Voluntary organizations and society–military relations in contemporary Russia

The 2014 crisis in Ukraine has refocused attention on Russia as a European security actor. Despite showing renewed military capability, compared to the post-Soviet period, Russian society–military relations have remained the same. This relationship (between society and the security organs) provides the key context for assessing security. Analysis of everyday militarization and the role of voluntary organizations (such as DOSAAF [Dobrovol'noe obshchestvo sodeistviya armii, aviatsii i flotu] and Nashi [Molodezhnoe demokraticheskoe antifashistskoe dvizheni]) in supporting the military can provide an important insight into Russian behaviour as a security actor. These organizations generate a pro-military outlook and at the same time provide training and activities, thus contributing to military effectiveness by developing the competency of young people prior to military service as well as increasing public knowledge of military affairs. However, strong support for the military, a lack of independent information, and an absence of a shared vision on how society–military relations should be developed and also represent political challenges in terms of everyday militarization. This dynamic is important for understanding both Russia's security posture and wider security implications for Europe

GeoERA Raw Materials Monograph : the past and the future

ABSTRACT: GeoERA Minerals projects have produced data aimed at supporting Europe’s minerals sector and to assist the European Commission to realise its goals for raw materials. Data has been compiled on mineral occurrences and mineral provinces across Europe, in particular, areas with potential to host Critical Raw Materials. Anecdotal evidence from the minerals sector provides an indication of the likelihood of exploration leading to mine development. For every 1,000 mineral showings examined, only 100 may receive further exploration work and of those 100, only 10 may warrant more detailed sampling either through trenching, drilling or other means and of those 10 only 1 may proceed to an evaluation through a full feasibility study which itself has only 50% chance of being positive. Following this, any project for which a mine proposal is made must undergo a full evaluation and permitting by authorities including full public consultation. The proposal may or may not pass this scrutiny. In terms of a schedule, the generally accepted minimum time frame from discovery to production is 10 years and usually much more, up to 20 years.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A new thermal mineral water from Águas (Penamacor, Central Portugal): Hydrogeochemistry and therapeutic indications

Thermal mineral waters are a potential resource in the local and economic development of a region. The thermal area of Termas das Águas is in the inner region of central Portugal and its grant will enable the exploration and exploitation of this water resource for medical and therapeutic purposes through a thermal medical SPA. In Portugal, the classification and legalization of a thermal unit must provide a natural mineral water resource, recognized by Portuguese Energy and Geology General Directorate and integrated in a concession granted by the Portuguese Government. For this purpose, it will be necessary to have available mineral water, with physico-chemical and microbiological, temporal stability, ensuring water’s high quality. The purpose of a certified mineral water includes a detailed geomorphological, geological and hydrogeological characterization of the survey area, as well as the water's compositional temporal stability. Only after the recognition conferred by the national agency as a natural mineral water, it is possible to start a medical-hydrological study, for this resource. This process follows an experimental period of 3 years, during which it is implemented the different and specific balneotherapy techniques associated with the therapeutic features of the mineral water. A final report, to be submitted to Portuguese General Directorate for Health, will gather the main results and conclusions, regarding the benefits of this natural resource on human health, and allow its inclusion as an official medical thermal SPA in the Portuguese Normative Decrees. The main subject of this research is the geological and hydrogeological characterization of Termas das Águas aquifer, as well as the mineral water quality study (AM4 – well). The main topics for the medical hydrological study, mainly related to rheumatic and respiratory diseases, are also presented to the medical SPA of Termas das Águas.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia(UID/GEO/04683/2013

The Oued Belif Hematite-Rich Breccia: A Miocene Iron Oxide Cu-Au-(U-REE) Deposit in the Nefza Mining District, Tunisia

International audienceThe upper Miocene Oued Belif ring-shaped breccia is located in the Nefza mining district of northern Tunisia, within the internal zone of the collisional Alpine Maghrebide belt. It encloses chaotic Triassic material (evaporites, altered siltites, and pelites) within an extrusive diapiric structure reactivated in a late Miocene nappe emplacement episode. This deep-rooted structure drove the hydrothermal activity that caused the brecciation of the Oued Belif breccia and the emplacement of two generations of shallow felsic magmatism, which, most notably, include a Serravallian granodiorite stock and a Tortonian rhyodacite dome. The inverted cone-shaped matrix-supported Oued Belif breccia comprises clasts of Triassic material and others deriving from the regional substrate, as well as a very small amount of volcanic-related material that suggests a possible phreatomagmatic origin. Fine-grained, low-Ti, Si-Al-rich hematite (>= 20 vol %) is the main matrix mineral, along with rare earth element (REE) minerals (bastnaesite, parisite, and subordinate monazite) and U minerals (uraninite). The Oued Belif breccia is not an economic Cu-Au deposit, although it does possess a distinct geochemical anomaly in mafic (Cu-Co-Au) elements, with local Cu enrichment at depth (from drill core material), as well as in felsic (Bi-W-Sn-U) elements. A multiphase alteration episode (K-Fe-(Mg) metasomatism) responsible for the formation of K-feldspar, Fe phlogopite, Fe muscovite, and tourmaline, with fluorite and barite, predates the Fe-light REE (LREE)-U mineralization. The major brecciation event occurred slightly after this alteration and is coeval with the main iron oxide-LREE-U mineralization event and the emplacement of the Oued Belif rhyodacite intrusion. Hydrothermal mineralizing fluids were hot (>= 540 degrees C), saline and F-CO2-rich brines, possibly with a mixed, basinal (salt-related) and magmatic (alkaline-related) origin. Except for its lack of economic Cu and Au content, the Oued Belif breccia shares most typical attributes of the hematite group of iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits. One may therefore classify it either as an "iron oxide-associated-alkali-altered" (Porter, 2010) or as an "iron oxide uranium" (Skirrow, 2010) mineral system. K-Ar dating of K-feldspar sets the Oued Belif breccia formation at 9.2 +/- 0.25 Ma, which could make it the youngest presently known representative of the iron oxide-associated-alkali-altered-IOCG class of deposits. From a geodynamic viewpoint, the Oued Belif structure fits within a still active collisional belt, even though the Oued Belif breccia was formed in a postcollisional stage. In this respect, Oued Belif differs from most other IOCG deposits, especially from older Proterozoic ones. It nevertheless shares two essential characteristics considered necessary to yield IOCG deposits (Skirrow, 2010), namely a metasomatized subcontinental lithospheric mantle and a lithospheric delamination process. Identifying the Oued Belif breccia as a member of the iron oxide-associated-alkali-altered-IOCG family opens new frontiers within the study of IOCG deposits within the geodynamic environment of collisional belts. Future research in this area should focus particularly on the circum-Mediterranean segment of the Alpine belt

Geochemical signatures of uranium oxides in the Lufilian belt: From unconformity-related to syn-metamorphic uranium deposits during the Pan-African orogenic cycle

International audienceThe Pan-African Lufilian belt (Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo) is known for its world-class copper and cobalt deposits. In addition, the Lufilian Copperbelt hosts several uranium occurrences concentrated within deformed siliciclastic rocks of the basal Neoproterozoic Katanga Supergroup. We report LA-ICPMS and EMP analyses of the rare earth element (REE) and yttrium (Y) abundances (designated as the REY signatures) of uranium oxides from two uranium mineralizing events of the Lufilian belt previously dated at 652 ± 8 Ma and 530 ± 6 Ma by the U–Pb method on uraninite. Uranium oxides dated at ca. 650 Ma from the External fold-and-thrust belt are characterized by (i) bell shape REE patterns centered on middle REE (MREE), (ii) positive europium (Eu) anomalies and (iii) relatively low Y contents. In contrast, uranium oxides dated at ca. 530 Ma from the Domes region are characterized by (i) REE patterns but with a less pronounced light REE (LREE) fractionation, (ii) negative Eu anomalies and (iii) higher Y contents. Moreover, the External fold-and-thrust belt also contains uranium mineralization dated at ca. 530 Ma having the same characteristics as the ca. 530 Ma uranium oxides from the Domes region (a moderately fractionated REE pattern and a negative Eu anomaly). As REY signatures are known to reflect mineralizing processes, the distinct geochemical signatures of the two uranium oxide generations (ca. 650 Ma and ca. 530 Ma) provide meaningful information about the uranium cycle during the Pan-African orogeny. Compared to the REY signatures of the known worldwide uranium deposit types, the REY signature of uranium oxides dated at ca. 650 Ma of the External fold-and-thrust belt is similar to the REE patterns from unconformity-related U deposits (Athabasca in Canada and Kombolgie in Australia). Uranium oxides of the Domes region and some of the External fold-and-thrust belt display similar characteristics to syn-metamorphic U deposit (Mistamisk in Canada). Accordingly, we propose that the two stages of uranium oxide crystallizations within the Lufilian belt, at ca. 650 and ca. 530 Ma, occurred under distinct physico-chemical conditions. The first stage, at ca. 650 Ma, may be related to late diagenesis hydrothermal processes, at the basement/cover interface, with the circulation of highly saline basinal brines linked to evaporites of the Roan Group. This Pan-African unconformity-related uranium deposit is the youngest of this type described to date. The second stage may be connected to metamorphic fluid circulations, at about 530 Ma, during the Lufilian orogeny in the Domes region and also in the External fold-and-thrust belt