Latest news with #Andes
The Independent
11 hours ago
- Science
- The Independent
Teeth marks on fossil show ‘terror bird' may have been killed in vicious battle with caiman 13 million years ago
Teeth marks seen on the leg bone of a so-called 'terror bird', which were predators 13 million years ago, suggest it may have been killed by an even bigger reptile. The enormous, flightless birds were found in the Americas and could reach up to 3 metres tall. They had powerful legs and vicious beaks which could tear the flesh of its prey. In a fossilised leg bone of one of the huge birds, four deep teeth marks have been discovered, prompting professor Andrés Link of the University of the Andes in Colombia to search for what might have been the bird's killer. Researchers now believe it was a caiman. 'Terror birds were undoubtedly at the top of the food chain,' says Prof Link in the study published by journal Biology Letters. 'But this evidence shows us that they could also fall as prey of large caimans when approaching large water bodies. Maybe they went there to look for prey or [were] moving across this complex ecosystem.' Using 3D scan of the bites, scientists were also able to reconstruct the possible battle between the terror bird and another reptile - a battle the bird appears to have lost. To discover which animal might have killed the terror bird, scientists created a digital model of the tooth marks by scanning the surface of the fossil, which they then compared with the teeth of ancient predators from the region. 'There's no evidence of gnawing and the marks are rounded and in [a] line, more similar to those inflicted by crocodiles and caimans,' professor Link said, with the scientist ruling that it was unlikely to be a mammal behind the attack. The bones, which were first found more than 15 years ago in Colombia's Tatacoa Desert, provide rare evidence of an interaction between two of the top predators on the continent 13 million years ago. But the research team notes that they can't rule out the possibility that the bird was already dead at the time it was apprehended by the caiman, and that the tooth marks could be evidence of scavenging by the reptile. "There is no sign of healing in the bite marks on the bone," explained professor Link. "So if it wasn't already dead, it died in the attack. That was the last day that bird was on this planet - then a piece of its leg bone was found 13 million years later." These types of tooth traces are 'more common than people think', said Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche of the National University of La Plata in Argentina. Last year, she discovered tooth marks on a smaller and older terror bird fossil, around 43 million years old, from Argentina.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
For years this law firm has sent hundreds on multi-day backpacking trips: ‘There's nobody out there who is going to do anything for you, other than your colleagues'
Good morning! For more than 30 years, law firm Quinn Emanuel has hosted company offsites in some of the most remote locations across the globe. But they're the farthest thing from a vacation. These annual hiking trips are grueling sometimes multi-day rituals meant to build camaraderie and put legal teams to the test. 'It's intense,' says Tigran Guledjian, partner at Quinn Emanuel and co-chair of the firm's national intellectual property litigation practice. He helps run the hikes, and has been attending them for more than 20 years. 'You carry your own backpack with your own tent, and your own sleeping bag, and your own food, and you are responsible for yourself. There's nobody out there who is going to do anything for you, other than your colleagues.' The firm's hiking tradition began in 1993, when founder John B. Quinn led 15 legal analysts through Coyote Gulch in Utah. Since then, the outing has grown significantly, and the firm started travelling internationally in 2008. Now hundreds of employees flock each year to iconic trails like Switzerland's Faulhornweg, Japan's Mount Fuji, and Greece's Mount Olympus, to name a few. Last month the firm took around 250 employees, a quarter of the company, to Cusco, Peru to hike part of the Andes mountain range. They could choose between an 8.5-mile trek to 14,000 feet or an even more rigorous 18-mile overnight to more than more than 15,000 feet. 'These are not easy hikes,' says Stephen Wood, managing partner of the firm's Salt Lake City Office, who also helps execute the event. 'They challenge everyone and we have a broad spectrum of people who are there, from collegiate athletes and those who do Iron Mans for fun, to those who have never camped out in their lives.' Partners say while the trip is expensive for the law firm, the costs are worth it because employees learn to lean on each other when times get rough, and build valuable relationships in the process. In fact, those who have the most difficult time, Guledjian says, are the ones who end up having 'the most rewarding experience.' You can read more about the firm's extreme offsite ritual here. Brit This story was originally featured on Solve the daily Crossword
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Buenaventura Reports Q2 Production Results & Updated Mine Outlook
Buenaventura Mining BVN reported second-quarter 2025 production and volume sold from its operating mines. Gold production at the Coimolache mine, and gold and silver production at the Julcani mine were in line with the company's expectations. Tambomayo's gold and silver productions were below the company's quarterly expectations. The Orcopampa mine's gold and Uchucchacua silver production also missed the company's guidance. Meanwhile, silver production at the El Brocal and Yumpag mines exceeded BVN's expectations. Let us dig deeper. Buenaventura's Mine Performances in Q2 In second-quarter 2025, gold production at Orcopampa was 12,270 ounces, down 30.2% from the year-ago quarter. BVN sold 12,158 ounces of gold from the mine in the quarter. BVN expects 2025 production of 48,000-52,000 ounces of gold for the mine. El Brocal produced 13,079 MT of copper, which marked a 1% year-over-year decrease. The 2025 copper production guidance is unchanged at 55,000-60,000 MT. Buenaventura produced 5,581 ounces of gold from the El Brocal mine in the second quarter, which jumped 40.2% year over year. Silver production rose 25% in the quarter under review to 390,486 ounces. In the second quarter, Buenaventura sold 3,244 ounces of gold, 309,222 ounces of silver and 12,439 MT of copper from the El Brocal mine. The company expects 2025 gold production from El Brocal between 18,000 ounces and 20,000 ounces. Silver production is expected at 1.4-1.6 million ounces. Gold production at Tambomayo decreased 66.6% year over year in the second quarter to 2,985 ounces, whereas silver production fell 49.7% to 191,181 ounces. The lead and zinc production at Tambomayo totaled 767 MT and 1,477 MT, respectively. Lead and zinc output were 29.3% and 40.6% lower than the year-ago quarter's reported levels, respectively. The downside was due to delayed processing of high-grade oxide ore from the mine's upper zones. Buenaventura sold 2,594 ounces of gold in the second quarter and 170,144 ounces of silver from Tambomayo. The volume of lead and zinc sold totaled 634 MT and 671 MT. BVN maintained the 2025 production expectations for gold at 12,000-15,500 ounces and for silver at 1.2-1.5 million ounces. Lead outlook is updated at 1.7-2.2 MT and zinc at 2-2.5 MT. The second-quarter 2025 gold production at the Coimolache mine increased 77.9% to 13,149 ounces. In the three months ended June 30, 2025, the mine sold 13,440 ounces. The company maintained its production guidance for 2025 at 50,000-55,000 ounces of gold. Julcani's second-quarter silver production decreased 32.3% year over year to 299,697 ounces. Buenaventura sold 282,420 ounces of silver from Julcani in the second quarter. BVN expects the 2025 silver production to be 1.5-1.8 million ounces from the Julcani mine. BVN Stock Price Performance Shares of Buenaventura have gained 5% in the past year compared with the industry 's 10.7% growth. Buenaventura's Zacks Rank BVN currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Performances of Other Mining Stocks Fortuna Mining Corp. FSM produced 71,229 gold-equivalent ounces from ongoing operations in the second quarter of 2025, a 0.2% decrease from the year-ago quarter. However, the reported figure marked an increase of 1.2% from the first quarter of 2025. This includes a gold production of 61,736 ounces, which increased 10.2% year over year. Post the sale of the Yaramoko mine in May 2025, the company updated its 2025 outlook. The company expects gold-equivalent production of 309,000-339,000 ounces for 2025, down from the prior stated 380,000-422,000 ounces. First Majestic Silver Corp. AG announced that its total production reached 7.9 million AgEq ounces in the second quarter of 2025. The figure includes 3.7 million silver ounces and 33,865 gold ounces. The AgEq ounces produced marked a solid 48% year-over-year increase, attributed to a 76% surge in silver production. In January 2025, First Majestic completed the acquisition of Gatos Silver, Inc., gaining a 70% interest in the high-quality and long-life Cerro Los Gatos Silver underground mine. This deal solidified AG's position as an intermediate primary silver producer. Total silver production in the second quarter included a contribution of 1.5 million ounces from Cerro Los Gatos. Endeavour Silver Corporation EXK produced 2.5 million silver-equivalent ounces (AgEq) in the second quarter of 2025. This reflected a 17% increase from the year-ago quarter, driven by the addition of the Kolpa operation in May 2025. Consolidated silver production was up 13% year over year to 1,483,736 ounces. Excluding production from Kolpa, consolidated silver production in the second quarter was down 16% year over year. One Big Gain, Every Trading Day To help you take full advantage of this market, you're invited to access every stock recommendation in all our private portfolios - for just $1. Zacks private portfolio services that closed 256 double and triple-digit winners in 2024 alone. That's about one big gain every day the market was open. Of course, not all our picks are winners, but members have seen recent gains as high as +627% +1,340%, and +1,708%. Imagine how much you could profit with a steady stream of real-time picks from all our services that cover a number of strategies to suit a variety of investing and trading styles. See Stocks Now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Fortuna Mining Corp. (FSM): Free Stock Analysis Report First Majestic Silver Corp. (AG): Free Stock Analysis Report
Reuters
6 days ago
- Science
- Reuters
Earthquake of magnitude 5.7 strikes Chile, GFZ says
July 17 (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Chile on Thursday, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said. The quake was at a depth of 49 km (30.45 miles), GFZ said.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Mining companies are pumping seawater into the driest place on Earth. But has the damage been done?
Vast pipelines cross the endless dunes of northern Chile, pumping seawater up to an altitude of more than 3,000 metres in the Andes mountains to the Escondida mine, the world's largest copper producer. The mine's owners say sourcing water directly from the sea, instead of relying on local reservoirs, could help preserve regional water resources. Yet, this is not the perception of Sergio Cubillos, leader of the Indigenous community Lickanantay de Peine. Cubillos and his fellow activists believe that the mining industry is helping to degrade the region's meagre water resources, as Chile continues to be ravaged by a mega-drought that has plagued the country for 15 years. They also fear that the use of desalinated seawater cannot make up for the devastation of the northern Atacama region's sensitive water ecosystem and local livelihoods. Water extraction has caused water table levels to drop, endangering springs, wetlands and surface water sources that support biodiversity and are vital for local crops and livestock. 'Several wetlands have dried up completely, and the vegetation has diminished considerably,' says Cubillos. The community of Peine lies within a salt flat, where a delicate ecological balance makes the region highly vulnerable to any changes in climate. Cubillos says mining has exacerbated the effects of the climate crisis, severely depleting the community's groundwater reserves. 'The mining activity has made the area unsuitable for cattle grazing.' The mega-drought is considered the most prolonged and widespread in a century, and the local population and mining companies are fighting for the right to water in the Atacama desert, the driest place on Earth, where the world's largest copper and lithium deposits are located. The lack of rainfall has had profound effects on Chile's water resources, agriculture and ecosystems and is severely depleting its freshwater reserves in the Atacama region. Even mining operations have occasionally been forced to stop due to water shortages. In December, Escondida's majority owner, the Australian mining firm BHP, the US-based Albemarle and Chilean firm Zaldívar were ordered to pay an unprecedented $47m fine (£34.5m) for depleting the Monturaqui-Negrillar-Tilopozo aquifer and damaging surrounding vegetation. The environmental court of Antofagasta ruled that the damage caused by the three companies 'negatively affects the Indigenous community of Peine, altering their systems of life and traditions'. It ruled that the companies had exceeded the legally permitted limits on groundwater extraction, resulting in a decline of the water table by more than 25cm – an unsustainable amount for the salt flat ecosystem, according to the court. Chile's water authority had already raised concerns in 2018 over Escondida's water extraction. In 2022 Escondida appealed an $8.4m fine for non-compliance over this issue, but it was rejected. The environmental court's decision came after a negotiated agreement between the Indigenous community, the Chilean government and the companies involved. The fines are earmarked for environmental remediation, which in some cases includes investment in desalination. The mining sector is increasingly turning to the sea. About 30% of the water used by Chile's mines now comes from seawater – desalinated or untreated – according to the national mining association. BHP says it has invested $4bn (£2.94bn) in desalination infrastructure in recent years. As a result, the company says, it ceased extracting water from the Peine wetland in 2019. Its desalination plant in the coastal city of Coloso, about 170km (105 miles) from the mine, is the largest in Chile by capacity. 'The company's first desalination plant opened in 2006, underscoring our pioneering role in the mining sector,' BHP says. Albemarle has also told the Guardian that it no longer uses groundwater from the reserve in its operations. 'While our company has never been a major water user in the area, this step is part of our long-term sustainability efforts on the Atacama salt flat,' the company's communications manager says. Albemarle has further clarified that the use of seawater to remediate environmental damage is not included in the formal agreement by the court, though its website highlights ongoing investments in desalination. Zaldívar has declined to comment. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Cubillos, who took part in the negotiations, acknowledges the shift. 'It's positive that companies have stopped exploiting groundwater reserves,' he says. 'However, the desalinated water does not reach our lands.' The three companies that the court found responsible for depleting Peine's groundwater produce roughly half of Chile's copper and a third of its lithium. Mining accounts for about a fifth of Chile's gross domestic product, and minerals – particularly copper and lithium, which are essential for the global green transition – are the country's main exports. Chile supplies about 13% of the copper and 80% of the lithium carbonate and refined lithium imported into the EU. Lithium is critical for electric vehicle batteries, while copper underpins most renewable energy technologies and infrastructure. The global green transition is projected to substantially increase demand for copper and lithium. For Chile, this implies escalating water requirements for mining operations. Despite advances in desalination, mining remains a major consumer of fresh water, accounting for about 50% of regional reserves in the north. Chile's ministry of mining projects that total consumption of water will go up by about 20% by 2034. Desalination and transporting seawater inland also come with environmental costs. These are energy-intensive processes, and studies forecast that CO2 emissions from Chile's desalination plants could reach up to about 700,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually by 2030 – about the same as Antigua and Barbuda. Only a small share of these plants operate on renewable energy, according to Sebastián Herrera-León, an assistant professor at the University of O'Higgins. 'Currently, desalination plants in Chile are powered by the national grid, which draws from both fossil fuels and renewables,' he says. He identifies two ways forward: either desalination plants must integrate dedicated renewable energy sources, or the national energy grid must complete its transition to renewables. Desalination may also transfer environmental risks from the desert to the ocean. In Antofagasta, a coastal town in northern Chile near where Escondida's desalination plant and port are located, local fishers have already noticed changes. 'Fish populations are dying. Escondida's port has long polluted the sea, and the desalination plant makes things worse,' says fisher Nelson Fornerod Gutiérrez, 82. Marine biologist Elizabeth Soto of the NGO Terram says that brine discharge from desalination poses a threat to aquatic biodiversity. 'Improved spatial planning is essential for desalination plant siting. Constructing facilities along the entire coastline without accounting for environmental impacts is unsustainable,' she says. Mining companies own 17 of Chile's 24 operational desalination plants, with more planned along the Pacific coast. About 75% of the country's desalination capacity serves the mining sector. While desalinated seawater has eased pressure on dwindling inland sources, the Indigenous community of Peine remains wary. The damage may already be irreversible, they fear, damaging the salt flats and their waters, which are as vital as they are sacred to the Lickanantay people. 'We continue to resist mining companies,' says Cubillos, 'to assert that our Indigenous culture and worldview remain alive.'
