Incredible Minerals Today

Nevada teacher digging for 10- million-year-old stickleback fish fossil in diatomaceous earth

It's National Fossil Day and what better way to celebrate than to learn about the amazing fossils found at one of EP Minerals' diatomaceous earth mines. 10-20 million years ago, Northern Nevada was covered by a freshwater lake that was full of stickleback fish - small spiny-rayed fish that lived during the Miocene Epoch. Recently, EP Minerals hosted a group of 40 Nevada teachers at our diatomaceous earth mine quarry to fossil hunt as part of the Nevada Mining Association's Teacher Education program. The program is designed to encourage teachers to incorporate more mining education, geology and Nevada mineral history into their classrooms. Here's a look at the teacher's group at the DE mine and some of their "treasure"-- 10 million year old stickleback fish fossils. 

Beer drinkers across the nation are celebrating today - it's National Beer Lovers Day!

There are more than 4,200 breweries in the United States today ranging in size from industry giants to brew pubs and microbreweries. It’s a great time to remember that the most experienced brewers in the world today use all-natural diatomaceous earth (DE) filter systems to get the finest beer quality, taste and clarity. 

 Diatomaceous earth being mined at EP Minerals' Lovelock, NV mine

Most people know of diatomaceous earth because they use it to filter their swimming pools or for its natural insecticide properties to control insects in their homes or gardens. Biologists know about diatoms, the single-celled plants that form diatomaceous earth, because they are truly the lungs of the earth, in that they produce about ¾ of the world’s new oxygen supply. Materials scientists know about diatom skeletons (called frustules), the tiny, intricate porous opal structures, because they are known to be the strongest naturally-occurring substances.

On August 31, we celebrate National Diatomaceous Earth Day to recognize the diatom and the remarkable substance it creates, diatomaceous earth.

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) filtration systems are the traditional, tried and true, filtration systems that have been used around the world with superior results for over 80 years. About 10 years ago, a new filtration technology, membrane filters, became a filtration option, primarily for the brewing industry.

Here are some of the common questions asked today:

 Hot August Nights car, Reno, NV

Drive anywhere around the Reno, Lake Tahoe, Carson City or Virginia City this week, and you’re going to see some amazing sights. No, I don’t mean the stunning mountains, the beautiful lakes or the bright blue Nevada skies. I’m talking about cars. Lots of them. And they have fins, fender skirts, flames and big engines.

Most people know of diatomaceous earth because it's used to filter beer or wine, for swimming pools, or for its insecticide properties to control insects around homes or in gardens. Biologists know about diatoms, the single-celled plants that form diatomaceous earth, because they are truly the lungs of the earth, in that they produce about ¾ of the world’s new oxygen supply. Materials scientists know about diatom skeletons (called frustules), the tiny, intricate porous opal structures because they are known to be the strongest naturally-occurring substances.

On August 31, we celebrate National Diatomaceous Earth Day to recognize the diatom and the remarkable substance it creates -- diatomaceous earth.

Cork the wine! What did the pilgrims really drink on Thanksgiving?

Diatomaceous earth is truly incredible. Every day we find a new use or application for our DE. This week, UC Riverside engineering professors announced that they're using DE as a source of silica for electric car battery anodes. Hello, Elon Musk and Mr. Panasonic!

Most people who believe in the electric car revolution would agree with this statement: “Batteries that power electric vehicles are expensive and need to be frequently charged, which causes anxiety for consumers and negatively impacts the sale of these vehicles. To improve the adoption of electric vehicles, we need much better batteries.”

 Those are the words of Mihri Ozkan, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of California – Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering. He and his colleague Cengiz Ozkan, a professor of mechanical engineering at UCR, have recently published a paper in the journal Scientific Reports entitled “Carbon-Coated, Diatomite-Derived Nanosilicon as a High Rate Capable Li-ion Battery Anode.”  Mihri Ozkan says, “We believe diatomaceous earth, which is abundant and inexpensive, could be another sustainable source of silicon for battery anodes.”

 Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite

183 years ago today, the famous chemist Alfred Nobel was born in Sweden. You probably know his name because of the Nobel Prize, the highly respected award that is given in the fields of peace, literature, chemistry, economics, physics and medicine. But Nobel is also well-known for something else – dynamite. The material that Nobel mixed with nitroglycerin to form dynamite was diatomaceous earth!

Most people know of diatomaceous earth because they use it to filter their swimming pools or for its natural insecticide properties to control insects in their homes or gardens. Biologists know about diatoms, the single-celled plants that form diatomaceous earth, because they are truly the lungs of the earth, in that they produce about ¾ of the world’s new oxygen supply. Materials scientists know about diatom skeletons (called frustules), the tiny, intricate porous opal structures, because they are known to be the strongest naturally-occurring substances.

On August 31, we celebrate National Diatomaceous Earth Day to recognize the diatom and the remarkable substance it creates, diatomaceous earth.