BORON AND BORATES NEWS

Borates Today publishes news, insights, guides, and latest special reports about boron, borates, and borax for investors, researchers, and readers interested in Decarbonization; Advanced Energy, Food Security and Micronutrients.

NEWS

Borates in Bolivia
MINING

Country Profile of Bolivia

Bolivia is one of the largest producers of borates globally after Turkey, the USA, Chile, and Argentina. Extraction and production of ulexite is the main activity centered around the south of the country, with both public and private companies involved. Exports are mostly sodium borates and boric acid, with Brazil and China among the largest buyers.

NEWS

Boron Rocket Fuel

mining and decarbonization

Boron Rocket Fuel: Boron has a high intrinsic energy density. It is inexpensive, plentiful, and stable, making it a good choice for solid rocket fuels and an additive for jet fuels to increase their energy output. However, the oxide shell and its impurities make boron unreliable at the ignition point. Research is ongoing into overcoming these impurities so that boron fuel may be used more widely in space travel.

Boron in Sports Equipment

Boron in Sports Goods

Boron as boron fiber and boron steel has excellent tensile strength. Boron is used in sports equipment like golf clubs, fishing rods, tennis rackets, and bicycle frames. It renders them the required power, flexibility, lightness, and durability, thus, contributing to better performance. The sports goods company, Mizuno, has emerged as a leading manufacturer of sports equipment composed of boron.

Human Health and Boron

Boron human health

For optimal human health and fitness, boron is a crucial mineral. This nutrient has pleiotropic effects, which can have multiple beneficial effects on the body, including inflammation reduction and antioxidant protection. Boron can also aid in the modulation of various body systems.

Boron Oxide

Boron Oxide

Boron combines with oxygen to form Boron oxide. Boron oxide appears as colourless, semi-transparent glassy lumps or hard white, odourless crystals. Moderately soluble in water, it is the base material for the synthesis of other boron compounds, as a fluxing agent in enamels and glasses, and as a bonding agent in the hot isostatic pressing of boron nitride ceramics. Boron being a metalloid, forms amphoteric oxides; Diboron trioxide, (B2O3 ) being the most common oxide of Boron. 

Lithium Borate Project Ioneer

Lithium Boron Project Ioneer

A collaboration between Ioneer and Sibanye Stillwater has recently been announced toa Lithium-boron mining project. Ioneer chose this established mining company as a partner for this joint venture. A feasibility study provided definitive results in 2020, validating the project as a world-class resource.

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GUIDE TO BORON

APPLICATIONS

APPLICATIONS, Ceramic and Enamels

Borates in Ceramics

Ceramics - ceramic glazes and enamels - are applied to ceramic ware, sanitary ware, tableware, and tiles. Borates are used extensively in such enamels and ceramic glazes. Borates used include colemanite, ulexite, and several specialty borates, which provide efficient production and protection against the elements to the finished products.

APPLICATIONS, MINING

Boron Blue Diamonds

Boron blue diamonds - Diamonds are valued for their lustre and sparkle, making them precious commodities. Creating the beautiful diamond jewels that people adore as betrothal or pure indulgence symbols is a complex and lengthy process. Some diamonds are rarer than others. Believe it or not, Boron is the trace element that gives some rare diamonds a blue colour - the story of the Hope diamond is one such beneficiary of Boron's colour.

CHEMISTRY

BENEFITS, Chemistry

Borax: The Safe and Effective Detergent

Borax is used in cleaning products because it helps remove dirt and grime. But we need to handle it carefully or it can be dangerous if ingested by children. Borax is a white powdery substance that is also known as sodium tetraborate. Although sodium tetraborate is a salt of boric acid, it is not an acid, it’s a salt.

RESEARCH

Aerospace, INDUSTRY SECTORS, RESEARCH

Boron 3D Metal Printing

AML3D and Deakin University's Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) announces a series of collaborative feasibility projects exploring Boron 3D Metal Printing using Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNTs) in Wire Additive Manufacturing. The new composite could revolutionize Wire Additive Manufacturing (WAM) by enjoying far-reaching commercial industry implications for applications in 3D metal printing globally.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE

PFAS And Boron

Boron Nitride is an excellent catalyst for reducing harmful PFAs. It is an organic metal oxide that breaks down PFAS into carbon dioxide and fluoride salt.

BENEFITS

Agriculture, Human Health

Canola Needs Boron to Thrive

Canola is a Brassica family member with especially high boron requirements. Boron deficiency significantly impacts seed production; yields are doubled when 2 lbs of boron per acre are applied to the canola field with no visual anomalies.

MINING BORON & BORATES

MINING

MINING

Country Profile of Argentina

Argentina is the fifth-largest producer of natural borates. Deposits of borate can be found throughout Argentina, including in the provinces of Neuquén (Gran Chaco), Rio Negro, San Juan, and Mendoza (Cordoba). The first boric acid in Argentina was produced in 1894 at the La Plata mine when sodium tetraborate ore was extracted for the first time. The country became a major producer in 1900.

Company Profiles, MINING

Valjevo Project and Sustainable Boron, Lithium Mining

Sustainable Boron and Lithium mining: Borates and lithium are essential for decarbonisation, advanced energy, and food security. The extraction and production of these critical minerals need to respect sustainable principles to satisfy multiple stakeholders, local interest groups, and residents. A case in point is Valjevo in Serbia, where locals have successfully halted the Valjevo project until February 2022 until officials are satisfied sustainable practices will be put in place.

INVEST IN BORON

INVEST IN BORON, MINING

ABR Increased Head-Grade

American Pacific Borates New Mine Plan with Increased Head-Grade. ABR's CEO, Henri Tausch, comments that yet another milestone that will allow them to be US-listed. And, perhaps most importantly, the mining firm also has three additional benefits connected with the S-K1300 conversion process.

INVEST IN BORON, MINING

Billion Dollar Boron

Billion dollar boron. In 2021, borates sales hit billions of dollars. Why? The demand for boron is increasing rapidly in strategic sectors such as aerospace and defense, zero-carbon, and advanced energy solutions, which depend on boron-based technologies to reduce emissions. Recent forecasts predict that boron demand will increase by 30% by the end of the decade.

PLANET BORON

DECARBONIZATION

DECARBONIZATION

Boron in Bioconversion

Rio Tinto Mine. The Serbian government has finally revoked Rio Tinto's licenses for lithium exploration in Serbia in the latter part of January 2022. The government gave in to the protesters who have been opposed to the Anglo-Australian mining company's project on environmental grounds. Last year, the company committed to the project as global miners push for metals necessary to transition to green energy. This includes lithium which is used in the production of electric vehicle batteries. The project was already suspended in December 2021 due to environmental deterioration and forced displacement concerns.

ADVANCED ENERGY

FOOD SECURITY

FOOD SECURITY

What is Food Security

"Food security is a condition that exists when all people have, at all times, physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life." The Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit Plan of Action.

MICRONUTRIENTS