What does e-commerce mean? To me it means I can log on to the Internet and buy things - airline tickets, office supplies, software, computers, cars, soap, household items, and just about anything else I can possibly think of. I can also try to sell anything I want either through a Web page or one of the many on-line auctions (See Personal Computing column, this issue). This business-to-consumer process is becoming familiar and is easy to use - at least at the better sites.

Most on-line transaction for consumer goods is accomplished with credit cards, so if you don’t have one you are out of luck! Any serious e-commerce site provides security so that you have at least some protection for the credit card number that you enter. Verisign offers one of many security schemes used by business-to-consumer sites that offer on-line purchasing (www.verisign.com). A merchant purchases a digital certificate that encrypts and protects sensitive data and transactions.

E-commerce is expected to grow exponentially for the next several years. B2B commerce is expected to grow from $225 million in 2000 to $1.7 trillion in 2003. By 2001, for example, 50% of steel trading is projected to be accomplished on the Internet.

A business to consumer transaction is simple: choose a vendor, select and order, process credit card, and ship. Business to business transactions require much more intensive interactions between the buyer and seller including identifying the products and requirements, sending requests for quotes, purchase orders, setting up credit, preparing fulfillment, arranging shipping, inspections, defining tariffs and customs, preparing invoices, and finally concluding the payments.

Several mineral or and metal trading sites are up and running on the Internet and more are in the wings getting ready for their debut. These trading sites are on-line auctions on a grand scale with much more complexity that you experience on e-bay.

The value of this new business paradigm is the increased efficiency in researching, negotiating, and completing transactions. Trading metals depends on extensive interaction between producer and buyer. Many metals sales are time critical, and the supporting systems need to be able to respond to this and many other factors. Many companies are realizing higher productivity and savings with their metal transactions. The trading sites are structured to offer flexibility to fit how businesses are run.

The trading sites contain information about how they operate and most give examples of the products available for trade and other services they offer such as shipping, insurance, etc. A couple of the sites let you try out a sample transaction without registering. The sites all require you to register and each has its own requirements. When you register as a participating member you are allowed to place listings and submit bids and engage in the private auctions. Non-participating members may be allowed only to view auction results.

The hosting company also will verify your company’s ability or authorization to buy or sell metal and mineral commodities. For example on the Uranium On-Line site, not just anyone can buy and sell uranium, so proof is needed that you are an authorized or licensed uranium products buyer, seller, or trader.

Sellers post offers to sell a commodity and include information such as price, quantity, delivery location, delivery date, payment terms. Bidders make offers, the bid placer evaluates bids and negotiates until a final decision is made. On some sites the buyer and seller do not know the identity of the other until the transaction is complete. On other sites, an invitation list gets the bidders started. The auctions are often held at a specific time (within hours) or may cover several days. When a bid is accepted, the B2B site may handle other services such as certification, financing, insurance and shipping services.

A few of the metal and mineral trading sites are listed. The sites have more detail about what they offer as well as the commodities they handle. The sites also include general information about the commodities, news, current price quotes, stocks and financial information, statistics, and many other resources for aiding the on-line trader.

All these sites are easy to use and packed with information. They all offer free registration, but of course you must be a qualified buyer or seller to actually participate in an auction. Several allow you to be an observer.

This marketplace trades raw materials for the steel industry. They are found at www.coremarkets.com. It offers other services including risk management, insurance, financing, freight forwarding and warehousing. 

The site is owned by New York Nuclear Corporation to auction nuclear fuel in real time. Start at www.uranium.com for general information. The trading URL is www.uraniumonline.com. Even if you are not a registered trader, you can see the list of uranium lots offered and wanted. They also have a list of organizations that regulate nuclear materials. Several organizations are also listed that monitor nuclear safeguards. Besides the usual trading support, this site has a chat room.

This is a marketplace for raw materials through end-use products and can be found at www.metalsite.net.

CopperNet is a portal on copper trading on-line (www.coppernet.com) operated by Pyramid Cyberway Ltd. (PCL), a company dedicated to bringing the global non ferrous industry to the Internet. The site facilitates the copper industry’s migration to Internet technology and is a platform to conduct and optimize business. The online Trading Board enables you to buy and sell copper goods in specific trading sections. It will match buyers and sellers and automatically close deals when the conditions match perfectly.

Tradeum is a subsidiary of VerticalNet, provider of the eMarketplace Suite transaction software. The company provides end-to-end e-commerce solutions targeted at distinct business segments through three Strategic Business Units: Markets, Exchanges, and Solutions.

Oracle exchange is an open, business-to-business e-marketplace in which, using only a standard Web browser, companies can transact business online. Buyers and suppliers can communicate and share information in real time. The applications enable retailers to talk to more suppliers globally, to source products and services. Oracle offers all the products and services for creating, running, supporting, and maintaining global exchanges. An open e-marketplace is provided for Internet-driven supply chains. The platform is based on Oracle 8I, a scaleable and secure database product designed for the rigors of Internet computing. It has built-in applications that ensure privacy and security of data for exchange participants. For more information go to www.oracle.com or www.oracle.com/oramag/marketplace.

Metal Bulletin is a source for information about a variety of metals, but they do not handle on-line commodity transactions. They are found on-line at: www.metbul.com. 

For more information contact MBJ Marketing Department, Park House, Park Terrace, Worcerster Park, Surrey KT4 7HY England. Tel:. +44 (0)20 7827 9977. Fax: +44 (0)20 8337 8943. Email: admin@metalbulletin.com

Info-Mine (www.infomine.com) offers an extensive amount of information about mines, mining companies, suppliers, software, articles, and just about anything else related to the mining industry. In the Suppliers area, you can also see lists of Web sites that provide procurement services, e-procurement (for supplies and equipment), and commodity trading sites. E-procurement sites listed include the following:

Active Assets & Associates Inc.; Baynet; eMinePortal.com; eSASA.com; Freemarkets Inc. (FreeMarkets Asset Exchange); io-mine.com; LowestBid Ltd; Mattrax Ltd; MineDepot.com; MineOnline.com; MinerMarket.com; MineSupplies.com; Mining and Metals Procurement Marketplace; MiningGear.com; MiningXchange Pty Ltd; MRO.com, Inc.; Neville Crosby Inc.; YesResources.com

The commodity trading sites listed include:

Aluminium.com; CopperConcentrate.com; GoldAvenue; IntercontinentalExchange; MetalSite; MetalSpectrum

This site has an extensive equipment catalog and lists conferences, information about active mining projects and the companies who supply them,

VeriSign™ OnSite (www.versisign.com) is a fully integrated Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) managed service designed to secure intranet, extranet, Virtual Private Network (VPN), and e-commerce applications by providing maximum flexibility, performance, and scalability with the highest availability and security.

The OnSite service allows you to cost-effectively establish a robust, customized PKI and Certificate Authority (CA) system for issuing digital certificates. The company provides the needed security for e-commerce sites to handle financial and other sensitive transactions.

Every geologist knows the problem: there’s an incomplete data set - a gold assay has been missed out by the laboratory, or there’s a strange-looking coordinate value, a stratigraphic interval cut out by an unconformity, or a rock-type description has been forgotten. If the data must be stored and processed, something must be done to indicate that these values are missing (whether temporarily or for good). In the bad old (good old) days each program would have its own way of dealing with missing data and its own requirement for coding it. Quite often the solution consisted of inserting a -99 or some such value in place of the absent data item. There are two big problems with this type of solution: first, the difficulty of ensuring that the missing-data code could not be confused with a legitimate data value, and second, the certainty that different programs would require different missing-data codes.

More than 175 leading players in 35 countries are already online and trading. The site is drawing intense global interest among producers, consumers and traders eager to benefit from online efficiencies. Online efficiencies are a powerful draw for buyers and sellers of ferro alloys and bulk ores. Howard Feldman, CEO of CoreMarkets believes the industry is more than ready for a more efficient approach to the buying and selling of ferro alloys and bulk ores. The qualified registrants from more than 175 companies are performing transactions on the site and volume is growing as more sellers and buyers post listings and requests for quotes for available and required materials, respectively.

Selwyn Struck, CEO of National Manganese Mines of South Africa has had great success using the site and the site has opened additional markets as well as enhancing present markets. In addition, CoreMarkets’ local presence helps companies stay on top of new technologies and one step ahead of the competition.

Unlike simple business-to-business industry Web sites, CoreMarkets delivers a neutral, non-aligned trading environment, one designed to extend the reach of all participants by providing frictionless access to trading information. In addition to buying and selling, CoreMarkets offers a complete complement of ancillary services, including financing, risk management, insurance, freight forwarding and warehousing. The company, with offices in China, Israel and South Africa, is headquartered in New York City, and supports strategic partnerships with many of the industries leading participants.

For more information contact CoreMarkets, 174 5^th Ave, New York NY 10010. Phone: 212-807-6200. Or visit the Web site: www.coremarkets.com

Between October 3 through November 2 at the iDesign Online Conference you can choose from over 65 free online seminars covering:

Best practices of Internet-driven design; Business impact of Internet trends; Case studies from leading design firms; "How to" sessions for engineers, architects, designers, GIS and CAD professionals; Live chat with design professionals, industry experts and colleagues

Enviro Data is a comprehensive site data management software for site investigation and remediation. The Field Data Planning and Tracking Module is a new low-cost option to get users started with learning the power and flexibility of the complete system.

Gathering field data is an important component of site investigation and monitoring programs. It is also very time consuming and error prone. Anything that makes this process more efficient and accurate will save a large amount of time and improve the final result, making an immediate improvement in the bottom line.

The Field Module will save time by automating a significant part of the field data gathering process, including planning the sampling event, interacting with field personnel and the laboratory, managing data and sample gathering in the field, helping with the shipping process, tying field and laboratory QC samples to the appropriate field samples (including blind and referee duplicates), and checking for completeness of the data package at the end of the process.

A copy of the software with some of your data loaded into it, plus training for staff, is available for as little as $3995. This introductory offer includes a full license to Enviro Data, one year of maintenance and support, one day of training and one day of data loading assistance. The software can be tried for 90 days risk free.

For more information contact Dave Rich, Geotech Computer Systems, Inc., 7346 S. Alton Way, Suite L, Englewood CO 80112. Phone: 303-740-1999. Fax: 303-740-1990. E-mail: sales@geotech.com. Web: www.geotech.com.

One of the most curious aspects of e-commerce, and the Internet explosion in general, is online auctions. Auctions on the Internet may be the purest form of capitalism practiced today, with buyers and sellers coming together in a central worldwide marketplace, unencumbered by intermediaries and, to a large extent, outside regulation. It encompasses individuals selling to individuals, business selling to individuals, and businesses selling to other businesses.

The most popular Internet auction site is eBay, at http://www.ebay.com, the tenth most trafficked of all Internet sites, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Qualitatively, it's the single best Internet site out there, according to the editors of PC World magazine, who recently evaluated factors such as usefulness, content, ease of use, and the "gee-whiz" quotient.

Two good Web sites where you can arm yourself against online auction fraud are the FTC's "Internet Auctions: A Guide for Buyers and Sellers," available with other useful tips at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menu-internet.htm, and AuctionWatch.com, at http://www.auctionwatch.com. The latter site is a terrific resource about online auctions in general. It provides tips on successful auction strategies, an auction search engine, auction software, news about the online auction world, and discussion groups.

Among the issues explored by AuctionWatch.com is auction addiction. "Addiction" might seem an improbable word here, but only if you haven't experienced the curious phenomenon of online auctions.

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Reid Goldsborough is a syndicated columnist and author of the book Straight Talk About the Information Superhighway. He can be reached at reidgold@netaxs.com or http://members.home.net/reidgold.

The Minerals Information portion of the site has been expanded. Additions include permitted active and inactive mines, including regional mine locations maps, contacts, and other data; geochemistry data; mineral commodity file content listings; information about how to obtain mining permits; list of reports by the NC Minerals Research Laboratory; and links to other sites.

Digital geology maps of the main regions of Indonesia, and of Indonesia as a whole are immediate available on line. The maps are in ArcView and MapInfo formats and were captured from 1:250,000 and 1:100,000 paper maps and represent the most detailed regional geological maps of Indonesia. They are particularly suitable for mineral, coal and petroleum exploration, and investment risk analysis. Orders may only be placed through the website.

This is an on-line, global, centralized marketplace for the aluminum industry. Buyers and sellers can: 

Search for material;  Create bids and offers; Negotiate on multiple terms; Complete transactions; Plug into the new world of aluminum; Minimize cost, time, and paperwork; View market prices as you trade; Attract new business while maintaining existing relationships; Increase cash flow and liquidity via proven trade finance expertise

For more information contact Aluminium.Com, One Penn Plaza Suite 1608, New York, New York. 10119. Phone: 212-736-6550 Fax: 212-268-5945. Toll Free: 1-888-883-5940

These software packages are now available from the WRCS Hydrology & Hydraulics web site. The Surface-Water Modeling System is a comprehensive graphical user environment for 2-dimensional numerical modeling. SMS provides tools for mesh and grid generation, data interpolation and graphical visualization. A free copy of a demo version can be obtained by download from http://www.waterengr.com/SMS/index.htm.

The Watershed Modeling System (WMS) is a comprehensive environment for hydrologic analysis. WMS merges information obtained from terrain models and GIS with industry standard lumped parameter hydrologic analysis models such as HEC-1, TR-20 and TR-55, The Rational Method, NFF and HSPF. WMS provides tools for watershed delineation, hydrologic model development, importing/exporting GIS feature objects and graphical terrain visualization. A free copy of a demo version can be obtained by download from http://www.waterengr.com/WMS/index.htm.

For more information contact Rick Van Bruggen, M.S., P.E. Water Resources Consulting Services, (415) 865-9727 or (800) 656-3431 (US)

The CARIS 2000 Users’ Conference and Educational Sessions (October 24th and 25^th) will be an international event. The conference will run October 26th and 27th. Delegates are registered from Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Iceland, India, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, United States.

For more information contact CARIS, 264 Rookwood Ave. Fredericton, NB E3B 2M2 Canada. Phone: 1.506.458.8533. (English/French/Spanish) Fax: 1.506.459.3849 The latest details are available at www.caris.com.

Stop by booth 6056 at MINExpo to see Maptek's revolutionary I-SiTE 3D Laser Imaging System showcased for the first time in North America. In addition to demonstrating the VULCAN software and Chronos scheduling packages, Maptek will introduce the I-SiTE system at the Las Vegas show taking place October 9-12, 2000.

The I-SiTE system is a new means of collecting 3D information quickly and directly from any large scale environment. The system accurately records the location of features and surfaces in areas such as urban and industrial settings and mine sites, both surface and underground. Points sampled from the scene are used to build a data set which is a complete 3D rendering of the scene. By interactively viewing the data using the built-in software, it is possible to see the scene in ways that would not usually be possible.

For more information, email reception@adelaide.maptek.com.au or visit www.maptek.com.au/isite.

Precision Blasting has upgraded the Pattern Designer program to version 5, which can run on the fastest computers. The program can calculate blasthole firing times and takes into account blasting cap tolerance. It automatically checks for overlaps in firing times as well as the probability that these will occur for square or staggered drilled patterns. The use of this software will reduce or eliminate problems with ground vibration and flyrock.

For more information contact Dr. Konya, Precision Blasting Services, P.O. Box 189A, Montville OH 44064. 440-474-6700. Fax: 440-968-3967. E-mail: info@idc-pbs.com. A free demonstration program can be downloaded from www.idc-pbs.com.

Geosoft’s WHOLEPLOT™ Drillhole Plotting application for the OASIS montaj™ software platform provides project and field geologists with a cost-effective and comprehensive solution for project set-up and data presentation in both plan and section views.

For more information contact Geosoft Inc., 8th Floor, 85 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ONM5H 2C9 CANADA. Tel: (416) 369-0111 or Toll-free: 1-800-363-MAPS. Fax: (416) 369-9599. e-mail: info@geosoft.com. web site: www.geosoft.com

This is a financial evaluation software package specially designed for the mineral industry providing valuable tools for mining companies, financiers, NGOs and government agencies to investigate thoroughly the financial performance of mining ventures.

For more information contact Eduardo Vale, BAMBURRA Ltda. Caixa Postal 37005, Rio de Janeiro - RJ 22622 970 - Brazil. Tel: +5521 439-8153 / 449-1756. Fax: +5521 439-8168 / 493-2881 Email: Bamburra@highway.com.br

GAEA Technologies new program is available. WinSieve can be used to quickly enter, edit and print grain size analysis and soil classification charts in several standard or custom formats. This program also uses the same Microsoft Access database as the WinLoG and WinFence programs.

Detailed product information is available and a free demo can be downloaded from the web site at: www.gaea.ca. For more information contact Michael Fraser, GAEA Technologies, 44 Canadian Oaks Drive, Whitby, Ontario, L1N 6W8 CANADA. Tel: (905) 725-4487. Fax: (905) 725-9657. Email: mfraser@gaea.ca Web: www.gaea.ca

IMPACTxp is a modular product that allows comprehensive FM solutions to be implemented in a step by step manner. Customers can start with a simple asset register and work order control system and then develop the system to include a Help Desk with optional conference & facility booking. The software can also integrate with Aperture and other GIS solutions providing visual space planning and the ability to interrogate the asset register from site drawings.

For more information contact Charles Pineo, Vice President, SoftSols (North America), Inc. 3404 Doral Lane, Woodstock, GA 30189-6142. Toll Free (800) 895-4224. Telephone (770) 516-7433 Fax: (770) 928-1001. Email NAmerica@impactxp.com Web www.impactxp.com

The VnetPC program is a Windows based program designed to assist personnel in planning underground ventilation layouts. the program will provide detailed listings and graphical representations from data that describes the geometry of the mine network, airway resistance or dimensions, and the location and characteristic curves of fans. 

For more information contact Ian Duckworth, Mine Ventilation Services, Inc., 4946 East Yale Avenue, Suite 103, Fresno, California, 93727. Telephone: (559) 452-0182 Facsimile: (559) 452-0184. Web: www.mvsengineering.com

Gold Corp. just completed an on-line challenge to geologists to help them find another high-grade orebody in their Red Lake Mines area. The exploration drill hole data set was made available on CD and the data set plus more information was also available for downloading. The data set included maps and other graphics generated with the Gemcom software. A motivation for the challenge was so geologists all over the world could benefit from the knowledge gained from the deposit geology and also Gold Corp would benefit from others’ insight and ideas. The submittals are presently being evaluated and winners will be announced on the Web site by late September. For more information visit the Web site www.goldcorpchallenge.com or www.goldcorp.com. The first challenge is complete, but the rumor is that more are planned. Watch the Web site for future announcements.

Version 3.3 of the acQuire exploration and data base software was recently released. The latest Windows version incorporates a number of changes, including a hardware security key. A SQL object has been added to allow the construction of any SQL statement, adding flexibility to the system. Other new features include workspace and hole filters, a sample tool, extended import capability, drill hole and exporters. For more information contact Metech Pty Ltd., P.O. Box 933, Canning Bridge, WA 6153 AUSTRALIA e-mail: metech@metech.com.au. Web: www.acquire.com.au.

Whittle Blending Pit Optimiser and the Whittle Blending Scheduler are new software products for the bulk commodities industry. Watch for more information on these products when the Whittle IPO is completed. The IPO will fund the development and commercialization of the new Whittle software as well as the new on-line services product Whittle Pit Estimator. The new estimator software will provide economic and technical analysis of data from mining projects through the Internet, enabling users ranging from mining analysts to engineers to quickly assess the value of an orebody or mine. For more information contact Whittle Programming, 4^th Floor, 1013 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill 3128 Victoria AUSTRALIA. 61-3 9899 3755. Fax: 61-3 9899 3755. E-mail: info@whittle.com.au. Web: www.whittle.com.au.

A new Scientific Software Group catalog is available. The catalog lists specialty software for hydrology, groundwater flow, and related applications. The software listed includes Visual PEST, a parameter estimation program; Groundwater Modeling System; Watershed Modeling System; Surface Water Modeling System; FEFLOW, a finite element groundwater model; several graphics programs, and others. For more information contact Scientific Software Group, P.O. Box 23041, Washington DC 20026-3041. 703-620-9214. Fax: 703-620-6793. E-mail: info@scisoftware.com. Web: http://www.scisoftware.com.

ESRI will have a booth at MINExpo that will showcase mining solutions developed in ArcView GIS and ArcInfo. Focus programs include precious metals exploration in northern Nevada; quadrangle mapping in central New Mexico; coal mining in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming; bauxite mining in Jamaica; and other projects worldwide. Each day they will award a copy of the ArcView software. They will be hosting several business partners at their booth including Condor Earth Technologies, EarthSoft, Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, and Civil Software Design. Visit their Web site at www.esri.com/industries/mining/mining.html to learn more about using GIS in mining and the earth sciences. Get the latest information about MINExpo at www.nma.org.