Misplaced Pages

#849150

40-549: Archaeal Richmond Mine acidophilic nanoorganisms (ARMAN) were first discovered in an extremely acidic mine located in northern California ( Richmond Mine at Iron Mountain ) by Brett Baker in Jill Banfield's laboratory at the University of California Berkeley . These novel groups of archaea named ARMAN-1, ARMAN-2 ( Candidatus Micrarchaeum acidiphilum ARMAN-2), and ARMAN-3 were missed by previous PCR-based surveys of

80-591: A comprehensive assessment of the site and establishing the necessary groundwork for a successful drilling operation. Here's a breakdown of the key aspects involved: Before drilling can begin, a thorough site assessment is conducted to determine the optimal drilling locations. This assessment involves evaluating factors such as the type of material to be drilled, subsurface conditions, potential obstacles (e.g., underground utilities), and structural integrity. This information helps identify suitable areas for drilling that minimize risks and ensure accurate results. Depending on

120-528: A gold mine in the Witwatersrand, the orebody can be massive similar to the Olympic Dam mine , South Australia, or Cadia-Ridgeway Mine , New South Wales . The width or size of the orebody is determined by the grade as well as the distribution of the ore. The dip of the orebody also has an influence on the mining method for example a narrow horizontal vein orebody will be mined by room and pillar or

160-416: A longwall method whereas a vertical narrow vein orebody will be mined by an open stoping or cut and fill method. Further consideration is needed for the strength of the ore as well as the surrounding rock. An orebody hosted in strong self-supporting rock may be mined by an open stoping method and an orebody hosted in poor rock may need to be mined by a cut and fill method where the void is continuously filled as

200-459: A new superphylum named DPANN . The ARMAN groups now comprise deeply divergent phyla named Micrarchaeota and Parvarchaeota . Their 16S rRNA genes differ by as much as 17% between the three groups. Prior to their discovery, all of the Archaea shown to be associated with Iron Mountain belonged to the order Thermoplasmatales (e.g., Ferroplasma acidarmanus ). Examination of different sites in

240-412: A reel. In shallower mines the ore is then dumped into a truck to be hauled to the surface. In deeper mines, the ore is dumped down an ore pass (a vertical or near vertical excavation) where it falls to a collection level. On the collection level, it may receive primary crushing by a jaw or cone crusher, or by a rockbreaker . The ore is then moved by conveyor belts , trucks or occasionally trains to

280-419: A timeline for the core drilling project is essential for effective project management. This includes setting deadlines, scheduling equipment and personnel, and coordinating with other stakeholders involved in the project. Logistics, such as transportation of equipment and materials to the site, are also planned during this stage. Declines are often started from the side of the high wall of an open cut mine when

320-631: A weak-alkaline deep subsurface hot spring in Yunohama, Japan and in a pyrite mine in the Harz Mountains in Germany Using cryo-electron tomography , a 3D characterization of uncultivated ARMAN cells within mine biofilms revealed that they are right at the cell size predicted to be the lower limit for life, 0.009 μm and 0.04 μm. Despite their unusually small cell size it is common to find more than one type of virus attached to

360-443: Is further broken down into two methods, long hole and short hole. Short hole mining is similar to development mining, except that it occurs in ore. There are several different methods of long hole mining. Typically, long hole mining requires two excavations within the ore at different elevations below surface, (15 m – 30 m apart). Holes are drilled between the two excavations and loaded with explosives. The holes are blasted and

400-480: Is not able to produce on its own. The genomes of three ARMAN groups were sequenced at the DOE Joint Genome Institute during a 2006 Community Sequencing Program. These three genomes were successfully binned from the community genomic data using ESOM or Emergent Self-Organizing Map clustering of tetranucleotide DNA signatures. The first draft of Candidatus Micrarchaeum acidiphilum ARMAN-2

440-407: Is removed ("mucked out" or "bogged") from the stope using center articulated vehicles . These vehicles are referred to as "boggers" or LHD (Load, Haul, Dump machines) . These pieces of equipment may operate using diesel engines or electric motors , and resemble a low-profile front end loader . Electrically powered LHD utilize trailing cables which are flexible and can be extended or retracted on

SECTION 10

#1732791644850

480-417: Is required in order to maintain the stability of the openings that are excavated. This support comes in two forms; local support and area support. Area ground support is used to prevent major ground failure. Holes are drilled into the back (ceiling) and walls and a long steel rod (or rock bolt ) is installed to hold the ground together. There are three categories of rock bolt, differentiated by how they engage

520-687: Is the most acidic water naturally found on Earth; some samples collected in 1990 and 1991 have been measured to have a pH value of -3.6. Water temperatures as high as 47 °C have been measured underground. The drainage water endangers fish, including winter-run Chinook salmon , a federally listed endangered species that spawns in the Sacramento River. Salmon kills have been noted since 1899. The mine opening contains huge stalactite - stalagmite structures that span from floor to ceiling and are composed of rhomboclase and other iron sulfate minerals. The bacteria and archaea living in

560-445: Is uneconomical, the open stope is filled with backfill, which can be a cement and rock mixture, a cement and sand mixture or a cement and tailings mixture. This method is popular as the refilled stopes provide support for the adjacent stopes, allowing total extraction of economic resources. The mining method selected is determined by the size, shape, orientation and type of orebody to be mined. The orebody can be narrow vein such as

600-426: Is ≈1 Mb. The ARMAN-2 has recently been closed using 454 and Solexa sequencing of other biofilms to close the gaps and is being prepared for submission to NCBI. The genomes of ARMAN-4 and ARMAN-5 (roughly 1 Mb as well) have unusually small average gene lengths, similar to those seen in endosymbiotic and parasitic bacteria. This may be signature of their interspecies interactions with other Archaea in nature. Furthermore,

640-562: The DNA of the five dominant species at once, assembling the genomes afterwards. Four new species were identified in this way in 2004. In 2005, the proteins produced by these bacteria were identified; of the 2033 found proteins 572 were unique to this biofilm. In 2006, Baker identified three novel archaea, the Archaeal Richmond Mine Acidophilic Nanoorganisms . The bacteria obtain carbon from

680-544: The Keswick Reservoir formed by a dam across the Sacramento River . Historic mining activity at the site has fractured the mountain, exposing minerals in the mountain to surface water, rain water, and oxygen. When pyrite is exposed to moisture and oxygen, sulfuric acid forms. This sulfuric acid runs through the mountain and leaches out copper, cadmium, zinc, and other heavy metals. This acid flows out of

720-664: The air's carbon dioxide and nitrogen from the air's N 2 gas. They are aerobes and obtain energy by using oxygen to oxidize ferrous iron dissolved from the iron sulfide rock; in the process they produce sulfuric acid which releases more metals from the rock. The bacteria belong to the group of acidophilic ferrous iron oxidizers . Underground mining (hard rock) Underground hard-rock mining refers to various underground mining techniques used to excavate "hard" minerals , usually those containing metals , such as ore containing gold , silver , iron , copper , zinc , nickel , tin , and lead . It also involves

760-658: The branching of these groups near the Euryarchaea / Crenarchaea divide is reflected in them sharing many genetic aspects of both Crenarchaea and Euryarchaea. Specifically they have many genes that had previously only been identified in Crenarchaea. It is difficult to elucidate many of the commonly known metabolic pathways in ARMAN due to the unusually high number of unique genes that have been identified in their genomes. A novel type of tRNA splicing endonuclease, involved in

800-408: The cells while in the biofilms. Furthermore, the cells contain on average ≈92 ribosomes per cell, whereas the average E. coli cell grown in culture contains ≈10,000 ribosomes. This suggests that for ARMAN cells a much more limited number of metabolites are present in a given cell. It raises questions about what the minimal requirements are for a living cell. 3D reconstructions of ARMAN cells in

840-625: The companies liabilities including the cleanup. The mine is located at 40°40′20″N 122°31′40″W  /  40.67222°N 122.52778°W  / 40.67222; -122.52778 in the Klamath Mountains of Shasta County , about 9 miles northwest of Redding . The mine area is drained by several creeks which ultimately enter the Spring Creek Reservoir , formed by the Spring Creek Dam , and finally

SECTION 20

#1732791644850

880-421: The environment has revealed that a small number of them attach to other Archaea of the order Thermoplasmatales (Baker et al. 2010 ). The Thermoplasmatales cells appear to penetrate the cell wall to the cytoplasm of the ARMAN cells. The nature of this interaction hasn't been determined. It could be some sort of parasitic or symbiotic interaction. It is possible that ARMAN is getting some sort of metabolite that it

920-502: The host rock. They are: Local ground support is used to prevent smaller rocks from falling from the back and ribs. Not all excavations require local ground support. Using this method, mining is planned to extract rock from the stopes without filling the voids; this allows the wall rocks to cave in to the extracted stope after all the ore has been removed. The stope is then sealed to prevent access. Where large bulk ore bodies are to be mined at great depth, or where leaving pillars of ore

960-407: The level into the ore. There are two principal phases of underground mining: development mining and production mining. Development mining is composed of excavation almost entirely in (non-valuable) waste rock in order to gain access to the orebody. There are six steps in development mining: remove previously blasted material (muck out round), scaling (removing any unstable slabs of rock hanging from

1000-453: The location and regulations governing the site, it may be necessary to obtain permits and permissions before commencing drilling activities. This involves understanding and complying with local regulations, environmental guidelines, and any specific requirements for drilling in certain areas. Safety is paramount in any drilling operation. During the planning stage, safety protocols and measures are established to protect personnel, equipment, and

1040-552: The mine community because the ARMANs have several mismatches with commonly used PCR primers for 16S rRNA genes. Baker et al. detected them in a later study using shotgun sequencing of the community. The three groups were originally thought to represent three unique lineages deeply branched within the Euryarchaeota , a subgroup of the Archaea . However, based on a more complete archaeal genomic tree, they were assigned to

1080-426: The mine such as Leptospirillum (bacteria) and Ferroplasma (archaea) are of interest because they can survive in this extreme environment, and because their metabolism contributes to the pollution. They form a pink biofilm several millimeters thick that floats on the surface of the hot water with a pH of 0.8. Since the bacteria cannot be isolated and cultured, scientists have performed community sequencing of

1120-545: The mine using fluorescent probes specific to the ARMAN groups has revealed that they are always present in communities associated with acid mine drainage (AMD), at Iron Mountain in northern California, that have pH < 1.5. They are usually found in low abundance (5–25%) in the community. Recently, closely related organisms have been detected in an acidic boreal mire or bog in Finland, another acid mine drainage site in extreme environments of Rio Tinto , southwestern Spain, at

1160-481: The ore body is of a payable grade sufficient to support an underground mining operation, but the strip ratio has become too great to support open cast extraction methods. They are also often built and maintained as an emergency safety access from the underground workings and a means of moving large equipment to the workings. Levels are excavated horizontally off the decline or shaft to access the ore body. Stopes are then excavated perpendicular (or near perpendicular) to

1200-410: The ore is removed from the bottom excavation. One of the most important aspects of underground hard rock mining is ventilation . Ventilation is the primary method of clearing hazardous gases and/or dust which are created from drilling and blasting activity (e.g., silica dust, NOx), diesel equipment (e.g., diesel particulate, carbon monoxide), or to protect against gases that are naturally emanating from

1240-410: The ore is removed. Orebodies that do not cave readily are sometimes preconditioned by hydraulic fracturing , blasting, or by a combination of both. Hydraulic fracturing has been applied to preconditioning strong roof rock over coal longwall panels, and to inducing caving in both coal and hard rock mines. In mines which use rubber-tired equipment for coarse ore removal, the ore (or "muck")

Archaeal Richmond Mine acidophilic nanoorganisms - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-789: The processing of tRNA, has been discovered in ARMAN groups 1 and 2. The enzyme consists of two duplicated catalytic units and one structural unit encoded on a single gene, representing a novel three-unit architecture. Iron Mountain Mine The first discovery of valuable mineral deposits at Iron Mountain was by Thomas Jefferson Harrison, Robert Lyon, and Stephan Alozo Meek in 1852. It became known as Pumptown later to be known as Buckeye all three partners sold their claims to Quartz Hill Gold mining company, based in Cook County Illinois , Shasta historical society During its high point over two hundred stamp mills were under production,

1320-475: The release of harmful quantities of heavy metals into the Sacramento River . Approximately 70,000 people use surface water within 3 miles as their source of drinking water. The low pH level and the heavy metal contamination from the mine have caused the virtual elimination of aquatic life in sections of Slickrock Creek, Boulder Creek, and Spring Creek. The drainage water from the Iron Mountain Mine

1360-643: The rock (e.g., radon gas). Ventilation is also used to manage underground temperatures for the workers. In deep, hot mines ventilation is used to cool the workplace; however, in very cold locations the air is heated to just above freezing before it enters the mine. Ventilation raises are typically used to transfer ventilation from surface to the workplaces, and can be modified for use as emergency escape routes. The primary sources of heat in underground hard rock mines are virgin rock temperature, machinery, auto compression, and fissure water. Other small contributing factors are human body heat and blasting. Some means of support

1400-499: The roof and sidewalls to protect workers and equipment from damage), installing support or/and reinforcement using shotcrete etceteras, drill face rock, load explosives, and blast explosives. To start the mining, the first step is to make the path to go down. The path is defined as 'Decline' as describe above. Before the start of a decline, all pre-planning of the power facility, drilling arrangement, de-watering, ventilation and, muck withdrawal facilities are required. Production mining

1440-409: The same techniques used to excavate ores of gems , such as diamonds and rubies . Soft-rock mining refers to the excavation of softer minerals, such as salt , coal , and oil sands . Accessing underground ore can be achieved via a decline (ramp), inclined vertical shaft or adit . Planning and preparation are crucial initial steps in the core drilling process. This stage involves conducting

1480-607: The seeps and portals of the mine. Much of the acidic mine drainage ultimately is channeled into the Spring Creek Reservoir by creeks surrounding the mine. The Bureau of Reclamation periodically releases the stored acid mine drainage into Keswick Reservoir. Planned releases are timed to coincide with the presence of diluting releases of water from Shasta Dam . On occasion, uncontrolled spills and excessive waste releases have occurred when Spring Creek Reservoir reached capacity. Without sufficient dilution, this results in

1520-557: The site was mined by the Mountain Copper Company, Ltd., both underground using open stope mining techniques and at the surface in the form of open pit and sidehill mining. As a result, the mountain fractured and mineral deposits were exposed to oxygen, water, and certain bacteria, resulting in acidic mine drainage. Though mining operations were discontinued in 1963, underground mine workings, waste rock dumps, piles of mine tailings, and an open mine pit still remain at

1560-476: The site. The mine was designated a Superfund site in 1983 and a water treatment plant was built in 1994. In 2000, the government reached a settlement with Aventis CropScience (now part of Bayer ), for the long-term funding of the cleanup efforts. Aventis, formerly known as Rhône-Poulenc , acquired Stauffer Chemical in 1987. Stauffer had purchased Mountain Copper Company in 1968 and in doing so took on

1600-595: The surrounding environment. This includes assessing potential hazards, developing emergency response plans, and ensuring the availability of necessary safety equipment. Planning also involves determining the equipment and resources required for the core drilling operation. This includes selecting the appropriate drilling rig, drill bits, and accessories based on factors such as the material being drilled, desired core diameter, and drilling depth. Adequate resources such as water supply, drilling mud, and coolants are also considered to ensure smooth drilling operations. Establishing

#849150