Copper technology in the Arabah during the Iron Age and the role of the indigenous population in the industry

Following the Egyptian withdrawal in the mid-12th century BCE from their involvement in the Arabah copper production, and after an additional period of organization, the degree of copper efficiency and production at Timna and Faynan increased in the Early Iron Age (11th–9th centuries), rendering the region the largest and most advanced smelting centre in the Levant. The existing paradigm offered as an explanation for this technical and commercial success is based on extraneous influence, namely, the campaign of Pharaoh Sheshonq I near the end of the 10th century BCE that spurred a renewed Egyptian involvement in the Arabah copper industry. An alternative paradigm is suggested here, viewing the advances in Arabah copper technology and production as a linear development and the outcome of continuous and gradual indigenous improvements on the part of local craftsmen, with no external intervention. Behind these outstanding technical achievements stood excellent managerial personnel, supported by an innovative technical team. They employed two techniques for copper-production optimization that can be defined based on concepts taken from the world of modern industrial engineering: (i) "trial and error", in which the effect of each production variable was tested individually and separately, and (ii) "scaling-up", in which the size of some production elements (i.e., tuyère) was increased by using existing techniques which required minimum developmental costs and experimental risks.

Copper will bolster economic improvements in Peru

Significance The booming copper industry will stimulate production overall while helping to bolster export earnings and treasury receipts. The Castillo administration has produced proposals for tax and other financial reforms which, if approved by Congress, will raise Peru’s low tax take and make the tax system somewhat more progressive. Impacts Peru will see inflation rise this year and next. Reserves will be sufficient to allay problems arising from capital flight. Treasury income from the proposed reforms will yield less than hoped for.

Early Colliery Engines at Swansea, 1730 - c1840

In general terms, large scale exploitation of the south Wales coalfield did not start until the second quarter of the nineteenth century, well past the period where the Newcomen-type engine would have featured in colliery installations. However, the coal trade in those areas of the coalfield within easy reach of navigable rivers and seas developed much earlier and was well established by the Tudor period. The area in and around Swansea was one of these areas and by the seventeenth century was the UKs third largest coal exporting port. Development of the copper industry in the following century for which Swansea was renowned, encouraged further development of coal mining locally, bringing with it capital from external sources. From 1730 onwards, a significant number of Newcomen-type engines were erected locally and this account describes the background and context for the approximately 48 engines erected between 1730 and 1840.

Torque Analysis of a Gyratory Crusher with the Discrete Element Method

Comminution by gyratory crusher is the first stage in the size reduction operation in mineral processing. In the copper industry, these machines are widely utilized, and their reliability has become a relevant aspect. In order to optimize the design and to improve the availability of gyratory crushers, it is necessary to calculate their power and torque accurately. The discrete element method (DEM) has been commonly used in several mining applications and is a powerful tool to predict the necessary power required in the operation of mining machines. In this paper, a DEM model was applied to a copper mining gyratory crusher to perform a comprehensive analysis of the loads in the mantle, the crushing torque, and crushing power. A novel polar representation of the radial forces is proposed that may help designers, engineers, and operators to recognize the distribution of force loads on the mantle in an easier and intuitive way. Simulations with different operational conditions are presented and validated through a comparison with nominal data. A calculation procedure for the crushing power of crushers is presented, and recommendations for the selection of the minimum resolved particle size are given.

The Desert’s Role in the Formation of Early Israel and the Origin of Yhwh

The origin of ancient Israel has been questioned and intensively discussed for almost two centuries by many researchers, from two main schools of thought. One believes the early Israelites came from outside the Land of Cana‘an and conquered it, while the other believes they rose from within Cana‘an, forming a new polity and culture. Scholars are likewise divided whether the Israelite God, Yhwh, originated from the Near Eastern cultural environment or from the desert. A multitude of studies has been dedicated to these two themes, usually separately. This article attempts to examine the connection between the two through several themes: desert roots in the culture of ancient Israel, the origin of Yhwh, Asiatics in Sinai and the Negev, desert tribes and the copper industry, the location of biblical Paran, Nabataean data from Sinai which illuminate biblical issues, and others. By including materials which were previously underutilized or overlooked, these themes may be integrated to form a reasonable scenario of a chapter in the history of early Israel.

Effectiveness of the use of specialized food item among copper industry workers

Introduction. Maintaining health and job longevity and decrease in the Russian working population’s occupational morbidity rate remains a current trend in public policy in health care. The purpose of the research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new specialized food item with the following definition: “Fruit and vegetable Nectar, enriched with dietary fiber, pectin and vitamins” (from now on “Nectar”) as being healthy nutrition for individuals of auxiliary workshops of the copper industry. Materials and methods. Thirty-four workers participated in the research. The questionnaire, clinical and laboratory as well as statistical methods were applied. Results. Workers’ diet involved a high proportion of fats (44.6% of the total dietary calories) and insufficient food items sources of ascorbic acid. The share of individuals with an inadequate nutritional supply of vitamins A, C, B1, B2, and PP was 32.6%, 46.9%, 75.5%, 81.6%, and 79.6%, respectively. Low concentration of ascorbic acid in the blood serum (in 32.7% of workers) and normal concentration of vitamin A and B1 in blood were demonstrated in surveyed workers in the winter. The effectiveness of course consumption of Nectar specialized drink was shown in workers. Resulting from its consumption for three or more weeks, statistically significant positive alterations were observed in vitamin status (vitamin A and C), antioxidant defense system (in terms of peroxidase and MDA), together with a subjective health assessment in terms of work capacity and fatigue. Consumption of Nectar reduced cadmium content to environmentally safe level** in workers with high level of cadmium in blood. Conclusion. Nectar may be used as a therapeutic and prophylactic food item for workers exposed to heavy metals.