Return to fundamentals

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As we labor away on our extractive metallurgy project, I continue to marvel at how even complex extraction schemes reduce to the application of fundamental chemistry and basic unit operations. It is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the composition of your ore and the fate of the components as they are exposed to unit operations. The extraction of desired metals from your ore requires extensive use of analytical resources in order to keep the process economics in line.

Extractive metallurgy also requires an extensive knowledge of descriptive inorganic chemistry- something that was glossed over when I was in college. When I took undergraduate inorganic chemistry the emphasis was on ligand field theory, group theory application to symmetry and vibrational modes, coordination complex chemistry, etc. Lots of content that took many lecture hours to cover. Basic reaction chemistry was neglected in favor of admittedly elegant theory.

The fun for me (an organikker) has been in learning lots of descriptive inorganic chemistry and inorganic synthesis.

Extractive metallurgy in practice comes down to a relatively short list of operations. Roasting or calcining, comminution & classification, extraction, dissolution, flocculation, frothing, dewatering and filtration, redox transformations, precipitation, and drying.  Since most of the solution work is water based, the main handles you have to pull are temperature, selective solubility, and pH.

My undergrad coursework in inorganic qualitative analysis, specifically the separation schemes, has been very valuable both in terms of benchwork as well as descriptive chemistry.

Keep China busy- buy an iPhone.

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Thanks to Bill in Michigan for the link on how the US lost out on manufacturing the iPhone. The article is well worth the read. A few of us have been beating this drum for a while. Economics is not a theory of physics. It is entirely about choices people make. But to some, economics has become a mathematical and philosophical validation of greed and a metric of mortal value.

Interestingly, Robert Reich has a parallel and broader editorial on the same general topic.  Reich points out that US corporations are becoming increasingly globalized with “less and less stake in America.”

Reich quotes an Apple executive –

‘An Apple executive says “We don’t have an obligation to solve America’s problems. Our only obligation is making the best product possible.” He might have added “and showing a big enough profits to continually increase our share price.”’

Reich goes on to say that US business investment in R&D is in general decline but…

“… According to the NSF, American firms nearly doubled their R&D investment in Asia over these years, to over $7.5 billion.

GE recently announced a $500 million expansion of its R&D facilities in China. The firm has already invested $2 billion.”

If you read history and understand something of how the industrial revolution has been the deus ex machina of social revolution since the invention of smelting, then unavoidably you must ask what happens if we change the sign of the revolution?  Does the sign of social revolution become negative as well in a nation of negative- or de-industrialization? What happens in a nation when a minority of shareholders absorb value from the stakeholders via tranplantation of the economic engine to another nation? What happens to society when the population grows but the per capita availability of jobs is in decline?  A trip to the Congo or to Gaza might give some useful hints.

Deindustrialization is not nearly the sole culprit. Automation is much to blame for the obsolescence of job descriptions. Automation actually facilitates the export of jobs because the key expertise may be in the design of automated equipment, not its operation.

What made America “great” was not simply its freedom. There was a substantial contribution from a vast continent pregnant with animal, vegetable and mineral resources for the taking. The early allotment of land and mineral resources by the government to settlers, railroads, and mine operators kick started the American economic engine in the mid 19th century.

I am uncomfortable with this strident American exceptionalism viewpoint. Maybe it is the midwesterner in me, but I would prefer to see Americans roll up their sleeves and get busy making things again. Leave the boastful and prideful stuff for the comics. A little more humility and thoughtfulness will get us further and in better condition.

Anti-SOPA Solidarity

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In solidarity with yesterdays protest against internet censorship, my porch light remained dark last night. What is normally a shining beacon of hope in the neighborhood was last night a mute and dark void.  This pocket of frigid darkness sat in silent protest to those who would presume to stunt the billion webbed neurons of this nearly-sentient being we refer to as The Internets. So it was and so it shall be.

Thus spake Th’ Gaussling.

Vannoccio Biringuccio. Sixteenth Century Chronicler of Metallurgy.

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By the early 16th century in Europe, metallurgy had become an established cottage industry in numerous locales. Artisans were sourcing copper, tin, zinc, antimony and iron ores for reduction, refinement and alloy production for cannon and bells among other products.  While there was no systematic science of chemistry in a form recognizable today, the necessity of constant proportions was understood and exploited to maximize the efficient use of scarce materials. Metallurgists of the 16th century would no doubt share the enthusiasm of developing technology with the same fervor as the technologists of today. 

Unfortunately for these 16th century technologists, the contribution of centuries of alchemy produced a confusing array of occult-based practices. These alchemical practices were based on Aristotelian notions of material “qualities” rather than a system of quantitative relationships of and between substances. It is thought that alchemy began with Grecian metalworker’s practical knowledge of metal preparation. Inevitably, this practical art was overprinted with a thick layer of theological mysticsm by the end of the first millenium. By the end of the alchemical age, any systematic theories of matter were blended into a Mulligan stew of early Roman Catholic mysticism,  incomprehensible nomenclature, and the false choices set forth by Aristotle in his theory of matter.

Fortunately for 16th century practitioners of the metallurgical arts, several encyclopedic works were published detailing the practical art of smelting and casting of metals and what we now know to be alloys.  A prominent early work published in 1540 was the Pirotechnia by Vannoccio Biringuccio (1480-1539). Born in Siena, Italy, over the course of his life Biringuccio traveled extensvely throughout Italy and Germany. His Pirotechnia is a series of books and chapters detailing foundry techniques that he witnessed first hand throughout his travels. He made every attempt to describe methods and techniques in enough detail to accurately capture the technique in question. Above all, he completely drops all the alchemical mysticism and bases his comments on process oriented details such as measured proportions and processing conditions.

Up to this point, what was missing from this very early form of chemistry was a systematic collection of facts and measurements and an accurate chemical model in which to give the facts meaning and predictive value.  Biringuccio, and later Agricola, would begin the disengagement of alchemical mysticism and provide a basis of metallurgical technology upon what might be called science. In a real sense, this helps to set into motion the western industrial revolution. Metallic goods would be produced by very pragmatic artisans who would continue to improve their art through the application of rudimentary measurement.  While it would be four centuries before atomic theory would be developed to make sense of the manner in which definite proportions operated, systematic methods of assay would begin to appear well before atomic theory. The ability to identify value in ores and quantitate it allowed the mass industrialzation of metals.

Load-in day

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Being part-owner of a theatre company, I also get to be a roadie and stagehand for our play that opens in a week. Today is load-in day at the theatre. We have to move the set and props onto the stage and wings. Costumes have to go to the dressing rooms and make-up room supplies have to be put in place.  After many weeks of reheasal and production work, the thing is really going to happen. For Kitchen Witches, we have a cast of 4- 3w and 1m.

This time we put a bit more effort into promotional work. We have a talented graphic artist who does posters and other kinds of copy for us. Posters are up in every shop that’ll let us do it. Post cards are out to our direct mailing list of recpients. We have not advertised on radio owing to the high cost. Newspaper advertising is a puzzlement to us. Who reads papers anymore? When you have a small advertising budget, getting bang for the buck is risky.  

In community theatre, your audience is substantially the 55 + crowd. And among that group, it is heavily skewed to the 65 + demographic of blue hairs and Q-tips. Retired people go to plays. The age 21 to 50 group are commonly very scarce in the audience. I think it has always been that way.  We are a theatre group without a bricks and mortar theatre. Given the thin demographic, if we had to keep a buildng in operation we’d be broke already.

We have local “celebrities” each doing a cameo during one particular scene in each performance: Two mayors, the school superintendant, an elementary school principal, and a few business leaders. 

Our set guy came up with some clever stuff. We can’t wait to see the set in use.

Th’ Gaussling was in our November production of Dearly Departed, but the current production had no role for a cranky middle aged guy, so I’m sitting it out. We have one actor who just finished a run of Rocky Horror as well as an assistant director who was in the same production.  Their production of Rocky Horror was quite well done, even if they did not allow us to throw toast. First timers like myself got called on stage for a public spanking by one of the transvestite characters. That was hilarious.   \;-)

Devon Energy Sells Stakes to SINOPEC in Shale Gas Plays

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Devon Energy has raised $900 million in cash from Sinopec Group for a stake in Devon shale gas plays. These gas projects include the Utica, Niobrara, and Tuscaloosa formations. 

What is interesting is not so much that China has bought its way into the extraction of a resource that the USA has in some abundance. What is more troubling is that China has bought its way up the learning curve in horizontal drilling and fracturing. 

According to the article in Bloomburg Businessweek-

China National Petroleum Corp., Sinopec Group and Cnooc Ltd. are seeking to gain technology through partnerships in order to develop China’s shale reserves, estimated to be larger than those in the U.S.

“In these joint ventures, the partner does typically get some education on drilling,” Scott Hanold, a Minneapolis-based analyst for RBC Capital Markets, said today in an interview.

So, the business wizards at Devon in OKC have arranged to sell their drilling magic to the Sinopec for a short term gain on drilling activity. Way to go folks. Gas in the ground is money in the bank. These geniuses have arranged to suck non-renewable energy out of the ground as fast as possible.  Once again US technology (IP, which is national treasure) is piped across the Pacific to people who will eventually use it to beat us in the market.  Score another triumph for our business leaders!!

The market is like a stomach. It has no brain. It only knows that it wants MORE.    Th’ Gaussling.

 It’s a banner day for American Business.

Locust Capitalism- The Frass Machine.

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Here is a great catch phrase- Locust Capitalism. The article by David Waldman, describing the past business practices of one of our corporate persons, Bain Capital, uses this catchy phrase to characterize said corporate person. Of course, the irony of it all is plastered on the face of biological person Willard “Mitt” Romney who makes a show of being a job creator.

There is something that locusts do create- it is called frass.

I do not doubt Romney’s sincerity when he speaks. Like other candidates, he seems to live in the “eternal now” much like a dog. He wags his tail at the public hoping to curry favor for the treat of being president. If wagging his tail doesn’t work, he rolls over and puts up a paw hoping to win over the public. It is in the nature of these creatures to do this and while we cannot hold them blameless for their transgressions, we can at least understand them.

People who are able to think about business in an abstract way, that is, unencumbered by sloppy sentimentality for the fate of individuals, are well suited to become the captains and oligarchs of business. Romney seems to have been a captain. If the practices described by Waldman did in fact happen, then the locust analogy is very suitable and it says a lot about the character of the persons involved.

Waldman writes that Romney and cohorts bought companies holding ample commercial credit, charged them substantial management fees, and tapped out the credit lines while pocketing operating cash, driving the company into bankruptcy. They walk away from the remaining husk of what was a functioning organization with their neatly stacked pile of lucre.

If a real person did this, he/she might be described as a kind of sociopath. But somehow in the context of business there is no descriptor for such antisocial behavior.

Since we are now in the habit of referring to corporate personhood, perhaps we need to be a bit more analytical about it and characterize pathological behavior such as this.

Thorium and Rare Earths. A Possible Market Synergy.

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If one studies the economic geology of Rare Earth Elements (REE), it becomes clear that REE’s are frequently (usually?) found in deposits rich in other elements.  Deposits of zirconium, tantalum and niobium, for instance, are frequently co-located with REE’s.

The REE’s are found in ore bodies that are naturally enriched in either heavies (yttric or HREE’s) or lights, (ceric or LREE’s). The LREE’s seem to be the most common spread of the REE’s.  Molycorp’s Mountain Pass bastnasite deposit is a good example of this.

What is not so widely known is that thorium and/or uranium are nearly always found in these deposits.  This might be regarded as a good thing except that companies in the REE business seem to be less interested in actinides than lanthanides. The actinide business is fraught with complications related to the natural radioactivity of Th and U. If one is interested in rare metal production, the matter of radioactivity is unwelcome.

However, there is opportunity here if certain institutional thinking is allowed to expand. I refer to the global preference for uranium and plutonium in the nuclear fuel cycle. Nearly the entire world’s nuclear materials infrastructure was directed to the production of yellowcake and separation of U235 from U238 post WWII. While there has been some experimentation with thorium 232 in the US, and there are some limited initiatives in motion, it has been largely neglected in reactor design and the fuel cycle in favor of uranium and plutonium.

Rare earth element mining and processing naturally produces thorium and uranium. At present, those practicing REE extractive metallurgy have every incentive to avoid concentrating the actinide components owing to the radioactivity. However, if there were a coherent program for the development of an efficient thorium fuel program, this natural resource could be efficiently taken from the REE product streams now or in the future.

Our reliance on energy will trend substantially towards electricity. The greater absolute abundance of Th over U, as well as the ability to use 100 % of the predominant isotope makes thorium a good candidate for energy exploitation. The recent boom in REE exploration has uncovered new sources of thorium. The nuclear genie was let out of the bottle nearly 70 years ago. By now we should be a little smarter about how we use it.

After the Blockade

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So here is a short timeline of events that will unfold after the Iranians block the Strait of Hormuz. Beginning 48 hours after the blockade starts, at around 3:00 AM, RF jamming will begin and a US Navy man-of-war somewhere over the horizon will launch a barrage of cruise missiles at Iranian surface ships in the Straits. From an undisclosed location, a US nuclear submarine will launch more cruise missiles and a hunter-killer sub will close in on any Iranian subs that may be in the vicinity.

USAF strike force assets will be overhead and will provide electronic counter-measures, signal intelligence, and aerial reconn.

Thirty seconds before the cruise missiles arrive at their targets, the muffled slapping sound of 2000 sphincters slamming shut will be heard as Iranian seamen realize what is about to happen when the angry, armor piercing, high explosive warheads arrive. The reality of a torrent of supersonic incandescent pressurized gas, slurried with molten metal, penetrating the hull into inhabited space is too awful to contemplate.

The president will be given the choice of bombarding Iranian naval bases, but he will wisely decline.

By 9 AM, the remaining Iranian naval combatant will be disabled and listing.  Many men are in the oily water, more than a few of them corpses floating in the flooded interior spaces of their sunken vessels.

Anderson Cooper’s plane is wheels-up by noon Iran time, but the thing is over. US men-of-war steam toward the kill zone looking for survivors. The descendents of Xerxes and Rumi have been in the streets of Tehran since 7 am slapping their foreheads and shaking their fists. But who are they really mad at? The US or their government?

In reality, I don’t think this scenario will unfold. The US will gather a show of force and intimidate the Iranians to stand down. Individual Iranian ships making aggressive moves will be delt with swiftly, though.