In November 2007, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung reportedly approved China’s large-scale project to mine aluminum ore, or bauxite, in the Central Highlands in exchange for financial aid. The decision of the communist party triggered a torrent of criticisms and objections from scientists, intellectuals, military and religious leaders.

The project’s opponents voiced deep concerns about the disastrous effects of the mining on the environment, the uprooting of local ethnic Montagnards and, more importantly, the de facto Chinese occupation of the strategic Central Highlands.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, North Vietnam’s famed war hero, asked that the aluminum ore mining plan be postponed until international scientists had a chance to study its impacts on the environment.

Venerable Thich Quang Do, head of the banned United Buddhist Church of Vietnam, called for a month of “peaceful demonstration at home” to protest against the Chinese bauxite exploration plan. In a statement, he said the project “will destroy the forests of the Central Highlands, pollute the basalt-rich red soils, increase the risk of prolonged periods of drought or flooding, and seriously contaminate water supplies, thus directly threatening the economic development of the southern region of Central Vietnam.”

Despite the outcry, mining operations by China’s Chalco Group began in 2008.

According to the Mineral Information Institute, bauxite is first processed aluminum oxide, which is then refined into aluminum by energy-intensive electrolysis. Vietnam’s aluminum ore reserve - an estimated 7.5 billion tons — is potentially worth $700 billion (USD).

According to Nguyen Thuy Trang, a United Nations official in charge of a program to protect the environment in Africa, bauxite conversion into aluminum oxide generates two toxic chemicals known as “red dust” and “red mud.” Red dust inflames the lungs and can cause cancer of the respiratory system. Red mud, an iron-rich residue, can cause harm to the reproductive system and birth defects.

It is estimated that the production of one ton of aluminum requires four tons of bauxite and releases three tons of carcinogenic red mud. In the long run, toxic chemicals would foul waterways in the Central Highlands and damage the flatland ecology of the Mekong Delta.

Moreover, the destruction of forests and cropland to make room for the mining operations and the establishment of camps and villages for the Chinese workers would displace indigenous tribes, leading to the irreparable loss of their culture and way of life.

The presence of Chinese workers and soldiers in the strategic Central Highlands constitutes a serious threat to Vietnam’s national security, critics say.

“We know that China has established a strong naval base in Hai Nam,” wrote Gen. Nguyen Tan Vinh, former Vietnam ambassador to Beijing, in a letter to members of the Vietnamese politburo. “Now, we let China exploit bauxite in the Central Highlands, and there will be from 7,000 to 10,000 Chinese workers or soldiers who will be stationed and work there; a Chinese town, a military base will take shape in our crucial strategic area. In the north of our country there is a strong naval base, in our west there is a fully equipped army base, thus what will happen to the independence, sovereignty for which we have traded millions of lives and a lot of bones and blood?”

Vietnamese military leaders have every reason to be concerned. The Central Highlands is geographically important. It is a natural gateway that would allow Chinese forces, using a large pincher movement, to cut the country in half or to threaten the southern part of the country.

In 1975, former President Nguyen Van Thieu’s unfortunate decision to abandon Pleiku and Kontum in the Central Highlands allowed North Vietnamese generals to execute deep envelopments in the South, resulting in the quick collapse of ARVN forces.

Aluminum is used in building construction, packaging and car manufacturing - industries hard hit in the current economic slump. According to news reports, China’s Chalco Group, which is mining bauxite in Vietnam, reported heavy losses in 2008. The company said the losses were due to earthquakes and snowstorms in China, the global economic crisis, and a drop in prices for metallic products in the global market. The company said it expects more losses in 2009.

Beijing does not appear to be dissuaded by financial setbacks in its mineral exploration, however, as bauxite mining may be, after all, simply a cover for a larger sinister scheme.

But the web changed the way we radiate and consume information and in doing so, created a new opportunity to measure and monetize it. Faced with more user data, logging information, and web content than anyone thought one system could handle, the major web companies developed highly scaled data warehousing solutions themselves. Armed with these tools, they improved customer resonance by building better recommendation engines, more targeted advertising networks and more intricate campaigns.

The preferred architectural model for this web-derived data warehouse – a combination of low-cost server hardware, distributed systems and open-source software — set off an innovation path that outpaced the commercial market. What once was a very expensive proposition — to amass the computer power, storage capacity and network bandwidth to run a high-end data warehouse and analytics engine — is now readily available on-site or in the cloud.

The current software favorite for large-scale data processing and analytics is Hadoop, an open-source implementation of MapReduce. MapReduce is a technique popularized by Google that distributes complex problems to many distributed nodes and, as such, is useful for processing information from large data sets. Hadoop helps major web companies make sense of the mouse clicks and content they track across hundreds of millions of users. Amazon began offering it as a pre-configured option on EC2 in early April. Firms like Cloudera help companies apply Hadoop to their data-processing initiatives. Cloudera recently secured a $5 million dollar financing round to beef up its distribution of Hadoop.  Meanwhile, Yahoo has been singing the Hadoop tune for the last couple of years, following the hire of Hadoop’s creator, Doug Cutting, in 2006.

A Hadoop-spawned ecosystem includes a range of complimentary projects. Hive, for example, is an open-source data warehouse infrastructure built on top of Hadoop. And other uses of MapReduce are gaining traction. Recently, Aster Data Systems raised $12 million in new funding for its high-performance analytical database. Aster’s software features in-database MapReduce, and is now available as a cloud-based solution.

Not too long ago, Ian Ayres wrote a book called “Super Crunchers,” in which he details the resurgence of data mining and its impact on overall society. As he notes, this trend has been embraced by not only the web giants (think Amazon using filters to track tastes and purchasing history), but by insurance companies and government agencies, those tasked with making decisions that affect your everyday life. If his observations ring true, we have not seen the last of how these capabilities will affect our day-to-day activities.

Business intelligence and data warehousing are big enough markets to sustain activity at all levels. The industry giants will lumber on delivering conventional solutions, newer technology startups will put innovative products in place, and creative developments from the open-source community will set the industry aflutter. What follows is the ability for more mainstream companies to efficiently deploy unparalleled data mining solutions. The improved data warehousing and analytics capabilities are ready for use. Let’s watch and see who rises to the occasion.

The operation lasted just over a month and the two governments concluded that the operation had “seriously weakened” the rebels, whose leaders have been linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

However a BBC investigation has discovered that the rebels still have strongholds in eastern Congo and are financing their continued existence by controlling mines near the border with Rwanda.

Our correspondent in the DRC, Thomas Fessy reports on how illegal mining has continued to fuel one of Africa’s most deadly conflicts.

This year’s list of winners was announced on 7 January 2009. The first round of the competition included five new compressors introduced by three other manufacturers. Over 225 new products resulted from a first selection stage, leading to shortlists of 15-20 of the most consulted online new product articles in each of the 10 categories.

A wide range of industries use oil-injected compressors: coal-fired power plants, mining, shipping and ship-building, as well as cement, glass and tire manufacturing companies. Patrick Fradin, Head of Energy at Michelin’s Avallon site in France, explains: “It is my objective to reduce energy costs per tonne of production. Together with Atlas Copco we have calculated that by replacing our four working compressors with two new GA 132 VSDs, we can save 736 400 kWh yearly. I was surprised when I saw the potential savings on the consumption. I also think that there will be a lot less maintenance to do,” adds Fradin. The factory is a leading industrial retreader of tires for trucks and earthmoving equipment and shipped products for 300 000 vehicles in 2007.

For manufacturers, a “Best Product Award,” is one of European industry’s highest honors. For industry, it’s a reliable way of knowing the best new products on the market today. “When companies see a product with the Best Product Award Winner’s seal they know it’s been vetted by a multitude of professionals,” notes Reimund Scherff, Business Line Manager for Atlas Copco Oil-free Air in Germany. “These are the technical breakthroughs industry is talking about — and the ones we all want to own.”

Scherff continues: “The award confirms our effort to develop technically excellent, innovative products that allow process industry users, for instance, to manufacture with greater productivity and energy efficiency.”

The Specific Energy Requirement (SER) of the new Atlas Copco GA range (3.5 to 14 bar(e)) is world class, using up to 11% less electricity than the previous GA models. There is a GA compressor package with an integrated water separator at optimum Specific Energy Requirement (SER) of 350 Joule/liter according to ISO 1217 edition 3 annex C (1996).

According to a 2001 study financed by the European Commission, “Compressed air plays a very large part in the industrial energy consumption since it counts for approx. 12% of the current consumption… Motor driven systems account for approximately 50% of the electricity consumed in Europe.” The authors claim that “even a small efficiency improvement can lead to relevant energy savings.” (Source: http://www.leonardo-energy.org/drupal/files/2008/EE_Motors__ver0000B.pdf?download)

The new GA 160 VSD offers an exceptional free air delivery (FAD) turndown range from 100% to 17%. This oil-injected compressor range has pioneered by integrating the water separator into the compressed air cooling system. The new GA is Atlas Copco’s first air compressor to offer VSD-controlled cooling fans, reducing overall consumption. Saver Cycle Control technology results in optimised energy use by the dryer. The GA is able to operate in ambient temperatures of up to 55 degrees centigrade, at a maximum noise level of 71 dBA. Oil filter and the air inlet filter lifetimes have been doubled, directly impacting operating costs and compressor runtime.

The GA series of compressors and their redesigned screw element (responsible for a reduction of 5 to 6% in energy requirements), as well as the newly launched, highly energy-efficient FD 310-510 refrigerant air dryer range, have been featured in a world-wide road show. The new GA has received positive reviews from industry since its launch in April 2008; it is shortlisted as a finalist on the US Plant Engineering’s “Product of the Year” Award 2008 list.

Under Wednesday’s settlement, the Forest Service agrees to conduct environmental reviews that the environmentalists say are required.

The plaintiffs, including Allegheny Defense Project and the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, claimed the reviews weren’t being done.

The Forest Service will pay about $19,200 in attorney fees. It admits no wrongdoing.

Gas and oil drilling has increased dramatically in the forest. Environmentalists say drilling and numerous roads built in support of the projects can destroy wildlife habitat and hurt recreation opportunities.

The Ison Rock Ridge mine, owned by Virginia-based A & G Coal, was previously approved under something called the “Nationwide 21? permit, a generic review process intended to streamline the approval of mining applications across the country. In an April 3 letter to the Corps, however, the EPA warned that that generic review did little to prevent the operation from damaging the adjacent watershed, and that further study specific to the Ison Rock project should be performed.

EPA believes that further avoidance and minimization efforts are needed, that the proposed project may cause or contribute to an impairment of the aquatic life use in downstream receiving waters, and that the direct and cumulative impacts from this proposed as well as past and future mines will be persistent and permanent.

If allowed to proceed, the project would fill nine Appalachian valleys, burying roughly three miles of streams.

The company added that the newly formed Franklin Oil & Gas, Inc. would initially focus on development of the Texas oil properties while pursuing further negotiations on gas-to-liquid, oil and hydroelectric projects in South America.

The prospect inventory includes a number of structures with the potential to contain mean estimated prospective resources in excess of 100 MMbbl of oil with six additional features offering mean estimated prospective resources potential in excess of 50 MMbbl, the company reports. Of these high-graded prospects, four are located in water depths of less than 470 m (1,542 ft).

Oilex has completed the seismic acquisition, processing, and interpretation phase of the work program in the contract area. A total of over 3,000 sq km (1,158 sq mi) of 3D seismic data were acquired or reprocessed and all of the open file 2D seismic data in the nearby region were incorporated into the interpretation.

According to the company, the results of the work confirm that the block has the potential to host significant oil resources near existing producing fields and the recent Kitan discovery in the adjacent block to the west.

The JV has contracted a floating drilling unit which has a capacity to drill in the water depths found in the contract area. It is anticipated that this drilling unit will be available to begin drilling activities in the contract area in the third quarter.

Goldcorp Inc. and Barrick Gold Corp. fell at least 1.8 percent as speculation that the U.S. economy will rebound eroded the appeal of precious metals as an alternative investment. Stocks pared their losses in the final hour of trading as Research In Motion Ltd. climbed more than 7 percent after Bank of America Corp. said the maker of the BlackBerry phone will increase market share.

“Commodities obviously are one of the major drivers,” said Gavin Graham, who helps oversee C$42 billion at Bank of Montreal Asset Management in Toronto. “What you’re seeing is a reflection of weakness in commodity prices.”

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 49.59 points, or 0.6 percent, to 9,016.17 in Toronto, paring its 2009 gain to 0.3 percent. The benchmark has climbed 19 percent since falling to a 5 ½-year low on March 9.

Raw-materials producers and financial stocks, which account for 46 percent of the nation’s benchmark stock index, contributed the most to today’s decline.

Goldcorp lost 1.8 percent to C$37.40, leading raw-materials producers to a 2.9 percent decline, the steepest among 10 industries in the S&P/TSX. Barrick Gold lost 4.6 percent to C$35.61. Gold futures for June delivery fell $24.50, or 2.7 percent, to $872.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange as last week’s rally in equities curbed demand for a haven from stock market losses.

Loan Losses

Financial stocks fell 0.8 percent, contributing the most to the benchmark’s decline after commodity producers, as Mike Mayo, analyst at Calyon Securities, advised selling bank shares, saying government measures to shore up lenders may not help as much as expected and loan losses will exceed levels from the Great Depression.

Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s biggest lender, lost 0.7 percent to C$38.20. Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canada’s second- largest bank, dropped 2 percent to C$45.26.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will meet with chief executive officers of the country’s biggest banks to discuss new rules that may be implemented from last week’s Group of 20 nations meeting, the National Post said.

The executives are likely to use the meeting this month to voice their opposition to greater oversight powers by the Bank of Canada, the newspaper reported today, citing unidentified financial industry lobbyists.

Building Permits Drop

Stocks also dropped after Canadian building permits declined for a fifth straight month in February, the longest streak since 1990, as commercial and government construction plans slumped.

The total value of permits issued by municipalities fell 16 percent to C$3.67 billion ($2.99 billion), the lowest since January 2002, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg anticipated a 4 percent drop, the median of 15 estimates.

EnCana dropped 0.3 percent to C$54.88 as oil lost $1.46 to $51.05 a barrel. Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al- Attiyah said he doesn’t expect prices to rebound as far as $70 a barrel this year as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries implements its biggest-ever supply reduction. Crude stockpiles in the U.S. are at a 15-year high.

RIM climbed C$5.46, or 7.5 percent, to C$78.26, leading technology shares in the S&P/TSX to a 6.1 percent advance, the steepest among 10 industries. The company’s online applications store, inexpensive stock price and market gains versus competitors should support the shares, Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya wrote in a research note.