Inside a $1.1B deal to reshore critical minerals refining like nickel

Good news! Extreme environmentalism made Western countries dependent on China!

"The U.S. and Europe have a nickel problem. The critical mineral is used in everything from batteries and missiles to electronics and steel. And yet, the two regions have struggled to mine and refine it largely due to permitting issues and waste concerns.

Indonesia and China dominate the refining process. Dig a little deeper, though, and it’s apparent that Chinese companies control around 75% of the nickel refining capacity in Indonesia, too, giving the country control of more than half the world’s supply. ... 

Nth Cycle ... startup has been developing an electrochemical system to refine nickel and other critical minerals, including cobalt, copper, and rare earths. Just over a year ago, the company started production at a facility in Ohio that can process up to 3,100 metric tons of scrap. Now Nth Cycle has a $1.1 billion agreement with commodity trader Trafigura to quadruple that amount. ...

Though eventually there will be a tidal wave of EV batteries that need to be recycled and their metal refined, it hasn’t materialized yet and is unlikely to before the end of the decade.  ..."

Inside a $1.1B deal to reshore critical minerals refining | TechCrunch

A new way to make steel could reduce America’s reliance on imports

Good news!

"... Now Hertha Metals ... is scaling up a new steel production system powered by natural gas and electricity. The process, which can also run on hydrogen, uses a continuous electric arc furnace within which iron ore of any grade and format is reduced and carburized into molten steel in a single step.

It also eliminates the need for coking and sintering plants, along with other dangerous and expensive components of traditional systems. As a result, the company says its process uses 30 percent less energy and costs less to operate than conventional steel mills in America. ..."

A new way to make steel could reduce America’s reliance on imports | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology "Hertha Metals, founded by Laureen Meroueh SM ’18, PhD ’20, uses natural gas and electricity to produce steel and high-purity iron for magnets."

Almonty Industries restarting U.S. tungsten mining in Montana

Good news!

Expert weighs in on Guinea’s iron global steel market

Recommendable! An example of the curse of plenty natural resources?

‘Strange metals’ point to a whole new way to understand electricity

Recommendable! Amazing stuff! This is a long overview article.

"... a compound of ytterbium, rhodium, and silicon ... The sample belongs to a class of materials that physicists call “strange metals.” For 4 decades, they’ve puzzled over the fact that in these compounds, the standard theory of electricity just doesn’t work.

Recent experiments ... suggest that in strange metals, electrons lose their individuality. ... Instead, electric charge appears somehow to pass through the metal as a diffuse amorphous blob—like water without individual H2O molecules. Researchers are still debating the microscopic details of this bizarre picture. But it’s already clear that the stakes are higher than just understanding a dozen or so oddball materials. “It’s really a mysterious state with big consequences ...

The hallmark of strange metals is electrical resistivity that climbs higher than that of ordinary metals when they are warmed from low temperatures. They also lose their resistivity altogether, becoming superconductors, at lower ­temperatures—though above those of conventional superconductors. Some researchers believe this ­high-temperature ­superconductivity is simply the flip side of strange metallicity—that they’re two manifestations of the same underlying phenomenon. ...

A theory that explains strange metals may force a fundamental rethinking of how electricity works in all materials. It might subsume the standard theory the way general relativity, with its curved spacetime, subsumed Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity—and prove just as unsettling. Strange metals are forcing physicists to ask whether the very idea of an electron, or any particle for that matter, is an oversimplification of what’s really going on. ..."

‘Strange metals’ point to a whole new way to understand electricity | Science | AAAS

New pathway found for regulating zinc in E. coli

E. coli is probably one of the most researched subjects in history!

"... researchers have discovered a pathway by which E. coli regulates all-important zinc levels, an insight that could advance the understanding of metal regulation in bacteria generally and lead to antibacterial applications such as in medical instruments and surgical settings. ...

E. coli have evolved mechanisms to bring in more zinc when it’s needed and to get rid of extra to avoid toxicity ... lab has discovered a previously unknown pathway the bacteria can use to control cellular zinc levels. 

The researchers found that the metal-regulating proteins Zur and ZntR – which control uptake and efflux (outflow), respectively – can cross-interact directly through the cell’s DNA, providing another way for the two metalloregulators to coordinate their actions as they control metal concentration in the cell. ...

Studying E. coli DNA, the researchers found that the DNA sequences Zur and ZntR recognize overlap partially, raising the question of whether they really can cross-interact. The experiment proving that they can was the first in-cell study of protein-DNA interaction kinetics as a function of concentration of two proteins.  ..."

From the abstract:

"Transition metals like Zn are essential for all organisms including bacteria, but fluctuations of their concentrations in the cell can be lethal. Organisms have thus evolved complex mechanisms for cellular metal homeostasis. One mechanistic paradigm involves pairs of transcription regulators sensing intracellular metal concentrations to regulate metal uptake and efflux.

Here we report that Zur and ZntR, a prototypical pair of regulators for Zn uptake and efflux in E. coli, respectively, can coordinate their regulation through DNA, besides sensing cellular Zn2+ concentrations. Using a combination of live-cell single-molecule tracking and in vitro single-molecule FRET measurements, we show that unmetallated ZntR can enhance the unbinding kinetics of Zur from DNA by directly acting on Zur-DNA complexes, possibly through forming heteromeric ternary and quaternary complexes that involve both protein-DNA and protein-protein interactions. This ‘through-DNA’ mechanism may functionally facilitate the switching in Zn-uptake regulation when bacteria encounter changing Zn environments, such as facilitating derepression of Zn-uptake genes upon Zn depletion; it could also be relevant for regulating the uptake-vs.-efflux of various metals across different bacterial species and yeast."

New pathway found for regulating zinc in E. coli | Cornell Chronicle

A ‘through-DNA’ mechanism for co-regulation of metal uptake and efflux

Fig. 2: Single-molecule tracking shows that ZntRapo enhances the kinetics of ZurZn unbinding from DNA in cells.

Earthquakes produce giant gold nuggets by electrifying quartz to make “natural batteries”

Amazing stuff! Turns out again, earth quakes are not entirely destructive! 😊

Will there be a new gold rush after the next earthquake? Just kidding!

"... To test this hypothesis, researchers conducted an experiment designed to replicate the conditions quartz might experience during an earthquake. They submerged quartz crystals in a gold-rich fluid and applied stress using a motor to simulate the shaking of an earthquake. After the experiment, the quartz samples were examined under a microscope to see if any gold had been deposited.

“The results were stunning,” ... “The stressed quartz not only electrochemically deposited gold onto its surface, but it also formed and accumulated gold nanoparticles,”  ..."

From the abstract:

"Gold nuggets occur predominantly in quartz veins, and the current paradigm posits that gold precipitates from dilute (<1 mg kg−1 gold), hot, water ± carbon dioxide-rich fluids owing to changes in temperature, pressure and/or fluid chemistry. However, the widespread occurrence of large gold nuggets is at odds with the dilute nature of these fluids and the chemical inertness of quartz. Quartz is the only abundant piezoelectric mineral on Earth, and the cyclical nature of earthquake activity that drives orogenic gold deposit formation means that quartz crystals in veins will experience thousands of episodes of deviatoric stress. Here we use quartz deformation experiments and piezoelectric modelling to investigate whether piezoelectric discharge from quartz can explain the ubiquitous gold–quartz association and the formation of gold nuggets. We find that stress on quartz crystals can generate enough voltage to electrochemically deposit aqueous gold from solution as well as accumulate gold nanoparticles. Nucleation of gold via piezo-driven reactions is rate-limiting because quartz is an insulator; however, since gold is a conductor, our results show that existing gold grains are the focus of ongoing growth. We suggest this mechanism can help explain the creation of large nuggets and the commonly observed highly interconnected gold networks within quartz vein fractures."

Earthquakes produce giant gold nuggets by electrifying quartz to make “natural batteries” "New research suggests that electricity generated by earthquakes might be the key to the formation of giant gold nuggets."

Electricity generated by earthquakes might be the secret behind giant gold nuggets (original news release)

Gold nugget formation from earthquake-induced piezoelectricity in quartz (no public access)

Study reveals key gene protecting plants from harmful metals in soil

Amazing stuff! Could be very useful!

"The negative impact of human activity on Earth doesn’t just affect our planet’s atmosphere—it goes much deeper, into its soils. For instance, excessive application of manure or sewage sludge can increase heavy metal concentrations in agricultural land where vital crops are grown. One of these heavy metals is zinc, a micronutrient necessary for plant and animal health. In excess, however, zinc can be extremely damaging to sensitive plant species. ...
The findings ... reveal that plants tolerate high levels of zinc by trapping it in their root cell walls, a process facilitated by a gene called trichome birefringence or TBR. Scientists and farmers can now use this information to develop and grow crops that are more resilient to soil contamination. ...
A cell wall’s capacity to store zinc is largely dependent on a process called pectin methylesterification—a process that alters the structure of the spongy pectin molecules inside cell walls so that they can absorb more zinc. To better understand this, the researchers performed a genome-wide association study to identify plant genes associated with increased pectin methylesterification. ...
“We found that TBR allele variants influence changes in pectin methylesterification and help determine a plant’s ability to tolerate higher zinc levels,” ..."

From the abstract:

"Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient but can be cytotoxic when present in excess. Plants have evolved mechanisms to tolerate Zn toxicity. To identify genetic loci responsible for natural variation of plant tolerance to Zn toxicity, we conduct genome-wide association studies for root growth responses to high Zn and identify 21 significant associated loci. Among these loci, we identify Trichome Birefringence (TBR) allelic variation determining root growth variation in high Zn conditions. Natural alleles of TBR determine TBR transcript and protein levels which affect pectin methylesterification in root cell walls. Together with previously published data showing that pectin methylesterification increase goes along with decreased Zn binding to cell walls in TBR mutants, our findings lead to a model in which TBR allelic variation enables Zn tolerance through modulating root cell wall pectin methylesterification. The role of TBR in Zn tolerance is conserved across dicot and monocot plant species."

Study reveals key gene protecting plants from harmful metals in soil - Salk Institute for Biological Studies "... scientists find a gene to enhance plants’ zinc tolerance, an important step for producing crops resilient to heavy metals"

Natural variation of TBR confers plant zinc toxicity tolerance through root cell wall pectin methylesterification (open access)

Lotus japonicus sprouts, wildtype (left) and TBR homolog (right), in normal zinc levels (top) and high zinc levels (bottom).

Fig. 2: Natural allelic variation of TBR is associated with root growth responses to high Zn levels.

In a first study, researchers found arsenic, lead and other metals in tampons from the U.S., EU and UK

This is a bid of shoddy science! It appears the minute amounts found are fairly harmless. Exposure to such metals can not be absolutely and totally prevented. They are too ubiquitous and removing them would be extremely expensive.

There is no mentioning where these tampons were manufactured or where exactly in which part of the tampon the metals where found. It appears, the manufacturers of the tampons are not being disclosed.

Again, another scientific organisation, i.e. the American Chemical Society, is found to use ideology driven language by referring to women as "people"! Disgusting!

Even the study researchers of UC Berkeley (left wing) used the horrible expression "people who menstruate" in the abstract of their paper. Most of the researchers are women, but apparently without spine!

"In what researchers say is the “first study of its kind,” arsenic, cadmium, lead and 13 other metals have been detected in tampons sold in the European Union, the US, and the UK. Researchers evaluated a total of 60 name- and store-brand tampon samples—some made from organic cotton and others of nonorganic cotton. All categories showed concentrations of the metals and metalloids.

The researchers measured the elevated mean concentration of lead at 120 parts per billion (ppb); cadmium at 6.74 ppb; and arsenic at 2.56 ppb. By comparison, for bottled water, the US Food and Drug Administration imposes an allowable limit of 5 ppb for lead; 5 ppb for cadmium; and 10 ppb for arsenic. ...
Studies estimate that as many as 86% people who menstruate [!!!] in the US use tampons. Continued lead exposure is linked to a number of neurological disorders, renal problems, and cardiovascular issues. ...
And in the amount of time that a tampon is in the body, is it able to leach out?” ..."

"... Researchers evaluated levels of 16 metals (arsenic, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, nickel, lead, selenium, strontium, vanadium, and zinc) in 30 tampons from 14 different brands.
The metal concentrations varied by where the tampons were purchased (US vs. EU/UK), organic vs. non-organic, and store- vs. name-brand. However, they found that metals were present in all types of tampons; no category had consistently lower concentrations of all or most metals. Lead concentrations were higher in non-organic tampons but arsenic was higher in organic tampons. ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• 16 metal(loid)s were evaluated in different kinds of tampons.

• Several toxic metals, including lead, were detected.

• Tampon use is a potential source of exposure to metals in menstruating people.

• The highest concentration was found for zinc (geometric mean = 52,000 ng/g)

• A geometric mean lead concentration of 120 ng/g was found in our samples.

Abstract

Background

Between 52–86% of people who menstruate in the United States use tampons—cotton and/or rayon/viscose ‘plugs’—to absorb menstrual blood in the vagina. Tampons may contain metals from agricultural or manufacturing processes, which could be absorbed by the vagina’s highly absorptive tissue, resulting in systemic exposure. To our knowledge, no previous studies have measured metals in tampons.

Objectives

We evaluated the concentrations of 16 metal(loid)s in 30 tampons from 14 tampon brands and 18 product lines and compared the concentrations by tampon characteristics.

Methods

About 0.2 – 0.3 g from each tampon (n = 60 samples) were microwave-acid digested and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine concentrations of arsenic, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, nickel, lead, selenium, strontium, vanadium, and zinc. We compared concentrations by several tampon characteristics (region of purchase, organic material, brand type) using median quantile mixed models.

Results

We found measurable concentrations of all 16 metals assessed. We detected concentrations of several toxic metals, including elevated mean concentrations of lead (geometric mean [GM] = 120 ng/g), cadmium (GM = 6.74 ng/g), and arsenic (GM = 2.56 ng/g). Metal concentrations differed by region of tampon purchase (US versus European Union/United Kingdom), by organic versus non-organic material, and for store- versus name-brand tampons. Most metals differed by organic status; lead concentrations were higher in non-organic tampons while arsenic was higher in organic tampons. No categoriy had consistently lower concentrations of all or most metals.

Discussion

Tampon use is a potential source of metal exposure. We detected all 16 metals in at least one sampled tampon, including some toxic metals like lead that has no “safe” exposure level. Future research is needed to replicate our findings and determine whether metals can leach out of tampons and cross the vaginal epithelium into systemic circulation."

How researchers found arsenic and lead in tampons Don’t panic: Scientists are unsure whether the findings indicate a health risk

First study to measure toxic metals in tampons shows arsenic and lead, among other contaminants (original news release)

Tampons as a source of exposure to metal(loid)s (open access)

This is one of the women believing she is "people who menstruate": The lead author postdoctoral scholar Jenni A. Shearston (Source)

Graphical abstract

Apparently, the researchers disassembled the tampons

Fig. 1. A tampon separated into its components, including the (A) non-woven outer covering, (B) withdrawal string, (C) inner absorbent core, (D) applicator, and (E) wrapper.

One of The Dirty, Deadly Secrets Behind Electric Cars

Recommendable! The huge nickel mining operations and smelter in Indonesia are powered by coal fired power plants! Not to mention the environmental damages of the mining operations! Plus unsafe working conditions.

The Largest Excavation in Human History: Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah, USA

Gigantic! Fascinating! This kind of mining always amazes me! Just look at these trucks and their tires! Mind boggling! It is almost in my neighborhood and almost named after me! (just kidding) 😊

An electrifying new ironmaking method could slash carbon emissions

Good news! However, this process involves saltwater and chlorine! Scaling up this process still needs to be evaluated.

"... Making iron, the main ingredient of steel ... producing 8% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Now, a team of chemists has come up with a way to make the business much more eco-friendly. By using electricity to convert iron ore and salt water into metallic iron and other industrially useful chemicals, researchers report today in Joule that their approach is cost effective, works well with electricity provided by wind and solar farms, and could even be carbon negative, consuming more carbon dioxide (CO2) than it produces. ...
and being amenable to working with intermittent renewable electricity [??? really]. “It checks all the boxes.” ..."

"Using electrochemistry ... have developed a way to make iron metal for steel production without burning fossil fuels.

The series of chemical reactions turns saltwater and iron oxide — cheap and abundant ingredients — into pure iron metal.

If scaled up, the process could help decarbonize one of the largest and most emissions-intensive industries worldwide.  ...
Decarbonizing this step would do roughly as much to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as converting every gas-guzzling vehicle on the roads to electric ...
a setup where electricity drives complementary chemical reactions. On one side of the reactor, iron oxide gets turned into iron and sodium hydroxide. On the other side, sodium chloride — table salt — gets turned into chlorine. ...
Importantly, the byproducts of the chemical reaction can all be repurposed. The sodium hydroxide that’s generated can go back into the reactor or be collected and used in carbon-capture technology. And chlorine is valuable in other industrial processes. ...
The lab also is building prototype devices and working with partners in industry to explore scaling up the approach.  ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• A new cell based on the chlor-alkali process yielded a scalable ironmaking process

• Industrially relevant rates towards iron production were shown in full cells

• Iron was repeatedly collected as free-standing films with >95 wt % purity

Summary

The iron and steel industry accounts for ∼8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Electrochemical reduction of iron ore to metal for electric arc furnaces can enable sustainable steel production, but existing electrochemical processes require expensive capital or electrolytes. We report a low-temperature, electrochemical cell that consumes low-cost and abundant iron oxide and aqueous sodium chloride, while co-producing sodium hydroxide and chlorine. Industrially relevant current densities and Faradaic efficiencies for iron production were demonstrated, with 94% selectivity to iron metal at an applied current density of 200 mA cm−2. Freestanding films of phase-pure iron were formed after 4 h of continuous, stable electrolysis. The process can lead to levelized costs of iron that are competitive with iron produced in fossil-fuel-powered blast furnaces, and the co-produced sodium hydroxide can be used for CO2 capture from the air or ocean, creating a net-negative-emission process."

An electrifying new ironmaking method could slash carbon emissions | Science | AAAS: By extracting metallic iron without producing carbon dioxide, the new process could even be carbon negative, at least for part of the world’s iron production

UO researchers use electrochemistry to decarbonize iron production

Electrochemical chlor-iron process for iron production from iron oxide and salt water (no public access)

Kenya Discovers Large Deposits of Rare And Precious Coltan Mineral Used in Modern Tech

Good news!

Archaeologists stunned by 2,900-year-old steel tools in Portugal

Amazing stuff! However, we learn little on how they produced this steel 

"... The study shows that steel tools were already in use in Europe around 2,900 years ago, during the Final Bronze Age. ...
The researchers conducted geochemical analyses on ancient Iberian stelaes -- upright monuments typically inscribed with information in the form of text, images, or a combination of the two -- and found these were made of silicated quartz sandstone.

“Just like quartzite, this is an extremely hard rock that cannot be worked with bronze or stone tools, but only with tempered steel,” ...
To confirm their hunch that these monuments were etched with steel tools, the researchers analyzed an iron chisel found in Rocha do Vigio, Portugal, which also dates back to the Final Bronze Age. They discovered that the chisel was made of heterogeneous yet astonishingly carbon-rich steel ...
The earliest known production of steel is seen in pieces of ironware excavated from an archaeological site in Anatolia (Kaman-Kalehöyük), which are nearly 4,000 years old, dating from 1800 BC. However, iron and steel didn't become abundant materials until around 500 BC when most Bronze Age civilizations collapsed, paving the way for the huge empires of Rome and Han China."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• Protohistoric south-western Iberian stelae were often made from extremely hard rocks.

• The silicate quartz-sandstone stelae from Capilla could only be carved with hardened steel.

• Analyses of a Final Bronze Age iron chisel from Portugal revealed surprisingly high quality steel.

• The introduction of iron metallurgy represents a terminus post quem for stelae with this lithology.

Abstract

The south-western Iberian stelae from the Final Bronze Age (FBA) and Early Iron Age (EIA) have long been the centre of archaeological interest. These monuments show representations of human and animal figures, objects such as weapons, ornaments and chariots. Moreover, they provide insights into prehistoric stone working and sculpting techniques. On the downside, petrological studies of the rocks and consequent reflections on suitable tools are still the exception. Due to the lack of analysis and technological studies, this research will put emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach involving petrographic and metallurgic analyses, complemented by experimental archaeology.

Firstly, an accurate lithological determination of stelae from Capilla (Spain) has been established with petrographic methods. According to the results, two slabs for replications of stelae were obtained from the identified mono-mineral quartz-sandstone (“quartzite”) outcrop. The experiment involved the trial of chisels made from all expedient materials that were available in the FBA-EIA by a professional stonemason. Considering that such extremely hard rocks require robust tools for carving, a long ignored iron chisel from the FBA site of Rocha do Vigio (Portugal) was studied with metallography and exposed heterogeneous, however surprisingly high-carbon steel. The analysed rocks are amongst the hardest that can be used for sculpting, and in the course of the experiment, bronze and lithic tools could be discarded. The only tool that showed an effect was the replication of the steel chisel from Rocha do Vigio with a hardened edge. The distinct work traces were compared to the original monuments. We hypothesize that the production of carbon steel as well as its hardening were possibly already known at the FBA-EIA transition in Iberia. Hence, only the access to iron technology allowed for the making of stelae from the lithotypes that were frequently used in the Zújar basin around the municipality of Capilla."

"... The chisel is astoundingly well preserved and the corrosion layer is mainly superficial (Fig. 9, Fig. 11), with very little inter-granular corrosion into the sample ..."

Archaeologists stunned by 2,900-year-old steel tools in Portugal Steel tools were employed in Europe centuries before they became widespread during the Roman Republic era.

Stone-working and the earliest steel in Iberia: Scientific analyses and experimental replications of final bronze age stelae and tools

Fig. 9. The chisel from Rocha do Vigio, length ca. 18 cm 

'Stunning' discovery: Fatigue in metals can heal itself

Amazing stuff! This could be a game changer!

"Scientists for the first time have witnessed pieces of metal crack, then fuse back together without any human intervention, overturning fundamental scientific theories in the process. If the newly discovered phenomenon can be harnessed, it could usher in an engineering revolution—one in which self-healing engines, bridges and airplanes could reverse damage caused by wear and tear, making them safer and longer-lasting. ...
"What we have confirmed is that metals have their own intrinsic, natural ability to heal themselves, at least in the case of fatigue damage at the nanoscale," ...
Although scientists have created some self-healing materials, mostly plastics, the notion of a self-healing metal has largely been the domain of science fiction. ...
In 2013, Michael Demkowicz ... began chipping away at conventional materials theory. He published a new theory, based on findings in computer simulations, that under certain conditions metal should be able to weld shut cracks formed by wear and tear. ..."

From the abstract:

"Fatigue in metals involves gradual failure through incremental propagation of cracks under repetitive mechanical load. In structural applications, fatigue accounts for up to 90% of in-service failure. Prevention of fatigue relies on implementation of large safety factors and inefficient overdesign. In traditional metallurgical design for fatigue resistance, microstructures are developed to either arrest or slow the progression of cracks. Crack growth is assumed to be irreversible. By contrast, in other material classes, there is a compelling alternative based on latent healing mechanisms and damage reversal. Here, we report that fatigue cracks in pure metals can undergo intrinsic self-healing. We directly observe the early progression of nanoscale fatigue cracks, and as expected, the cracks advance, deflect and arrest at local microstructural barriers. However, unexpectedly, cracks were also observed to heal by a process that can be described as crack flank cold welding induced by a combination of local stress state and grain boundary migration. The premise that fatigue cracks can autonomously heal in metals through local interaction with microstructural features challenges the most fundamental theories on how engineers design and evaluate fatigue life in structural materials. We discuss the implications for fatigue in a variety of service environments."

'Stunning' discovery: Metals can heal themselves (sorry, but this only a copy of the primary news source)

Stunning discovery: Metals can heal themselves (primary news source) Microscopic cracks vanish in experiments, revealing possibility of self-healing machines

Autonomous healing of fatigue cracks via cold welding (no public access)

Green marks the spot where a fissure formed, then fused back together in this artistic rendering of nanoscale self-healing in metal, discovered at Sandia National Laboratories. Red arrows indicate the direction of the pulling force that unexpectedly triggered the phenomenon.

Pre-19th century Benin Bronzes found to be made of German brass

Quality Made in Germany recognized all over the world! (just kidding) 😊

"... In this study, researchers performed chemical analysis on 67 manillas recovered from five Atlantic shipwrecks and three land sites in Europe and Africa dating between the 16th and 19th centuries, specifically identifying lead isotope signatures and trace element compositions of the metal. They found a strong similarity between the metal composition of the Benin Bronzes and that of the manillas used in Portuguese trade prior to the 18th century, suggesting these manillas were a major source of metal for the sculptures.

Furthermore, the composition of those manillas is similar to ores from the German Rhineland, suggesting that Germany was the principle source of metal for production of pre-18th century manillas and, ultimately, the Benin Bronzes. The consistency in metal composition of the Bronzes suggests that African metalsmiths were very selective about what metal they would use. ..."

From the abstract:

"Utilizing geochemical analysis, this study identifies the sources of European brass used in the casting of the renowned Benin Bronzes, produced by the Edo people of Nigeria. It is commonly believed that distinctive brass rings known as “manillas”, used as currency in the European trade in West Africa, also served as a metal source for the making of the Bronzes. However, prior to the current study, no research had conclusively connected the Benin artworks and the European manillas. For this research, manillas from shipwrecks in African, American and European waters dating between the 16th and 19th Century were analysed using ICP-MS analysis. Comparing trace elements and lead isotope ratios of manillas and Benin Bronzes identifies Germany as the principal source of the manillas used in the West African trade between the 15th and 18th centuries before British industries took over the brass trade in the late 18th century."

Benin Bronzes found to be made of German brass

German brass for Benin Bronzes: Geochemical analysis insights into the early Atlantic trade

Table 1. Manillas typology

New theory provides answers to why metals have the structures that they do

Amazing stuff! We don't even understand elemental metals that well in the 21st century!

"A simple, new theory that can explain why a metal forms a particular structure has been developed. The method allows researchers to understand and predict structures in solid compounds and alloys over a wide range of conditions. ‘This theory is based on our finding that the electrons in many metals occupy so-called quasi-atom orbitals, which are local quantum orbitals centred at the voids between atoms,’ ... ‘The chemical interactions between such localised electrons control the metal structures,’ ..."

From the significance and abstract:

"Significance

The driving force determining the structures of simple metals has been a matter of debate for over a century and has become more puzzling with the discovery of highly complex structures that emerge at high pressures in these materials. Conventional free-electron-based theories fail to provide a unified and predictive mechanism due to missing key components, i.e., local bonding and orbital interactions. These missing components can be represented by quasi-atoms and corresponding local orbitals, a consideration of which can explain the stability of both simple and complex different structures of elemental metals over a wide range of conditions. The results have implications for the behavior of more chemically complex materials, including alloys, intermetallics, hydrides, ionic compounds, and two-dimensional materials.

Abstract

Most metals adopt simple structures such as body-centered cubic (BCC), face-centered cubic (FCC), and hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structures in specific groupings across the periodic table, and many undergo transitions to surprisingly complex structures on compression, not expected from conventional free-electron-based theories of metals. First-principles calculations have been able to reproduce many observed structures and transitions, but a unified, predictive theory that underlies this behavior is not yet in hand. Discovered by analyzing the electronic properties of metals in various lattices over a broad range of sizes and geometries, a remarkably simple theory shows that the stability of metal structures is governed by electrons occupying local interstitial orbitals and their strong chemical interactions. The theory provides a basis for understanding and predicting structures in solid compounds and alloys over a broad range of conditions."

New theory provides answers to why metals have the structures that they do | Research | Chemistry World The simple concept shows that a metal’s structure results from chemical interactions between localised electrons, challenging the traditional free electron gas model

Chemical interactions that govern the structures of metals (no public access, but Google Scholar provides this link to the full article)

Fig 1 Electron localization and sublattice interactions in metals

When Defects strengthen 3D-printed material

If you can't beat it join it or so the saying goes!

"... researchers found a counterintuitive way of improving 3D-printed metal alloys. By deliberately introducing more defects into the printing process, followed by a post-processing treatment that uses high temperature and high pressure to change the material’s microstructure, they turned the defects into assets, resulting in a stronger, more ductile metal product.
The technique could potentially be applied to any 3D-printed metal alloy and could be particularly effective for manufacturing products for biomedical and aerospace industries. ...
So we asked ourselves: What if we try to use those defects that are generally considered a limitation for additive manufacturing and turned them into the strengths of additive manufacturing? ..."

From the abstract:

"Rapid cooling rates and stochastic interactions between the heat source and feedstock in additive manufacturing (AM) result in strong anisotropy and process-induced defects deteriorating the tensile ductility and fatigue resistance of printed parts. We show that by deliberately introducing a high density of lack of fusion (LoF) defects ... followed by hot isostatic pressing (HIP), we can print Ti-6Al-4V with reduced texture and combinations of strength (TS=1.0 ± 3E-2 GPa) and ductility (εfailure=20 ± 1%) surpassing that of wrought, cast, forged, annealed, solution-treated and aged counterparts. ..."

When bad makes good: Defects strengthen 3D-printed material | Cornell Chronicle

Exploiting lack of fusion defects for microstructural engineering in additive manufacturing (no public access)