Insects project in Mining explorations?

Spacetectonik

Termite ,ants are among those insects which could be used for mining exploration ,what other Insects (or animals)you think could be used and why?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1211095007.htm

Thanks

Darwin123

Because DIG THEY MUST!


Ant hills have been used by prospectors for a long time. Gold, turquoise, and other valuable minerals have been found in the trailing ant leave while building an anthill.

http://www.mine-engineer.com/mining/anthill.htm
“There were anthills near old workings. Ants are known to bring grains of rock up to the surface. So, I got down on my hands and knees to look for blue specks in nearby ant hills. Within thirty minutes I spotted tiny blue grains in one deserted cone-shaped mound about eight inches high. I dug a pit down through the mound. A thin vein of solid turquoise opened up a few feet down. “

http://goldprospectorsnetwork.com/tu...rs....-the-ANT!
“Ant hills can be a good source for prospecting. Ants can dig down 2 to 4 feet, depending on the type of ant. As they dig, they bring up everything they can carry INCLUDING GOLD! Sure, it may be flake or flour gold, but gold nontheless.
Always use caution though, as some ants will "attack" and bite. You do not need to dig the whole thing up unless you find something promising. “

http://wygarnet.blogspot.com/
“The ants in the Green River Basin are gemologists – they know where the good stuff is and find many gem-quality.”

http://www.wsgs.uwyo.edu/public-info...docs/IP-11.pdf
“One of these was a beautiful, 1- to 2-foot long aquamarine from the Anderson Ridge area found by a prospector from Lander. In 1998, approximately 13,000 carats of gem-quality peridot and industrial olivine were recovered from two anthills near Black Rock in the Leucite Hills north of Rock Springs.”

Darwin123

Any animal that digs can help prospectors.

Rodents have been used by prospectors. Many rodents dig underground tunnels. The trailings of rodents often have valuable minerals from underground.


http://books.google.com/books?id=-90...ecting&f=false
“The borings of animals, such as woodchucks, praire dogs and gophers, are according to ‘Mining World’ often help in prospecting for coal, iron and other minerals, sometimes even in the search for precious stones. Coal seams have often been traced for a mile or more on the praire turf by pieces of coal thrown out by prairie dogs, although there were no other visible signs of coal in the vicinity.”


Book store summary on book for using rabbits.
http://www.amazon.com/Cottontail-bio.../dp/B00070XW08
“Cottontail rabbit scat as a biogeochemical prospecting tool in arid desert environments (Open-file report / Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey)”