GineersNow Engineering Magazine November 2016 Issue No 009

A BIOLOGICAL
EXTRACTION
FOR MINING AND
BIOENERGY
Juan Enriquez, a futurist
who professes the changes
that genomics will bring in
business, technnology and
society wants us to change
how we approach fuel or
bioenergy. Genomics, or
a branch in genetics that
deals with the analysis
and sequencing of an
organism's genome, is a
way in order to deal with
how bioenergy should be
utilized. Bioenergy on the
other hand, is what you get
when you use agricultural
or forest residues, organic
wastes and crops as a means
of extracting energy to
produce heat, electricity and
fuels. And genomics come
into play when the DNA
component and the biology
of the biomass resources are
altered to produce energry
instead of the usual massive
extraction (and destruction).
According to Enriquez,
mankind has always
resorted to brute force in
acquiring natural resources
and it would be better if
the thinking jumps from an
engineering approach, to
a chemical and to finally a
Photo by TEDTalks
biological one. Let's say
for example the works
of the Nobel Prize and
Congressional Medal of
Honor winner Norman
Borlaug. He developed
and taught people a
more efficient war of
growing grains as part of
the Green Revolution. So
in order to grow plants
with just massive land
cultivation and employing
machineries for faster
production, the biology
behind the grains must
be utilized first. Enriquez
said that a huge part of
the destruction brought
about by coal mining
will be lessened if a
more biological way of
extracting it is developed.
How is coal produced?
How can the gases be
collected? Bioenergy
should transition from
a brute force method
of acquiring biomass
resources into a biological
force.
HUGE GOLD
NUGGET FOUND BY
LUCKY AUSTRALIAN
Imagine having the shock of
your life when you find a real
gold nugget using a metal
detector. This Australian
prospector thought he
was just looking at an old
horseshoe when he saw a
4.1kg gold nugget at the
southern edge of Central
Victoria’s Golden Triangle. It
is located in South Australia.
He said, “I thought it was
rubbish at first, maybe an old
horseshoe. About 12 inches
below the ground, I could
just barely make out the top
of something.” Later on, he
realized it was real gold as
he dug deeper. “It wasn’t
an old piece of steel in front
of me. I had just unearthed
a colossal gold nugget – a
once in a lifetime find! (…)
I didn't think nuggets of this
size were still around.”
He then named the gold
“Friday’s Joy.”
Photo by Minicab
The lucky Australian has been
doing this during weekends
for the past ten years. As
soon as he discovered the
gold, he went out for a few
drinks with his friends (whom
he’ll be sharing the money
they’ll get with), wrapped
the gold in foil and placed it
inside an oven.
How much do you think the
discovered gold will sell?
Minicab reports that it is
expected to sell for more
than US$190,000. It was a
lucky find indeed.
NOVEMBER 2016
Mining Engineering and Its Importance
27