• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.56 no.2
• /
• pp.155-166
• /
• 2023

Through COVID-19, the importance of supply chain management of raw material minerals has been maximized. In particular, supply chain management is important for rare metals, which are difficult to manage demand and supply, in order to secure raw materials for the parts and materials industry that Korea is actively promoting. In this study, a system was established and evaluated to select Critical minerals that need to respond to Korea's industrial structure and global risks by quantifying tangible and intangible risk factors. Global Supply Concentration, Supplying country risk, Policy Social Environment Regulation, Domestic Import Instability, Risk responsiveness, Market Scale, Demand Fluctuation and Economic Importance were evaluated as evaluation indicators. The degree of risk and risk impact were quantitatively measured using the criticality matrix-criticality level. After evaluating 40 types of minerals used in domestic new growth businesses, 15 types of Critical minerals(Li, Pt, Co, V, REE, Mg, Mo, Cr, Ti, W, C, Ni, Al, Mn, Si) in Korea were selected. The results are expected to be used to establish policies to strengthen resource security and to make decisions to form a company's raw material portfolio.

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.60-66
• /
• 2023

As supply chain management becomes a key factor in the sustainable growth of the industry, securing minerals at the national or corporate level is becoming important. Depending on the industrial structure, the economic status of each minerals is different and the supply risk is different In this study, to examine the economic status of minerals, an index that can quantify the Industrial Economic Importance by minerals was developed and calculated by reflecting the demand structure and cost weight of each industry. As a result, Li, Al, Cu, Si, Co, Ni, etc. were evaluated as having high industrial importance in Korea. In addition, by industry, Al, Cu, Zn, and Pb for primary metal manufacturing, general machinery, assembly metals,Sn, Ba, Ti, Si and Ga for precision equipment, Si and Ga for semiconductors, and Li, Ni, Co, Si, etc. for electronic components had high industrial importance. Such as Europe and the United States, in order to select Critical-minerals, Korea will need to analyze the economic impact on the domestic industry as well as the risks of supply chain by minerals.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.161-172
• /
• 2017

Clay minerals play a major role in the geochemical cycles of metals in the Critical Zone, the Earth surface-layer ranging from the groundwater bottom to the tree tops. Atomistic scale research of the very fine particles can help understand the fundamental mechanisms of the important geochemical processes and possibly apply to development of hybrid nanomaterials. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can provide atomistic level insights into the crystal structures of clay minerals and the chemical reactivity. Classical MD simulations use a force field which is a parameter set of interatomic pair potentials. The ClayFF force field has been widely used in the MD simulations of dioctahedral clay minerals as the force field was developed mainly based on dioctahedral phyllosilicates. The ClayFF is often used also for trioctahedral mineral simulations, but disagreement exits in selection of the interatomic potential parameters, particularly for Mg atom-types of the octahedral sheet. In this study, MD simulations were performed for trioctahedral clay minerals such as brucite, lizardite, and talc, to test how the two different Mg atom types (i.e., 'mgo' or 'mgh') affect the simulation results. The structural parameters such as lattice parameters and interatomic distances were relatively insensitive to the choice of the parameter, but the vibrational power spectra of hydroxyls were more sensitive to the choice of the parameter particularly for lizardite.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.56 no.6
• /
• pp.781-797
• /
• 2023

Recently, there has been a rapid response from mineral-demanding countries for securing critical minerals in a high tech industries. Graphite, while overwhelmingly dominated by China in production, is changing in global supply due to the exponential growth in EV battery sector, with active exploration in East Africa. Rare earth elements are essential raw materials widely used in advanced industries. Globally, there are ongoing developments in the production of REEs from three main deposit types: carbonatite, laterite, and ion-adsorption clay types. While China's production has decreased somewhat, it still maintains overwhelming dominance in this sector. Recent changes over the past few years include the rapid emergence of Myanmar and increased production in Vietnam. Nickel has been used in various chemical and metal industries for a long time, but recently, its significance in the market has been increasing, particularly in the battery sector. Worldwide, nickel deposits can be broadly classified into two types: laterite-type, which are derived from ultramafic rocks, and ultramafic hosted sulfide-type. It is predicted that the development of sulfide-type, primarily in Australia, will continue to grow, while the development of laterite-type is expected to be promoted in Indonesia. This is largely driven by the growing demand for nickel in response to the demand for lithium-ion batteries. The global lithium ores are produced in three main types: brine lake (78%), rock/mineral (19%), and clay types (3%). Rock/mineral type has a slightly higher grade compared to brine lake type, but they are less abundant. Chile, Argentina, and the United States primarily produce lithium from brine lake deposits, while Australia and China extract lithium from both brine lake and rock/mineral sources. Canada, on the other hand, exclusively produces lithium from rock/mineral type. Vanadium has traditionally been used in steel alloys, accounting for approximately 90% of its usage. However, there is a growing trend in the use for vanadium redox flow batteries, particularly for large-scale energy storage applications. The global sources of vanadium can be broadly categorized into two main types: vanadium contained in iron ore (81%) produced from mines and vanadium recovered from by-products (secondary sources, 18%). The primary source, accounting for 81%, is vanadium-iron ores, with 70% derived from vanadium slag in the steel making process and 30% from ore mined in primary sources. Intermediate vanadium oxides are manufactured from these sources. Vanadium deposits are classified into four types: vanadiferous titanomagnetite (VTM), sandstone-hosted, shale-hosted, and vanadate types. Currently, only the VTM-type ore is being produced.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.263-265
• /
• 1995

Blood plasma minerals and their effects towards the fertility in 136 cows randomly selected from 26 dairy farms in central Thailand were studied. An average of 8.60 mg% Ca, 5.97 mg% P, 2.45 mg% Mg, $85.9{\mu}g%$ Cu, and $160.9{\mu}g%$ Zn in plasma was observed. Compared to the critical deficient values, 24.3, 10.3, 11.8, 28.7 and 0.0% of the surveyed cows obtained the respective elements in plasma below the standard levels. No significant difference (p >.05) in plasma concentrations of Ca, P, Mg and Zn for the low fertile (conception rate > 3) and fertile (conception rate < 3) cows was found. However, plasma Cu of the low fertile cows (averaged $77.2{\mu}g%$) was lower (p <.01) than that of the fertile ones (averaged $91.12{\mu}g%$). Additionally, it is observed that 47.1% of the cows with the low fertility problem obtained plasma Cu below the 65.0 pg% critical deficient value.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.65 no.3
• /
• pp.479-489
• /
• 2023

Livestock production depends on the utilization of nutrients, and when this is accomplished, there is accelerated momentum toward growth with a low cost-to-feed ratio. Public concern over the consumption of pork with antibiotic residues in animals fed antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) has paved the way for using other natural additives to antibiotics, such as herbs and their products, probiotics, prebiotics, etc. Numerous feed additives are trending to achieve this goal, and a classic example is vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals represent a relatively small percentage of the diet, but they are critical to animal health, well-being, and performance; both play a well-defined role in metabolism, and their requirements can vary depending on the physiological stage of the animals. At the same time, the absence of these vitamins and minerals in animal feed can impair the growth and development of muscles and bones. Most commercial feeds contain vitamins and trace minerals that meet nutrient requirements recommended by National Research Council and animal feeding standards. However, the potential variability and bioavailability of vitamins and trace elements in animal feeds remain controversial because daily feed intake varies, and vitamins are degraded by transportation, storage, and processing. Accordingly, the requirement for vitamins and minerals may need to be adjusted to reflect increased production levels, yet the information presented on this topic is still limited. Therefore, this review focuses on the role and function of different sources of minerals, the mode of action, the general need for micro and macro minerals in non-ruminant diets, and how they improve animal performance.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.323-336
• /
• 2023

We investigated the nickel potential and genesis of ultramafic rocks in the Yugu area to secure nickel resources in South Korea. The Yugu ultramafic rocks, located in the southwest of the Gyeonggi Massif, are characterized by spinel peridotite and exhibit strong serpentinization along their boundaries. The serpentinization is observed as olivine transformed to antigorite and chrysotile, while pentlandite, the nickel sulfide mineral, altered into millerite and awaruite. Serpentine displays distinct foliation, aligning subparallel to the ultramafic rock boundaries and foliation of Yugu gneiss. This suggests that the uplift of ultramafic rocks resulted in hydrothermal infiltration likely sourced from the Yugu gneiss metamorphism. The Yugu ultramafic rocks are residues after 5~18% partial melting of abyssal peridotite. Enriched light rare earth elements and Eu imply secondary metasomatism. Geochemistry suggests a link between the formation of Yugu ultramafic rock and the Triassic collision of the North and South China continents. The nickel content is around 0.17~0.21%, mainly contained in olivine and serpentine. Hence, in addition to the mineral processing study on the sulfide minerals, focused studies on oxide minerals for enhanced nickel recovery within the Yugu ultramafic rock are strongly suggested.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.1041-1046
• /
• 2019

In terms of long-term safety for radioactive waste disposal, the anionic iodide (I-129) with a long half-life ($1.6{\times}10^6yr$) is of a critical importance because this radionuclide migrates in geological media with limited interactions. Various studies have been performed to retard the iodide migration. Recently, some minerals that are likely generated from waste container corrosion, have been suggested to have a considerable chemical interaction with iodide. In this study, chalcocite and mackinawite were selected as candidate minerals for underground corrosion materials, and an iodide sorption experiment were carried out. The experiment was performed under anoxic and alkaline conditions and the pH effects on the iodide sorption were investigated in the range of pH 8 to 12. The results showed that both minerals demonstrated a noticeable sorption capacity on iodide, and the distribution coefficient ($K_d$) decreased as the pH increased in the experimental condition. In addition, when the alkalinity increased higher than a pH of 12, the sorption capacity of both minerals decreased dramatically, likely due to the competition of hydroxy ions with the iodide. This result confirmed that chalcocite was an especially good sorbing media for iodide under alkaline conditions with a pH value of less than 12.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.209-220
• /
• 2016

Clay minerals are a major player to determine geochemical cycles of trace metals and carbon in the critical zone which covers the atmosphere down to groundwater aquifers. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can examine the Earth materials at an atomic level and, therefore, provide detailed fundamental-level insights related to physicochemical properties of clay minerals. In the current study, we have applied classical MD simulations with clayFF force field to dioctahedral clay minerals (i.e., gibbsite, kaolinite, and pyrophyllite) to analyze and compare structural parameters (lattice parameter, atomic pair distance) with experiments. We further calculated vibrational power spectra for the hydroxyls of the minerals by using the MD simulations results. The MD simulations predicted lattice parameters and interatomic distances respectively deviated less than 0.1~3.7% and 5% from the experimental results. The stretching vibrational wavenumber of the hydroxyl groups were calculated $200-300cm^{-1}$ higher than experiment. However, the trends in the frequencies among different surface hydroxyl groups of each mineral was consistent with experimental results. The angle formed by the surface hydroxyl group with the (001) plane and hydrogen bond distances of the surface hydroxyls were consistent with experimental result trends. The inner hydroxyls, however, showed results somewhat deviated from reported data in the literature. These results indicate that molecular dynamics simulations with clayFF can be a useful method in elucidating the roles of surface hydroxyl groups in the adsorption of metal ions to clay minerals.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.44 no.6
• /
• pp.675-692
• /
• 2023

This study used a Chatbot, a generative artificial intelligence (AI), to analyze the interaction between the Chatbot and students when exploring critical minerals from an epistemological aspect. The results, issues to be kept in mind in the teaching and learning process using AI were discussed in terms of the role of the teacher, the goals of education, and the characteristics of knowledge. For this study, we conducted a three-session science education program using a Chatbot for 19 high school students and analyzed the reports written by the students. As a result, in terms of form, the students' questions included search-type questions and non-search-type questions, and in terms of content, in addition to various questions asking about the characteristics of the target, there were also questions requiring a judgment by combining various data. In general, students had a questioning strategy that distinguished what they should aim for and what they should avoid. The Chatbot's answer had a certain form and consisted of three parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. In particular, the conclusion included commentary or opinions with opinions on the content, and in this, value judgments and the nature of science were revealed. The interaction between the Chatbot and the student was clearly evident in the process in which the student organized questions in response to the Chatbot's answers. Depending on whether they were based on the answer, independent or derived questions appeared, and depending on the direction of comprehensiveness and specificity, superordinate, subordinate, or parallel questions appeared. Students also responded to the chatbot's answers with questions that included critical thinking skills. Based on these results, we discovered that there are inherent limitations between Chatbots and students, unlike general classes where teachers and students interact. In other words, there is 'limited interaction' and the teacher's role to complement this was discussed, and the goals of learning using AI and the characteristics of the knowledge they provide were also discussed.