The Barrick Gold (ABX) Announces Quarterly Dividend
The Barrick Gold (ABX) Announces Quarterly Dividend
STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.
الأربعاء، 29 أكتوبر 2014
Investors elect to swap $1.79 billion of Fortis debt for common shares
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Fortis Inc. is issuing more than 58 million common shares to holders of convertible debt that was issued to finance part of its US$4.3-billion acqusition of Arizona-based UNS Energy Corp. The Newfoundland-based utility company said Tuesday that the stock represents most of the $1.8 billion in convertible debentures issued to pay for the UNS deal, which was announced last December. Only about $11.2 million of the convertible debt remains outstanding and Fortis will delist its publicly traded installment receipts, which have been a proxy for the debentures' underlying stock.
Full Story 
Sales of Auto is Rise in October but Pricing Outlook Concerns Ford and GM
Tuesday Full story: TheStreet.com
NEW YORK -- October has been a choppy month for stock markets, but for auto sales -- another key economic indicator -- a long-term recovery keeps rolling along even as concerns about excessive incentives and unsustainable pricing levels mount. Forecasters predict sales growth of 5% to 6% from the same month a year earlier, and LMC Automotive forecasts total 2014 light-vehicle sales of 16.4 million.
Full Story الأحد، 21 سبتمبر 2014
Paleontology
Paleontology is the study of fossils. Fossils are any remains of the organism lived and preserved on this Earth by millions of years ago. Any organism from large to micro level are the part of paleontology. The history of earth is preserved in these fossils. Our generation haven't seen any dinosaurs but it is the fact lived million years ago. These fossils are the key to study earth from its beginning. There were many creatures lived on this earth which are extinct but their fossils preserved and discovered reveals the history. These remains are studied under paleontology
Types of paleontology includes vertebrates and invertebrates
This study helps in examining and interpreting creature habitat, body functions and food consumption.
Types of paleontology includes vertebrates and invertebrates
Vertebrates paleontology
Vertebrates are organism that have backbone. Backbone presence shows that organism have skeletal remains. Skeleton is the hard part of an organism which are preserved through years and are now studied. As the soft parts of organism are decayed through time but hard skeleton preserved are discovered.
Invertebrates
There are many organism which do not have backbone hence do not have skeleton in them but there are hard parts of an organism which are preserved. Shell remains which are made of mostly silicates and calcium are preserved. The remaining body can be assumed and studied.This study helps in examining and interpreting creature habitat, body functions and food consumption.
الجمعة، 19 سبتمبر 2014
Sedimentology
Sedimentology is the study of processes which are formation, transportation and deposition of sediments of continents as well the marine environments which forms the sedimentary rocks.
Sedimentary processes
Sedimentary rock natures varies with difference of the grains origin, size, shape and composition. Grains and pebbles particles may be derived from the erosion of existing rocks or from volcanic eruption. Organism also contributes to sediments which varies from micro organism to reefs. These have calcium carbonate shells which rest at floors to make sedimentary rock, limestone. Sedimentary rock formation involves transportation which can be aided by any of the medium air, water, ice, gravity or chemical, biological growth of sediments at depositional site. Few factor influence the accumulation of sediments ultimate results on the formation of rock which are chemistry, temperature and biological characteristics of desired location. Transportation and depositional processes can be interpretted by looking at the sediments layers, their size, shape and distribution pattern gives knowledge of the processes of transportation. Sedimentary structures also proves the type of transportation medium example ripple marks. As present is the key to past so keeping this in mind physical, chemical and biological characters of the sedimentary rock can be examined to interpret the sedimentation process which resulted the formation of rock.
Sedimentary environment and facies
Every environment have its own characteristics either chemical, biological or physical. Studying these properties of the sedimentary rocks deposited and exposed on the surface reveals the secrets of environments at which they deposited. As an example of the fluvial environment, river base deposits will have gravely sandy material deposited while in floods on the banks of the river fine sediments will deposits providing habitat to vegetation. The channel will have lens of sand or conglomerate while the floodplain will have clay producing mud rock and sand at the base.
As every environment has own characteristic rocks so these are termed facies. Facies is a rock body with specific characteristics that reflects the condition under which it formed. For describing a facie its all characteristics as lithology, texture, sedimentary structures and fossil content are documented in order to fully interpret its environment of deposition.
الأربعاء، 17 سبتمبر 2014
Ore forming processes
Ore is a rock body that is enriched in one or more minerals.
Ore forming processes
Magmatic process
Magmatic is when liquid magna cools and solidifies to form igneous rock, it forms ore of metals, gems and other precious resources.
Layered plutons
Magma of the mafic nature solidifies in layers. Every layer has different mineralization. Some layers may have rich deposits. There are three type of processes which produces layered plutons
- As magma solidifies (plutonic) its temperature gradually decreases. Minerals crystalize first in the liquid magma. Some crystals are denser than the magma which will settle down and is concentrated at the bottom which is also called crystal settling.
- In the mafic magma crystallization usually starts from the bottom so early forming minerals are concentrated at the base.
- When these processes occur and form minerals, at some time different magma can enter these mineraliztion which can change the early minerals formed.
Kimberlites
Kimberlites are igneous rocks that are produced in the mantle and are the main diamonds source.
Volcanic vent deposits
Volcanic vent deposits are from the gases escaping from the volcano where it precipitates such as sulphur. Sulphur usually deposits as a pure yellow deposition from the escaping gases and are used in sulphuric acid manufacturing.
Hydrothermal process
Hydrothermal process is the most common ore forming process. Water is heated by the magma chamber and this water dissolves metals. Metals are dissolved in the water and this solution seeps through cracks, fractures and through permeable rocks until they are precipitated and form a deposit. There are three types of water sources
- Magmas of granitic composition when solidifies leaves a water-rich residual fluid which precipitates and form ore body.
- In active volcanic activities when ground water seeps down through the crust, these magma chamber heats the water which provides the hydrothermal solution. This hydrothermal solution is at shallow depths and its precipitation makes an ore.
- Sea water is heated when it seeps along cracks in the oceanic crust mostly at the mid oceanic ridges and submarine volcanoes.
There are several types of hydrothermal mineralization
- Hydrothermal vein deposits are formed when these hydrothermal solutions enter a country rock along cracks and fractures. It precipitates in the parent rock in a vein like structure.
- The hydrothermal solution in vein deposits can also soak through the country rock which for disseminated ore deposits. This is less concentrated but as formed with the vein together they form economical deposit.
- Disseminated copper depoits are associated with porphyry copper deposits. This depoist is associated with granitic to dioritic composition.
Sedimentary process
Sedimentary process includes sedimentary sorting and precipitation.
Sedimentary sorting
Sedimentary sorting is the settling down of heavy minerals first and later of the less denser particles. example of such sorting is settling of gold in a stream when water slows down. As streams flows it carries clay, sand and gold particles. Gold settles down and conceive in the bedrock into coarser sediments. Gold concentrates in the bedrock and coarser gravel and is placer deposits.
Precipitation
Water seeping through the soil and bedrock dissolve ions which then flows into streams and oceans providing sodium and chloride ions which makes water salty. these can deposit only by the evaporation process which is not possible in the ocean however, lakes developed in the deserts evaporates and evaporites deposits are formed by precipitating crystals.
Weathering process
Environments of high rainfall, water dissolves most soluble ions forms the soil and exposed surface rocks where insoluble ions are left as a residual. Iron and aluminium have less solubility so these ions are left behind which forms the bauxite. Bauxite is the principal aluminium providing residual but in come cases iron can also accumulate enough to be economical deposit. Weathering process can also provide metals to ores which are produced by other processes. Disseminated deposits contain metals but are not economical to mine so ground water and rainfall weathers these metals. In some cases metals react to weathering instead of removal which creates a supergene ore rich in metals above low grade mineralization.
Metamorphic process
Metamorphic rocks form by heat and pressure altering mineralogy and it can also expel water from the rocks. This water due to heat makes hydrothermal deposits so they are also associated with metamorphismالثلاثاء، 16 سبتمبر 2014
Mass Wasting
Mass wasting is the down slope movement of Earth's material with respect to gravity action, landslide is a general term used for mass wasting.
Factors
The factors in consideration for the mass wasting are:
Steepness of the slope
Steepness is an obvious factor in mass wasting. A rock when breaks from its body will fall down the valley but if the slope is gentle so rock is less likely to roll down.
Types and orientation of rocks
Sedimentary rocks in slope, the upper layer or rock will slide over lower one. Consider
The above figures shown the direction of sedimentary rocks. In (a) the orientation of the rocks is shown, in this direction if the Earth is cut so the sedimentary rock will slide over lower (b). If the orientation of the rocks is cut through (c) so even if it is cut, will not slide (d).
Nature of unconsolidated materials
For the unconsolidated materials the angle of repose varies. Angle of repose is the highest angle at which unconsolidated materials are stable. Rounded grains fall often and irregular materials locks up so they rarely slides.
Water and vegetation
Water effects the stability of the grains. Water binds the grains of sand by the electrical charges on the water and sand grains attract each other. If the water is greater then it will saturate and because excess water lubricate the sand grains it will fall down the slope. When water is collected on impermeable layer so the above rocks can move easily.
Plants role is that its roots hold the sediments and as it absorb water, they hold the soil. A well vegetated area is more stable at same slope than barren one.
Mass wasting types
Mass wasting types depends on its speed. It is characterized in three types. Flow, slide and fall. Flow is when unconsolidated sediments comes down the slope and it flows. Slide is when rock breaks down along fracture and is slides down. Fall is the fastest type of mass wasting where rock falls freely.
Flow
There are types of flows which include creep, debris flow, mud flow, earth flow and solifluction.
Creep
Creep is the slowest movement where rock or soil moves by the action of gravity. Its movement is as slow as 1 cm/yr but wet soil can moves rapidly. The soil upper layer moves rapid than the lower portion. Trees by nature grown straight but due to creeping soil trees are tilted in J shape which are called pistol butt. Creep is also resulted by freeze thaw cycle where water freezes and its expansion pushes the soil at right angle to the slope. When sun melts water particles move downward.
Debris flow, mud flow and earth flow
In debris, mud and earth flow wet soil moves downward as a semi fluid. Heavy rains saturate soil and along with rock particles a slurry mixture is generated which then flows as a semi fluid. All these flows are characterized by the particle sizes as in debris flow half particles are are larger than sand and is consisted of clay, sand and rock fragments. Mud flow and earth flow consists of clay and sand. Some mud flow have high speed about 100 km/hr and difference between mud flow and earth flow is the high water content in mud flow and earth flow is less wet.
Solifluction
Solifluction is the soil water logged areas especially in perma frost regions where ice forms a permanent layer of water logged soil and water logged soil down slope movement is solifluction.
Slide
Sliding down slope as a coherent mass of a huge rock block or sometimes entire mountainside is called slide. It has two types: slump and rockslide.
Slump
Slump occurs when mass of block slide over a gentle slope hill. Trees as deep rooted are maintained on the blocks and when it slide down trees are tilted backward which distinguish it from the creep.
Rockslide
In a rockslide or rock avalanche the block slides down slope over a fracture plane.
Fall
Several factors are involved in the detaching of rock from blocks and when these rock freely fall under the action of gravity rapidly, this is called fall.
