![]() The AMS data were stored and pre-processed using an Atmospheric Monitoring Analysis and Database Management system. Methane time series data were retrieved from atmospheric monitoring systems (AMS) of three underground coal mines in the USA. The main objective of this research is to develop a forecasting methodology for methane gas emissions based on time series analysis. Prediction of methane concentrations in underground mines can also contribute towards the successful management of methane gas emissions. Underground coal mines need to monitor methane gas emissions to ensure adequate ventilation is provided to guarantee that methane concentrations remain low under different production and environmental conditions. Methane gas is emitted during both underground and surface coal mining. ![]() Debates about out-of-this-world hype, the limiting factors to access raw materials beyond the Earth, and an immature (high-risk) safety culture for off-Earth extraction, reveal the imperative for multi-actor transformative behavioural change. We conclude that expanding industrial activity by outsourcing of raw materials production is inhibited by the Terrestrial actor. The infancy of prospecting and limited engagement with the realities of terrestrial mining practice suggest that off-Earth extraction is a distant prospect. Visionaries elevate the terrestrial activity of mining to the extra-terrestrial environment in a fantastical Martianist narrative while a counter-Martianist narrative simplifies extra-terrestrial prospecting and extractive challenges. We use a constructivist approach to scrutinise the opportunities for, and impediments to, off-Earth extraction through economic, political, sociological, legal, humanities, geological and engineering philosophies. Visionary narratives are founded on (1) techno-futurism, a linear process of capital accumulation based on innovation (2) techno-optimism, the belief that innovation will solve modern-day challenges without impacting consumption-based lifestyles and (3) expansion of the resource base for economic development. Triggered by a technological innovation cluster in communication/automation/transport for the space industries, it inspires visions of prospecting and inter-planetary travel for economic gains. The out-of-this-world hype cycle describes expectations and realities for extra-terrestrial resource production. This research demonstrates the necessity of embedded flows for criticality assessments and evaluating supply restrictions. imports of niobium embedded within (semi-)finished goods are consumed domestically, most niobium-containing goods manufactured in China are exported, suggesting a supply disruption would affect their economies differently. is import-dependent throughout all stages of the niobium flow cycle including embedded and primary flows, whereas China is only import-dependent on primary niobium. This study presents the first dynamic (2000–2020) niobium flow analysis for two niobium-consuming, net import-dependent countries: the United States (U.S.) and China. ![]() Most niobium-consuming countries are import-dependent on primary stage niobium, meaning traditional material flow analysis, which often excludes critical commodities embedded within products of large-scale industries, would miss important flows in the fabrication and manufacturing stages and underestimate niobium consumption. Niobium, often classified as critical, is typically embedded within steels essential for infrastructure and transportation. ![]() In addition to its preferential use in some low-emission technologies, global demand for niobium has increased because of (1) rising demand from industrializing countries such as China to improve the quality of steels used in infrastructural applications (e.g., Jansto, 2010 He et al., 2015 Patel, 2018), (2) the discovery of new applications in developing or nascent technologies such as superconductors in nuclear fusion reactors and magnetic levitation trains (Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center, 2018, 2019, and (3) the substitution of niobium for vanadium in some HSLA steel applications as a result of price volatility of vanadium relative to that of niobium in recent years (e.g., Renner and Wellmer, 2020 Roskill Information Services Ltd., 2020a). For example, automotive companies have increased implementation of niobium-containing moderate and high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel in modern passenger vehicles (10.5% in 2000 to 19.3% in 2017 Davis and Boundy, 2021), reducing the overall weight of the vehicle and resulting in increased fuel efficiency (and subsequently reduced emissions) while also improving vehicle safety ratings due to the increased strength of the steel (Heisterkamp and Carneiro, 2001 Olsson et al., 2006 Jansto, 2010).
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