| | | The U.S. use to throw out silver when mining gold, our mining companies were throwing out rare earth minerals. That is done done.
Mining waste in the US contains billions of dollars of precious metals
By Raquel Brandao
Earth.com staff writer
Across the United States, piles of gray rock sit beside giant open pits. These leftovers from mining look useless, yet they are loaded with metals that modern technology depends on.
A new study finds that just one year of U.S. mine waste holds enough lithium to power about 10 million electric cars, along with large amounts of other scarce metals, according to a recent analysis.
Does China have a defense system like Israel's Iron Beam ? Which is already deployed.
Israel's Iron Beam (Hebrew: Or Eitan, meaning "Eitan's Light") is a high-energy laser weapon system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, designed to intercept short-range threats with minimal collateral damage and at a negligible cost per shot. The system is expected to be fully operational and integrated into the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) air defense array by the end of December 2025.
Key Features and Functionality
Israel's Iron Beam?
Israel's
Iron Beam (Hebrew: Or Eitan, meaning "Eitan's Light") is a high-energy laser weapon system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, designed to intercept short-range threats like rockets, mortars, and drones at a negligible cost per shot.
Key Features
- Function: The Iron Beam is a Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) system that uses a 100-kilowatt, high-energy laser to physically destroy targets by burning through them in seconds.
- Cost-Effective: Its primary advantage is the extremely low cost per interception—just a few dollars in electricity—compared to the tens of thousands of dollars for a single interceptor missile used by the Iron Dome.
- Unlimited Magazine: Unlike missile-based systems, its "magazine" is limited only by its power generation capability, allowing it to handle high-volume, saturation attacks effectively.
- Speed of Light Engagement: The system engages targets at the speed of light, ensuring rapid response times.
- Range: It is designed to be effective from a range of a few hundred meters up to several kilometers (around 10 km).
Role in Israeli Defense
The Iron Beam adds a fifth, innermost layer to Israel's multi-tiered air defense array, which includes the Iron Dome (short-range rockets), David's Sling (medium-range missiles), and the Arrow 2 and 3 systems (long-range ballistic missiles). Its main purpose is to relieve the load on the more expensive missile systems by handling smaller, shorter-range threats.
Operational Status
The system completed its final testing phase in September 2025 and is scheduled to become fully operational and be delivered to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) by the end of December 2025. A lower-powered, scaled-down version (likely the Lite Beam or Iron Beam-M) has already been used in combat scenarios during the ongoing conflict, successfully intercepting dozens of threats, including Hezbollah drones.
Development & International Interest
Developed by Rafael in collaboration with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the technology has also garnered international attention. Rafael has partnered with the U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin to develop a version for the U.S. market. Adverse weather conditions, such as heavy fog or dust, can affect the laser's performance, a limitation that is being addressed with dual-laser systems and advanced optics. |
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