raise in our production value, that you have to preserve that anarchic energy that influences everything you do.” [2]

The original terrain map created by Monty Oum. | Source: RWBY Wiki contributor user:Sgt D Grif.

You’d be hard-pressed to disagree with the artistic merit of this design approach. There’s a simplistic elegance to be found in a creator forfeiting a degree of their control over a project, in order to watch how it might organically evolve.

But here’s the thing: this isn’t like leaving slime molds in a petri dish and letting them network until they resemble Japanese subway lines. While anarchic chaos can work for some disciplines of art, it creates glaring issues when applied to worldbuilding. Nature, although it appears outwardly random, is actually rather ordered. The reason why we don’t leave our houses every day carrying umbrellas is because we don’t have to—we have meteorologists that can anticipate the forecast days or weeks ahead. Plenty of natural phenomena can be predicted: weather systems over vast areas, environmental selection pressures converging on similar traits…

And, of course, plate tectonics.

You see, the problem with Monty’s method is that it didn’t account for the movement of Remnant’s continents. Because the planet’s continents were born from artistic randomness rather than methodical and deliberate forethought, we have no reliable access to certain information, like atmospheric circulation, ocean currents, or plate boundaries. All three of these planetary subsystems—the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere—and their dynamics shape the geography of a planet.

Without this information, we can’t answer certain questions.

Was Lake Matsu formed by glacial retreat?

Are Vale’s mountains sitting on a convergent plate boundary? Or are they more like the Appalachians, which are the remains of the Central Pangean Mountains?

If Vale’s mountains were formed by convergent plate boundaries, then why don’t we see evidence of it in the forms of volcanism and earthquakes?

Is Vacuo’s interior desert formed by a rain shadow?

If Solitas’ geography is based on a polar ice cap, then how did early settlers survive long enough to excavate the Dust? How would they have dug through the ice and permafrost?

Has climate change ever resulted in changes in sea level that submerged or exposed the continents? Did early humans and Faunus move between continents by land bridges? Have rises in sea level ever hidden continents (like Earth’s Zealandia)?

Does Mistral’s capital rely on meltwater from the surrounding mountains for irrigating crops?

When the Younger Brother shattered the moon, did the lunar debris alter the landscape when it fell to Remnant? Was it like the Chicxulub asteroid that caused the K-Pg extinction? Did the lunar debris leave craters on the planet’s surface, or cause phenomena like impact winters and ocean acidification?

It bears mentioning that these questions pertain to real-life geographic concepts. This isn’t even touching upon fictional geographic concepts that RWBY introduced, like largescale Dust deposits altering the local environment in such a way that it functionally becomes its own ecosystem (like Lake Matsu’s floating islands). We’re also assuming that RWBY’s continental plates are capable of drift, and weren’t magically glued in place by the gods during the formation of the planet.

Given the scale of these problems, I think it’s safe to say that—while I can appreciate the artistry behind Monty’s design philosophy—the way he designed Remnant ultimately did more harm than good.

While I could spend all afternoon debating the pros and cons of condiment cartography, there are more productive things I could be doing with my time. Instead, I want to discuss Remnant’s geography as it currently is. Specifically, there are three questions I want to test:

How well does the geography hold up?

Does the geography have a realistic influence on society?

How well does the show integrate foreign geographic features into its worldbuilding?

As a quick disclaimer, I’m not an expert on any of the aforementioned subsystems. And because I don’t have any canonical information on Remnant’s atmospheric circulation, ocean currents, or plate boundaries, it becomes impossible to prove or disprove the realism of its geography. For now, we’re going to err on the side of caution and assume that Remnant is a planet with a functionally-analogous lithosphere to Earth’s, and that Remnant’s features are byproducts of such a system.

The current geographic map of Remnant. It boasts five major continents (of which only four have been named) and multiple islands. | Source: World of Remnant, Volume 4, Episode 1: “Vale.”

How Well Does the Geography Hold Up?

To answer this, I used the Köppen-Geiger climate classification to categorize Remnant’s main landmasses (with the exception of the unnamed continent). This model organizes areas into distinct climatic regions based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The results I cobbled together are based on approximate latitude, ecosystems that we’ve seen in the show, canon maps, and comparisons between the continents and their real-world sources of inspiration (Asia for Anima, North America for eastern Sanus, Australia for Menagerie, etc). Here’s what I came up with:

SANUS: Tropical savanna (Aw/As), cold desert (BWk), cold semi-arid (BSk), hot-summer mediterranean (Csa), warm-summer mediterranean (Csb), humid subtropical (Cfa, Cwa), hot-summer humid continental (Dfa), warm-summer humid continental (Dfb)

ANIMA: Tropical rainforest (Af), area of tropical monsoon (Am), tropical savanna (Aw/As), desert (BWh), hot semi-arid (BSh), humid subtropical (Cfa, Cwa), subtropical highland (Cwb), hot-summer humid continental (Dfa), warm-summer humid continental (Dfb), subarctic (Dfc), Mediterranean-influenced subarctic (Dsc)

SOLITAS: Tundra (ET), subarctic (Dfc), ice cap (EF)

MENAGERIE: Tropical savanna (Aw/As), desert (BWh), hot semi-arid (BSh), humid subtropical (Cfa, Cwa), temperate oceanic (Cfb)

VYTAL: Subpolar oceanic (Cfb)

This isn’t perfect by any means, but I think it satisfies some lingering doubt about the credibility of the geography. Sanus’ interior desert, for example, could easily be a cold desert climate. The exterior band of foliage on the northern and western sides appears to be indicative of a rain shadow effect caused by a mountain belt (the conditions necessary for creating this climate type). We have evidence of there being nearby western mountains courtesy of the earthquakes in Vacuo, [3] as earthquakes often occur near mountain ranges created by subduction boundaries. Similarly, oases (like the one once found in Vacuo) tend to form in cold desert climates as the result of rain shadows (similar to the el-Djerid oases near the Atlas Mountains).

All things considered, I’m inclined to give the climate regions a tentative pass. Like I said, they’re not perfect, but they seem to be holding up so far.

Does the Geography Have a Realistic Influence on Society?

Ehhh. It depends. With Vale it’s hard to say, given how little we’ve seen of the areas outside the capital (like the Emerald Forest and Forever Fall), and the fact that we haven’t visited any other cities in the kingdom. We know that Vale makes use of a massive port for trade and travel due to the nearby body of water. But there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly unique about the capital’s culture that can be directly attributed to its geography. Despite being a coastal city, it doesn’t have any signature delicacies derived from the abundant seafood. The architecture is largely generic urban-Western, and doesn’t incorporate the mountains in any way. Vale’s geography is little more than a convenient buffer against the Grimm.

Mistral, on the other hand, is heavily influenced by the geography. All of its houses and shops are directly integrated into the mountains, with an emphasis on vertical building to accommodate the limited space on the cliffs. Stairs, bridges, and electronic lifts are used for getting around the city. Unlike Vale, Atlas, and Mantle, which use motor vehicles, Mistral doesn’t have the space to accommodate modern roads, and instead relies on railroad transport (like the Argus Limited) to move around the continent. Compared to Vale, Mistral is a vast improvement on how well the writers used geography to influence the culture of a city. However, I still think the show could’ve done more to strengthen this connection. For instance, we see evidence of cave systems in Mistral, which briefly appear on-screen and are never brought up again. [4] Talk about wasted potential. Additionally, the show never addresses how the Council keeps its citizens from falling to death. No joke, the only place in the city that has railings is the safehouse where Qrow and the kids stay. What the hell do people do in the winter when the stairs and paths ice over? How do they not slip and fall and plummet to their deaths? And while I’m thinking about it, why doesn’t the city have a system of ziplines or ski lifts for getting around? Are native-born Mistrali people adapted to the lower oxygen found at higher elevations? And what about Mistral’s agriculture? Do farmers live outside the capital? How do they protect themselves?

Like I said, Mistral is better than Vale in this department, but it could still do with more worldbuilding.

Atlas and Mantle are more akin to Vale when it comes to noticeable geographic influence—or rather, a lack thereof. While the technology accommodates its residents via the heating grid, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of how the geography shaped the people of this continent. You’d expect a circumpolar indigenous group to have very distinct cultural traits, but there’s none of that. It’s just rampant technological growth. Now, you could argue that any aspect of geographic influence on culture was wiped out around the time of the Great War. But if the show wants me to believe that, it needs to show me proof. Whether it’s a conversation between two characters, or a political movement spearheading cultural revitalization. Something—anything—that might hint at how geography influenced pre-industrial Mantle.

And forgive me if I don’t feel like speculating about Vacuo, given that it’s only appeared in After the Fall and Before the Dawn. When the show decides to unveil it, then I’ll have more to say.

As for Menagerie? Another resounding meh. The inherent intrigue of a settlement that shelters aquatic Faunus is never fully explored. We get to briefly visit the Shallow Sea district of Kuo Kuana, but the scene is too focused on Blake’s and Sun’s conversation to let us fully explore the area. Which is a shame, because a concept like that could easily be taken to some really cool extremes. Like, what about entirely underwater settlements that are built on coral reefs? How cool would that be for Faunus that have gills, webbed appendages, or caudal fins? I’m not expecting Zootopia or anything like that, but it’d be neat if settlers had gone to creative extremes to accommodate the wide variety of Faunus traits.

How Well Does the Show Integrate Foreign Geographic Features into Its Worldbuilding?

In Volume 5 we’re introduced to Lake Matsu, an area rich with naturally-occurring superterranean Gravity Dust. What makes this place so intriguing is the fact that the Dust is in a constant active state, causing the islands to float in the air. Given that Dust is usually inert unless activated by an Aura, the existence of this place is frankly astonishing, and for the life of me I don’t get why the show treated it as little more than set dressing.

This phenomenon—which I’ve taken to calling a Dust vortex—has so much worldbuilding potential. What if Remnant had pseudo-ephemeral lakes created by concentrations of Water Dust? Or how about a cave system with an abundance of Electricity Dust that causes magnetic charges in the surrounding minerals, creating a place similar to Unova’s Chargestone Cave? Maybe Sanus’ southeastern desert has large pockets of Steam Dust that enshroud the area in permanent fog?

Dust vortices wouldn’t just be aesthetically cool, either; they’d have important implications for the lore. Let’s use Lake Matsu as an example.

If the Dust vortex has been there for a long time (upwards of thousands of years), then the organisms in this ecosystem would’ve adapted to it. You would have endemic wildlife—agamid-like gliding lizards, plants with wind-dispersed fruit, lianas and mosses draped from the underside of the islands, diving birds that nest on the outcrops, microbial detritivores found exclusively in the islands’ soil. Maybe Lake Matsu is an important stopover for migrating birds. Maybe the shadows from the overhead islands are important for predatory fish, which hide in the shade to ambush flying insects. Because the wildlife would be endemic to this ecosystem, perhaps the Mistrali government would designate it a protected area and prevent Dust companies from excavating the site. What if there were fishing towns on the shore that depended on tourism to sustain the local economy? Would they ever come into conflict with Dust companies that lobby the government to open up the area to selective mining?

I’m sure I must sound like a broken record at this point, but the worldbuilding possibilities on display here are nothing short of incredible. And the failure of RWBY to explore even a single one feels like getting repeatedly kicked in the stomach by a feral horse.

We’re now 3,000 words in and I didn’t even get to include ideas for tautological place names. It sucks, but sometimes you have to compromise and go with the idea that make sense to include, rather than the idea that exists just to be novel.

Sound familiar?

[1] Hello Future Me. “Avatar: A Study in Worldbuilding — the Fire Nation [ The Last Airbender ]” YouTube video. October 26, 2019. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa2BD13VzxY&t=3s]

[2] Rooster Teeth. “RT Podcast: Ep. 191.” YouTube video. November 14, 2012. 7:52 - 12:01. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kymVnsIUWLY]

[3] Myers, E. C. RWBY: Before the Dawn (Book 2). Scholastic Inc, 2020. Online preview. “The city of Vacuo had some order to it, with different districts for residences and businesses, and a wide street down the center for the market. But the outer edges of it were periodically wiped out, because of sandstorms or sinkholes or earthquakes.”

[4] Volume 5, Episode 1: “Welcome to Haven.”

#deconstruction #worldbuilding #writing #geography

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martinfzimmerman · 6 years

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Gold and Silver Facts

Gold and Silver have been useful to mankind since ancient civilization. Even today, we use gold and silver in our everyday lives. But most of the people nowadays don’t know the purpose and the importance of both metals. Let’s talk further about two of the most important metals ever discovered by mankind. Here are some amazing facts about Gold and Silver.

Gold characteristics

Color golden yellow

Atomic Weight 9665

Normal State solid

Melting Point 18 deg C, 1337.33 K

Boiling Point 2850 deg C, 3123 K

Electrons 79

Protons 79

Gold is one of the oldest metals continually used since ancient civilizations. Its bright yellow color has been valued for thousands of years. The oldest gold treasure ever found was in a burial site in Varna, Bulgaria from around 4000 BC ( from the ancient Thracian civilization).

By 3100 BC man has evidence of gold and silver used by the Early Dynastic Period of ancient Egypt. Egyptians used gold plates to decorate shrines, ornaments, weapons, ceramics, statues, glassware and jewelry. Gold has also been used as a standard for currencies all over the world.

The world’s largest gold bar was manufactured by the Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi. The gold bar stands at 250 kg (551 lb), measuring at the base 45.5 cm x 22.5 cm and 17 cm high with a 5-degree draft angle (equal to 15,730 cm³, or 17.9 in × 8.9 in × 6.7 in ≈ 1062.04 in³).

Gold is found on every continent on Earth, except for Antartica. The largest amount of gold can be found in the oceans.

Gold is edible, pure gold is chemically inert and passes through the human digestive system without being absorbed into the body. Since 24-karat gold is very soft and fragile, most edible gold – whether leaf, flakes or dust – also contains a little bit of silver which is also inert ( so it means we can eat a whole 24-karat gold without falling ill).

Earthquakes can turn water into gold (sounds like a shake rattle and gold!). During an earthquake, the fault jog suddenly opens wider. It’s like pulling the lid off a pressure cooker. The water inside the void vaporizes instantly, flashing to steam and forcing silica, which forms the mineral quartz and gold out of the fluids and onto nearby surfaces.

There’s gold in Eucalyptus trees ( sounds fun to plant eucalyptus trees ). Australian researchers have found that microscopic gold particles from underground ore deposits are present in the leaves of this tree!.

Silver characteristics

Color Silver

Atomic Weight 868

Normal State solid

Melting Point 95 deg C, 1235.1 K

Boiling Point 2155 deg C, 2428 K

Electrons 47

Protons 47

Silver has been used since prehistoric times. We do not know who discovered it, although the discovery would almost have been native silver. Silver objects dating from around 4000 BC have been found in Greece and in Anatolia (in modern Turkey).

For thousands of years, silver has been used as a medicine and anti-bacterial agent by ancient civilization throughout the world. Its medical purpose can be tracked since the ancient Greek and Roman Empires. The word silver comes from the Greek word “Argos”, meaning shiny or white.

Silver is the best electric conductor of all the elements. It is used as the standard by which other conductors are measured. On a scale of 0-100, silver ranks 100 in terms of electrical conductivity, followed by copper that ranks in 97 and gold ranks in 76.

Silver metal is not toxic to humans. In fact, like gold, it can be used as a food decoration. However, most silver salts are toxic to humans. Silver is considered as germicidal meaning it kills bacteria and other lower organisms. Silver compounds can be absorbed into the circulatory system and reduced silver can be deposited into various bodily tissues.

Silver is so shiny that when polished it can reflect 95% of the light, taking a photograph also requires using a silver nitrate compound to make celluloid film sensitive to light. Around 30% of industrial silver consumption in the US is used for this.

The most common form of silver is sterling silver. This is actually a 92.5% pure silver, with the other 7.5% made up of other precious metal including copper. Britannia silver is an alloy of 95.8% silver and 4.2% copper, also used for jewelry and silverware. Fine silver is at least 99.9% pure and commercially available, but too soft for general use

The primary source of silver today is the New World. Mexico is the leading producer, followed by Peru. The United States, Canada, Russia, and Australia also produce silver. Around two-thirds of the silver obtained today is a byproduct of copper, lead, and zinc mining.

from Gold Silver Worlds http://goldsilverworlds.com/gold-silver-general/gold-and-silver-facts/

#Gold Silver Worlds

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hellosavona-blog · 6 years

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The Basics of How Ore Processing and Recovery Plants Work

The term processing and recovery plant is broad to say the least so we are going to give some basic examples of the types of ore processing plants. It is important to understand that each full scale ore processing plant, backfill plant, placer mining plant, or even a small scale test plant is specifically engineered for the material it will be processing. The type of plant at any given mine or recovery operation also depends on permits, available road access, amount of precious materials to be mined, and of course cost. In this article we will be focusing on ore processing plants.

What kind of material are you processing?

Technically all ore processing falls under the field of extractive metallurgy, mineral engineering, and mineral processing also known as mineral dressing or ore dresing. It is the process of separating commercially valuable minerals from their ores. Commonly, haul trucks transport the ore from open pits or underground operations to processing operations. Ore may be stockpiled for later processing. The grade and type of ore determines the mineral processing method used. Additionally, the geochemical makeup of the ore, including its hardness, sulfur content, carbon content, and other minerals found within, impact the cost and methods used to extract gold, silver, and other precious metals and minerals.

What can you recover?

Ore processing recovery systems are used for everything from recovering precious metals, industrial minerals, and rare earth minerals. Plants for recovering precious metals often recover multiple metals or minerals in the same operation. This is because often where there is gold the ore will contain copper and silver. When talking about the recovery of precious metals we are identifying the noble metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Other primary metals that ore processing plants are used to recover includes copper and iron ore. There are rare metallic minerals such as nickel, cobalt, and scandium which are mined using similar processes. There is also the processing of rare earth minerals.

How much material will an ore processing plant process per day?

Ore & Mineral Processing Plants are designed for various purposes and capacity, for large primary ore processing, secondary, and tertiary fine material concentrating as well as complete aggregate, recycling, mining, and treatment facilities. They are mostly measured by TPD (tons per day). Based on the capacity of the plant and the grade of the ore it is processing, engineers and mining geologists can determine the economic viability of the mine. The investment made in a gold processing plants, silver processing plants, as well as plants for recovery of other precious metals and rare earth minerals is impacted by the cost and methods used to extract gold, silver, and other precious metals and minerals. It is also impacted by the market price and market projections of the material being mined. A 6500 TPD Gold & Silver Processing Plant will cost millions of dollars where small mineral pilot plants may cost hundred of thousands and a portable pilot plant may cost only thousands. Many full scale operations begin with a test plant before upgrading to a full production ore processing plant.

What equipment is included in an Ore Processing Plant?

Each plant is different but there are several common pieces of equipment you will almost always find through 5 stages of processing. The first is size reduction meant to break up the largest of material which includes crushers, industrial screens, and large hoppers and feeders. The second process is the gravity circuit which further breaks down the material for further processing and includes grinding mills, cyclones, and depending on the process gravity concentrators. The third is the leaching process that uses equipment with industrial grade agitators and mixers and contains a leaching solution and allows the valuable material to leach from the ore into solution. The fourth stage is the actual recovery of the material being processed which greatly depends on the material itself and the ore it is mixed with. For gold it could be a refining and smelting system, bullion furnace, or concentrating tables. The fifth stage is the tailings treatment. Tailings are the byproducts left over from mining and extracting resources, such as extracting bitumen from the oilsands or minerals such as copper or gold from ores. Tailings include: Finely ground rock particles – ranging from sand-sized to silt-sized. Chemicals used to extract the valuable mineral or oil. The treatment is meant to process the tailings remove the sediments and chemicals and then often reuse the water for going back into the processing plant. Mixed in with the entire process are various types of industrial pumps, belt conveyors, electrical equipment including large generators, and heavy equipment.

How can you purchase an Ore Processing Plant?

There are many ways to purchase a plant. Large scale mines will often engineers and new plant. In some case publicly traded companies require new processing equipment for the main components of the plants. A second common option is to buy a used plant that has already been in service. This can often greatly reduce the cost while still getting a plant that is engineered as well as proven to operate efficiently. It also minimizes the lead times of waiting for new equipment to be manufactured. The third option is to buy each piece of mining and milling equipment individually and mix new and used equipment. This can lead to even a further reduction in your cost but can be a challenge to find each piece of equipment that will fit your specifications.

This article is a brief overview of an ore processing and recovery plant. The first step is to speak with a reputable professional in the industries including mine engineers, mining geologists, and equipment experts. Once you have the right team in place it will be much easier to find the right equipment and purchase the plant which produces the highest profits.

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battybat-boss · 6 years

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Criminal Fertilizer Company that Already Settled $2 BILLION Lawsuit Wants 18,000 More Acres in Florida

Sink holes like this on in Florida are destroying property and lives. Strip mining to produce phosphate for fertilizers for Big Ag is a primary cause. Image Source.

Phosphate Fertilizers: A Product of Modern Mass-produced Agriculture that Threatens our Health and Land

by Paul Fassa Health Impact News

Most health conscious and environmentally concerned people understand the problems facing us today due to modern agricultural and biotech practices.

In the U.S. today, less than 1% of our population is producing the food for the country. When the U.S. was founded, about 90% of the population was involved in agriculture, and by the time Abraham Lincoln became president that number still stood at around 50% of the population producing food for the country.

Today, traditional small-scale sustainable farming is rare, and has been replaced by biotech and the mass production of food. GMO food, along with the contamination of the food supply by pesticides and herbicides is fairly well known today.

But there is one aspect of modern-day agriculture that often slips under the radar of public awareness that is as ecologically harmful to human health or even worse.

It is the worldwide phosphate fertilizer industry. And it is especially out of control here in America, in China, and in other regions to lesser extents.

Florida's phosphate industries supply 75 percent of the USA's fertilizers. Now the world's largest phosphate mining and manufacturing company, Mosaic Fertilizer, is looking to grab more land in Florida with the usual carrot of economic development, put simply, more local jobs.

Those who know the history and methods of this industry are trying to convince ignorant citizens and county commissioners that the risks far outweigh the benefits promised, even if actually fulfilled.

Mosaic Fertilizer has already settled a $2 billion lawsuit to clean up 60 billion pounds of hazardous waste in Florida and Louisiana – one of the largest federal lawsuits ever settled.

Now it wants to grab even more land in Florida, seeking 18,000 acres for strip mining.

David vs Goliath in Florida

In Central Florida, members of Facebook's “Wake Up DeSoto” are trying to raise public awareness to stop Central Florida's DeSoto County Commission from allowing phosphate mining and fertilizer company, Mosaic, to settle into their county with permission to use 18,000 acres in the area for its toxic industry.

Mosaic, formerly based out of Minnesota, but now headquartered in Florida, has a history of causing ecological damage wherever it has positioned its mining and manufacturing operations as do other similar companies.

Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance stated:

Mining and mineral processing facilities generate more toxic and hazardous waste than any other industrial sector. Reducing environmental impacts from large fertilizer manufacturers operations is a national priority for EPA.

After eight years of EPA investigation and negotiations with Mosaic, the company finally agreed on a settlement totaling 2 billion dollars to safely remove 60 billion pounds of toxic waste from two plant sites in Louisiana and six sites in Florida.

The EPA investigation into Mosaic's and other phosphate industry practices was initiated after toxic waste was discovered from a plant located near Tampa Bay's Sunshine Skyway Bridge was discovered along the edge of the bay in 2003. Earlier, Mosaic had also been ticketed for air pollution violations. (Source)

It's known that Mosaic contributes to Florida state politicians on both sides of the aisle. DeSoto County environmental activists are suspicious of the county commission's leadership as well. From one of DeSoto County's environmental unnamed activists who emailed Health Impact News:

The Florida FDEP [Florida Department of Environmental Protection] permits all this stuff… they know that the clay settling ponds will spill over during the rainy season and discharge [waste] water. It's not a matter of 'if' but 'when.'

The settling ponds mentioned are atop huge stacks of solid waste that are up to 200 feet high and spread across hundreds of acres. They are the only “mountains” on Florida's mostly flat land.

Phosphate Fertilizer Mining Creates Ecological and Human Health Issues

Gathering phosphate, which is abundant throughout Florida where most USA phosphate mining and fertilizer processing occurs, is accomplished through strip mining. Essentially, strip mining scrapes a good portion of the earth's surface to gather what has to be sorted and processed for a final product.

For starters, this creates a large swath of land not fit for farming, development, or recreation unless reclamation is demanded by government agencies, which often takes quite a while to occur and is usually not restored back to its original pristine status.

With phosphate mining, a dragline with a scoop the size of a truck scoops 15 to 30 feet of earth over anywhere from 5,000 acres to sometimes thousands more. The real mining of phosphate ore then begins with the same technique after the earth that's dug up, considered “overburden”, and is piled high around the site area.

The material containing phosphate ore also contains almost equal amounts of clay and sand. This material is called “matrix” and it's dumped into pits containing high-pressure water guns to separate the clay and sand from the phosphate ore. The clay and sand create a waste item that at one time could be sold for construction purposes, phosphogypsum slurry.

Though pure gypsum used for new construction, phosphogypsum, is no longer allowed due to traces of radioactive uranium and radium. Phosphogypsum separated from phosphate ore becomes more radioactive.

Without a customer base for phosphogypsum and no place allowed away from the mining and/or refining site to dump the radioactive slurry, fertilizer mining sites pile it up on the property leased or permitted from local governments and call them “gypsum stacks.”

Massive amounts of good groundwater used for processing are under gypsum, or “gyp” stacks, weaken support under the 150 – 200 ft stacks with pools of hydrosilocic waste on top of them. These large pools are purportedly meant to allow evaporation of the toxic liquids.

Central Florida's flat, sandy topography is naturally sinkhole-prone. And the underground aquifers, or water tables, used for processing waters make the earth above more vulnerable with the added pressure of massive artificially-created gypsum stacks.

When a sinkhole occurs under a gypsum stack, the waste pool on top of the stack dumps the toxic liquids into the underground water table or aquifer. This is not conjecture. It has happened.

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The Phosphate Fertilizer Industry Provides the Chemical Used to Fluoridate City Water Supplies

A major toxic gaseous byproduct from manufacturing phosphate fertilizers has to be gathered by smokestack “wet scrubbers” in order to comply with air pollution regulations put in place a few decades ago, after gases emitted from plant smokestacks ruined nearby crops, killed livestock, and seriously sickened humans.

In its newly liquefied form, from being gathered by wet scrubbers, it is packaged as a hazardous substance to be sold and shipped to a majority of municipalities where they purchase this toxic waste to fluoridate their water supplies.

At first, in 1983, the EPA was hugely in favor of this method, which is considered a win-win for both not polluting the immediate environment and boosting dental health throughout the nation. Fluoride protection for teeth was the current medical myth at the time, which most still hold dearly today.

According to recent estimates, the phosphate industry sells approximately 200,000 tons of silicofluorides (hydrofluorosilicic acid & sodium silicofluoride) to US communities each year for use as a water fluoridation agent. (Source)

But in the year 2000, a top EPA scientist and administrator, Dr. William Hirzy, stated:

If this stuff gets out into the air, it's a pollutant; if it gets into the river, it's a pollutant; if it gets into the lake it's a pollutant; but if it goes right into your drinking water system, it's not a pollutant… There's got to be a better way to manage this stuff. (Source)

The Hard to Swallow Truth: A Documentary on Fluoride Dangers

The Final Fertilizer Product Delivers the Last Ecological Blow

Inorganic phosphate fertilizers cause ecological harm. Further processing of mined phosphate adds nitrogen to the mix. Phosphate fertilizers are used extensively in large-scale factory farming and among non-organic small farms. Runoff water from farms using these fertilizers combine to pollute aquifers that many communities siphon for their water.

The runoff water containing these fertilizers seep into aquifers and underground water tables to pollute drinking water. Water seepage from farms using phosphate fertilizers flow into inland waterways and lakes, eventually spilling into coastal ocean waters, disturbing the ecological balance of aquatic plant life and creating oxygen-deprived “dead zones”.

It may seem paradoxical that a mineral with nitrogen essential to plants and life, in general, would create dead zones in lakes and coastal water. What happens is too much nitrogen from these fertilizers kills off vital algae and creates an algae imbalance, negatively affecting symbiotic species.

This adversely affects the whole marine life food chain to create a dead zone that threatens marine life. Dead zones have occurred in coastal waters such as the Chesapeake Bay, several Florida coastal inlets, and the Great Lakes as well as smaller inland lakes. (Source)

Although plant crops may thrive with phosphate fertilizers, the soil does not. It becomes leached of minerals from the fertilizer and the method of large-scale mono-crop farming that demands more and more phosphate fertilizing.

This farming method is considered more rapidly lucrative than cultivating more than one crop to allow crop rotation, which is good for the soil and allowing various parts of the land's soil to rest for a year as fallow soil.

Big Ag's large scale farming methods are unhealthy for all along the food chain and impossible to sustain.

Beyond the Imminent Dangers

It appears there is a finite limit to the phosphate mining required by this fertilizer that is claimed to help Big Ag feed the world's demand of an expanding population. Does that phrase seem familiar? It's the propaganda used by the biotech's GMO industry, designed to sell more toxic pesticides provided by those who create the genetically modified seeds for crops to withstand the poisons.

The solution for both extreme fertilizer use and GMO interventions is organic farming that serves regional areas. This has been studied by various UN international groups assigned to do an unbiased study on what can actually feed the world and sustain itself without harming the environment and the animals and people in it.

How Organic Farming Could Release Us From the Curse of Fertilizer

This transition can take some time, and it's not going happen by decree of most governments, which are usually part of the problem through either ignorance or corruption. It's going to take consumer choices, selecting mostly organic and locally-grown foods, and disenchanted farmers joining the ranks of organic farmers, which though not covered by the mainstream news, is gradually happening.

In the meantime, creating a more environmentally-compatible method of phosphate mining may help during the hopefully anticipated change to more organic and sustainable farming.

youtube

Sources for this article include:

Phosphate giant Mosaic agrees to pay nearly $2 billion over mishandling of hazardous waste

Mosaic gypsum stack sink hole exposes a wrong

Chemical Fertilizers Poisoning Drinking Water

Dying Coral Reefs Linked to Chemical Fertilizers and Factory Farms

The Hard to Swallow Truth: A Documentary on Fluoride Dangers

How Organic Farming Could Release Us From the Curse of Fertilizer

Fortune 500 phosphate company Mosaic moving headquarters to Florida

RE: Rezoning of 14,053.40+ of land from Agriculture 10 (A10) to Phosphate Mining-Industrial (PM-I)

Phosphate giant Mosaic agrees to pay nearly $2 billion over mishandling of hazardous waste

Florida Fertilizer Plant Sinkhole Reportedly Leaks 215 Million Gallons of Radioactive Water Into Aquifer

Nitrogen & Phosphorus

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lopezdorothy70-blog · 6 years

Text

Criminal Fertilizer Company that Already Settled $2 BILLION Lawsuit Wants 18,000 More Acres in Florida

Sink holes like this on in Florida are destroying property and lives. Strip mining to produce phosphate for fertilizers for Big Ag is a primary cause. Image Source.

Phosphate Fertilizers: A Product of Modern Mass-produced Agriculture that Threatens our Health and Land

by Paul Fassa Health Impact News

Most health conscious and environmentally concerned people understand the problems facing us today due to modern agricultural and biotech practices.

But there is one aspect of modern-day agriculture that often slips under the radar of public awareness that is as ecologically harmful to human health or even worse.

It is the worldwide phosphate fertilizer industry. And it is especially out of control here in America, in China, and in other regions to lesser extents.

Mosaic Fertilizer has already settled a $2 billion lawsuit to clean up 60 billion pounds of hazardous waste in Florida and Louisiana – one of the largest federal lawsuits ever settled.

Now it wants to grab even more land in Florida, seeking 18,000 acres for strip mining.

David vs Goliath in Florida

Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance stated:

The settling ponds mentioned are atop huge stacks of solid waste that are up to 200 feet high and spread across hundreds of acres. They are the only “mountains” on Florida's mostly flat land.

Phosphate Fertilizer Mining Creates Ecological and Human Health Issues

Though pure gypsum used for new construction, phosphogypsum, is no longer allowed due to traces of radioactive uranium and radium. Phosphogypsum separated from phosphate ore becomes more radioactive.

When a sinkhole occurs under a gypsum stack, the waste pool on top of the stack dumps the toxic liquids into the underground water table or aquifer. This is not conjecture. It has happened.

youtube

The Phosphate Fertilizer Industry Provides the Chemical Used to Fluoridate City Water Supplies

But in the year 2000, a top EPA scientist and administrator, Dr. William Hirzy, stated:

The Hard to Swallow Truth: A Documentary on Fluoride Dangers

The Final Fertilizer Product Delivers the Last Ecological Blow

Big Ag's large scale farming methods are unhealthy for all along the food chain and impossible to sustain.

Beyond the Imminent Dangers

How Organic Farming Could Release Us From the Curse of Fertilizer

In the meantime, creating a more environmentally-compatible method of phosphate mining may help during the hopefully anticipated change to more organic and sustainable farming.

youtube

Sources for this article include:

Phosphate giant Mosaic agrees to pay nearly $2 billion over mishandling of hazardous waste

Mosaic gypsum stack sink hole exposes a wrong

Chemical Fertilizers Poisoning Drinking Water

Dying Coral Reefs Linked to Chemical Fertilizers and Factory Farms

The Hard to Swallow Truth: A Documentary on Fluoride Dangers

How Organic Farming Could Release Us From the Curse of Fertilizer

Fortune 500 phosphate company Mosaic moving headquarters to Florida

RE: Rezoning of 14,053.40+ of land from Agriculture 10 (A10) to Phosphate Mining-Industrial (PM-I)

Phosphate giant Mosaic agrees to pay nearly $2 billion over mishandling of hazardous waste

Florida Fertilizer Plant Sinkhole Reportedly Leaks 215 Million Gallons of Radioactive Water Into Aquifer

Nitrogen & Phosphorus

0 notes