The Future of Mining: How Technology is Reshaping Mining
Mining, one of the oldest and most indispensable industries, stands at a crossroads. Facing major issues like dwindling resources, rising environmental pressures, and the need to enhance both safety and efficiency, the industry faces challenges that demand transformative solutions to stay relevant. Traditional methods of extraction are proving insufficient to meet modern demands—they are costly, […]
Will Africa’s Rift Valley fragment the continent?
The African Rift Valley, or Great Rift Valley, is a remarkable and monumental geographical and geological phenomenon that stretches over 6,000 kilometres from the Red Sea in the north through to Mozambique in south-eastern Africa. This phenomenon started forming about 20 to 25 million years ago and the process is ongoing, progressing southwards. It is […]
How are volcanoes formed?
Volcanoes are remarkable and fascinating geological wonders that arise from the shifting of tectonic plates beneath the Earth’s surface. Essentially, they are openings in the Earth’s crust that allow hot, molten rock (magma), ash, and gases to escape into the atmosphere. The mechanism of volcano formation starts with the movement of tectonic plates, which can […]
Why are the highest mountain peaks in the Himalayan range?
The Himalayan mountain range is located in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has several peaks exceeding an elevation of 8 000 m including Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth, towering at 8 850 metres. The mountain range runs for 2 400 km as an arc from west-northwest to east-southeast at the northern end of the Indian subcontinent. The Himalayas occupy […]
How do mountains form?
Mountains form through a variety of complex and varied geological processes primarily driven by the movement of tectonic plates. The three main mechanisms through which mountains are created are tectonic activity, volcanic activity and erosion. Tectonic activity Tectonic activity refers to the movement and interaction of Earth’s tectonic plates. These massive slabs of the Earth’s lithosphere fit together like a jigsaw puzzle and are constantly moving, although very slowly, which can cause earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain building, and ocean trench formation. Convergent Plate Boundaries occur when two tectonic plates collide, […]
