Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Panama Copper Mine

Panama is also famous for its copper mine. Canadians have controlling interest in Inmet copper mine. Ever wonder why Canada is so popular for its copper production? Actually, most of the copper mines are not located in Canada, and the largest copper mine in the world is located in Panama. This is actually very good for Panama’s economy. Panama copper mines are employing the locals in Panama and improving Panamanian peoples’ average income. It is really an advantage for Canada and Panama. The question is why Panama is not running the copper mine by themselves? The answer is that although their land contains a lot of natural resources in it including copper, they do not have the technology and funding to get it to succeed as well as what other developed countries such as Canada can. This project will have a huge impact on the economic condition of the both countries.

Although—according to 2005 data—Chile is the largest copper producer in the world, most of the copper produced from the United States comes from mines which are located in Panama. The vast majority of the mines in Panama are owned by Canadians and Americans, actually.
How is copper so effective at growing the economy? It is one of the most used metals in the world. Copper is a chemical element that is given the Cu symbol (Latin: cuprum). It is one of the best conductors of electricity and heat, and the best for its price. Copper is a very popularly utilized material for industrialization, health, military, and other crafts. The use of copper can be traced back to 10,000 years ago. Before copper, iron and gold are estimated as the first metal used by humans. Copper has a cubic crystal system, physically, and yellow when viewed with a microscope. The ore will be seen to have a color in pink to grayish brown. Elements of the copper presents in nearly 250 minerals, but only a few are commercial. In the primary sulfide precipitate, chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) is the largest, followed by kalkosit (Cu2S), bornite (Cu5FeS4), kovelit (CUS), and enargit (Cu3AsS4). The main copper mineral deposits in the form of oxide is krisokola (CuSiO3.2HO), malasit (Cu2 (OH) 2CO3), and azurit (CU3 (OH) 2 (CO3) 2). Copper can be mined by open pit methods and underground method. The contents of copper are expressed in % (percent). So if the quarry yield is 2.3%, then it means that from 100 kg of ore, it contains 2.3 kg of copper.

Copper metal is very commonly used in the electrical equipment industry. Copper wire and copper alloys are used in the manufacturing of electric motors, generators, transmission cables, home and industrial electrical installation, motor vehicles, electrical conductors, coaxial cables and tubes, microwave tubes, switches, telecommunications and so on. Areas that require electrical conductivity and thermal properties have a high demand for copper, such as for the manufacturing of tubes. Although aluminum can be used for high voltage transmission lines, copper still plays an important role for the underground network and dominates the market of small wires, industrial equipment associated with the solution, the construction industry, aircrafts and ships, roofing, plumbing, home decoration, non industrial  machinery, electrical, machine tools, agricultural machinery, and so on. Copper is really used for various purposes from electrical components, crafts, coins, household items, to biomedical components. Copper can also be combined with other metals to form alloys such as bronze.

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Wednesday, 3 October 2012

Panama Metro Subway

If you have been to Panama recently, you have probably seen that they are building the new subway sytem right now—Panama Metro Subway. As the population of Panama City is growing every year, it is normal to see traffic jams everywhere. To deflate this issue, the government of Panama has decided to build and run this new subway system. This is a fantastic plan and most of the people are supporting it because it will give a good solution for most of them. It will be especially convenient for workers who need comfortable transportation to go to their workplaces every day.

The construction of Panama Metro Subways is in progress right now. Not only will the workers and citizens of Panama enjoy this new subway, but it will also become a great help for tourists as they explore different places in Panama. It is going to be much easier to utilize the subway if you are not so familiar with the streets there, and; if you aren’t knowledgeable about the area with the area, then the Panama Metro Subway will really be helpful to you. The construction of this subway in Panama will adopt the technology from some subways that you may find around the world.

Many major cities in the world have great subway systems and they provide a convenient transportation alternative throughout the city. In general, the subway is the most effective and cheapest transportation. Nothing can match the ability of the subway in transporting people with speed. The subway systems in 160 cities of the world had stood for decades and even more than one hundred years for the subways in London and Paris. In regards to the Panama Metro Subway, they can choose to follow different kinds of subway models from other countries all over the world, including:

1. London, England
London Underground is the largest subway system in Europe and the oldest in the world, beginning operations in 1863. It covers 407 km and transports 3 million people per day. This subway is also connected to a range of rail services to London and the surrounding area (including the Eurostar to Paris).

2. Paris, France
Paris’ subway system is the second oldest in the world (the system was originally completed in 1900) and it transports about 4.5 million people per day. Total length of the rail is over 133.7 kilometers and it stops at 380 stations; it has a great range all over the city. Most of the stations are typically designed with a unique style of art nouveau.

3. Moscow, Russia
The Moscow subway system has the most passengers of all metro systems in the world, with 3.2 billion passengers a year on 12 lines to 172 stations. In total, the Moscow Metro covers about 286 km. On an average weekday, the subway itself carries about 8.2 million passengers. Although most trains run underground, some lines cross bridges and provide views of the Moskva River and the Yauza River.

4. Madrid, Spain
Madrid subway is the second largest underground system in Europe and the sixth largest in the world subway system. Until the end of 2009, it reach 288 km (including an additional 27.5 km), and it has 231 stations and 12 rail. Madrid subway is the most dense rail network in the world.  It is very clean and implementing ecological sanitation systems.

5. New York City, USA
New York City subway system is the most complete transportation system in the world. It has grown from 28 stations when the station was established in October 1904, to 462 stations today. The subway carries 4.9 million people a day. The system is very effective, not even half of New York residents drive vehicles because they like to utilize the subway for their main transportation.  Unlike other systems, the New York subway operates 24 hours. Many subway systems in the world stop operating at 12 o'clock at night.

So from a lot of models of subway systems all over the world above, which one will be adopted by Panama Metro Subway? It will likely take inspiration from many of them; creating a new subway system that is totally different from the others. 

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