mining

by Isabella Grabski figures by Abagail Burrus Your next smartphone might be made of materials from an unlikely source: the deep sea. Our current manufacturing practices are depleting terrestrial deposits of important metals like copper, aluminum, and…

If you’ve ever seen pictures of the California Gold Rush, you might remember images of men sitting by a river pouring water through a grated pan. If they got lucky, they might find a golden nugget or two. Most such prospectors came back…