Category Archives: Data Mining

SSR Mining Announces Positive Exploration Results at the Amisk Gold Property in Saskatchewan – Yahoo Finance

Results Continue to Showcase Prospective Platform in Saskatchewan

DENVER, Dec. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - SSR Mining Inc. (NASDAQ: SSRM) (TSX: SSRM) (ASX: SSR) ("SSR Mining" or the "Company") is pleased to announce positive exploration results from the Amisk Property in Saskatchewan. Amisk is located approximately 140 kilometers southeast of the Seabee operation and Fisher properties and within the prolific Flin Flon mining district (Figure 1). Amisk has many analogous geological features to the Seabee/Fisher trend, and reinterpretation of historical data and field reconnaissance has identified a number of new prospects beyond the existing Amisk deposit. Field sampling and 10 widely spaced exploration diamond drill holes have confirmed the potential of the area with significant positive assay results, including:

Black Diamond

BKD-21-001: 1.51 g/t Au over 6.59 meters from 72.00 meters and 0.84 g/t Au over 9.89 meters from 160.65 meters

BKD-21-002: 1.16 g/t Au over 6.45 meters from 112.39 meters and 6.15 g/t Au over 2.90 meters from 123.64 meters

Grab samples up to 83.98 g/t Au

Monarch

MON-21-002: 1.71 g/t Au over 11.36 meters from 143.03 meters including 6.81 g/t Au over 1.00 meters

MON-21-003: 1.27 g/t Au over 10.57 meters from 142.43 meters including 14.13 g/t over 0.74 meters

Grab samples up to 20.55 g/t Au

Regional Grab Sample Results

Raine-Walker: up to 67.15 g/t Au

TCA: up to 81.59 g/t Au

Oberon: up to 17.30 g/t Au

Victory: up to 138.80 g/t Au

Follow up drilling and field work is planned for 2022, as SSR Mining looks to better define and potentially expand on the prospective greenfield targets identified on the property to-date. Drill programs in 2022 will test new targets along the West Channel trend where prospecting and soil sampling has confirmed significant gold mineralization associated with quartz veins in outcrop. The Amisk team will also continue evaluating regional data to generate new targets for field investigation and potential drilling going forward.

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The recently announced acquisition of Taiga Gold Corp., including the SAM project that expands the Amisk Property by 1,004 hectares, reinforces the Company's commitment to future exploration across the underexplored and highly prospective province of Saskatchewan.

Figure 1. Location of SSR Minings Saskatchewan properties, including the Amisk Property. (CNW Group/SSR Mining Inc.)

The Amisk Property is 100% owned by SSR Mining. Early exploration at Amisk has been encouraging, with results highlighted below from six distinct targets outside of the existing Amisk deposit (Figures 2 and 3).

Figure 2. Outline of the Amisk Property. (CNW Group/SSR Mining Inc.)

Figure 3. Highlighted surface sample results from early exploration at the Amisk Property. (CNW Group/SSR Mining Inc.)

The Black Diamond Target is located along a folded shear zone northwest of the Amisk deposit (Figure 4). Drilling is aimed at testing the continuity at depth of broad gold mineralization identified on surface. Drill intercepts and grab samples at Black Diamond include:

BKD-21-001: 1.51 g/t Au over 6.59 meters from 72.00 meters and 0.84 g/t Au over 9.89 meters from 160.65 meters

BKD-21-002: 1.16 g/t Au over 6.45 meters from 112.39 meters and 6.15 g/t Au over 2.90 meters from 123.64 meters

Grab samples of 83.98 g/t, 41.87 g/t, 30.95 g/t, 21.81 g/t, 21.75 g/t, 20.47 g/t, and 19.03 g/t Au

Figure 4. Highlighted exploration results from the Black Diamond target area. (CNW Group/SSR Mining Inc.)

The West Channel Trend comprises a shear corridor with a defined strike length of > 10 km that hosts several distinct target areas, including Monarch and Victory (Figure 5). The aim of this phase of exploration along the West Channel trend was to prove the continuity of mineralization along strike and to complete an initial phase of drill testing. Drill intercepts and grab samples along the West Channel include:

MON-21-001: 0.26 g/t Au over 3.48 meters from 247.71 meters

MON-21-002: 1.71 g/t Au over 11.36 meters from 143.03 meters including 6.81 g/t Au over 1.00 meters

MON-21-003: 1.27 g/t Au over 10.57 meters from 142.43 meters including 14.13 g/t over 0.74 meters

Grab samples of 20.55 g/t and 14.41 g/t Au from the Monarch target area

Grab samples of 138.80 g/t, 61.56 g/t, 41.15 g/t, 31.10 g/t, 29.39 g/t, 13.00 g/t, 12.85 g/t, 11.87 g/t Au from the Victory target area

Figure 5. Highlighted exploration results from the West Channel trend area. (CNW Group/SSR Mining Inc.)

In addition to the Black Diamond and West Channel trends, SSR Mining continues regional exploration to define and advance targets elsewhere on the property. Select highlights include:

Raine-Walker

TCA

Oberon

Amisk Property, Saskatchewan

During the summer exploration seasons of 2019, 2020 and 2021, SSR Mining executed geological mapping, prospecting and soil sampling programs at the Amisk Property located approximately 140 kilometers southeast of the Seabee operations and Fisher properties (Figure 1). Compilation of historical exploration results indicated the presence of regional-scale shear zones hosting under-explored lode-gold mineralization across the property.

SSR Mining mapped 1,460 hectares during the field programs at a scale of 1:5,000, focusing primarily on the historical gold occurrences associated with regional shear zones. These targets, such as Black Diamond and West Channel, often measure in the tens of kilometers in length and are major structural features. SSR Mining collected 4,253 soil samples at a regional spacing of 100 x 25 meters, with more advanced targets receiving detailed (25 x 10 meters) follow up. SSR Mining prospected and rock sampled along the length of the West Channel and Black Diamond trends resulting in the discovery of dozens of historical trenches and adits dating back to the 1930s.

Soil samples collected in 2020 and 2021 have identified new gold-in-soil anomalies at the TCA target and extended existing anomalies along the Black Diamond and West Channel trends. The combined soil data delineates a pronounced gold-in-soil anomaly at Black Diamond measuring 1,400 by 300 meters with peak values of 945 ppb Au. Along the West Channel the data defines a near continuous gold-in-soil trend between Monarch and Victory that extends 2,600 meters along strike and is up to 450 meters wide with peak values of 13,580 ppb Au. At the TCA target, a gold-in-soil anomaly measuring 750 by 100 meters has been identified with peak values of 1,490 ppb Au.

The most impressive vein system discovered during fieldwork occurs at the Raine-Walker target area. The field teams traced a visible-gold bearing quartz vein with true widths up to 4.5 meters for approximately 400 meters along strike. Assays from grab samples of this vein peaked with 67.2 g/t and 37.5 g/t gold, with other anomalous results from samples occurring along the length of the trend. The Raine-Walker area has seen minimal historical drilling and no drill holes proximal to the high-grade gold occurrences.

SSR Mining initiated its first-ever diamond drill program at the Amisk Property in June 2021 (Table 1). The Black Diamond, Raine-Walker, and Monarch targets were tested by 10 widely spaced, shallow holes totaling 2,250 meters.

Table 1. Select significant mineralized drill hole gold intercepts from the Amisk Property.

Hole ID

From(m)

To(m)

Interval(m)

Gold (g/t)

EOH Depth(m)

Zone

BKD-21-001

72.00

78.59

6.59

1.51

339.00

Black Diamond

And

160.65

170.54

9.89

0.84

339.00

Black Diamond

BKD-21-002

112.39

118.84

6.45

1.16

282.00

Black Diamond

And

123.64

126.54

2.90

6.15

282.00

Black Diamond

MON-21-002

143.03

154.39

11.36

1.71

225.00

Monarch

Including

149.89

150.89

1.00

6.81

225.00

Monarch

MON-21-003

142.43

153.00

10.57

1.27

318.00

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SSR Mining Announces Positive Exploration Results at the Amisk Gold Property in Saskatchewan - Yahoo Finance

Only 10% of the Bitcoin supply left to mine – Cointelegraph

Total circulating Bitcoin (BTC) hit a significant milestone on Monday morning, one and a half years after the last Bitcoin halving, as 90% of the maximum total supply has been mined.

Current data from Blockchain.com shows Bitcoin in circulation hit 18.899 million as of Monday, meaning only 10% of the total supply is left to mine. While the first 90% of BTC took about 12 years to mine, the rest will take a little longer.

Bitcoin has a hard cap of 21 million coins set by its anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. This limitation is written in Bitcoins source code and enforced by network nodes. The hard cap on Bitcoin is critical to its value proposition as a currency and an investment tool.

As detailed by Cointelegraph, it will take 119 years from now to complete the Bitcoin mining process due to the rate of producing new Bitcoin being cut by half every four years in a pre-determined protocol execution, also known as the Bitcoin halving.

Related: The history of Bitcoin: When did Bitcoin start?

Since the Bitcoin blockchain only creates new BTC as a reward for miners verifying new blocks, the halving ensures less Bitcoin is produced as the total circulating supply increases. Since May 2020, miners have earned 6.25 Bitcoin for every new block verified. This rate will decrease to 3.125 BTC per block in the next halving in 2024.

By 2040, the block reward will have reduced to less than 0.2 BTC and only 80,000 Bitcoin out of 21 million will be left up for grabs. The last Bitcoin will take close to 40 years to mine.

Bitcoins price started the week with a fresh rejection of $50,000 as the end-of-year close is fast approaching. It is almost 30% down from its all-time high of $68,789 reached on Nov. 10 at the time of publishing.

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Only 10% of the Bitcoin supply left to mine - Cointelegraph

Anuj Anand: Pushing the Boundaries of the Mining Industry by Leveraging Tech-Based Innovation – Analytics Insight

Engineering and mining companies have faced a growing range of pressures in recent years, including price volatility, the need to drill down deeper to find new resources, and an industry-wide skills shortage. To address these challenges, many mining companies have embraced digital technology to enhance engineering design and developsmart mines. Ausenco is a tech savvy engineering company that delivers innovative, value-add consulting services, project delivery, asset operations and maintenance solutions to the mining and metals, oil and gas, and industrial sectors. The companys experts provide tailored solutions that help clients respond to changes in the market by combining global experience and a flexible approach that is both innovative and cost-efficient.

Anuj Anand is the CIO of Ausenco. He joined the company in 2006 as a graduate engineer and held various roles across engineering design, systems, and innovation. In 2018, he was appointed VP, Technology Services and Solutions and subsequently in 2021, to CIO. In his current role, he leads a global team of IT professionals who support Ausencos 26 offices across 14 countries. Anuj has developed a high level of expertise in the integration of systems and processes with a key concentration on information management. He has spent time in various Ausenco offices deploying new systems and standardizing best practices with a focus on transitioning legacy systems and infrastructure to modern platforms. He tailors change management practices to suit the different cultures across the company.

Anuj explains that his industry experience from working on the floor, as well as at mining sites in the middle of nowhere, gave him key insights and a sound understanding of the nuances and intricacies of a very complicated business. He states, I often tell this story about my first foray into IT. I was challenged to come up with a vision and strategy of how I perceived the industry in 5 years and what we needed to do to get there. He confesses that not coming from the IT space and not having a background in the sector was bound to make this a challenge. Anuj was given three months to gain an understanding of the situation and then present it to the CIO and CTO at that time. After spending almost a month trying to understand the lay of the land and interviewing the IT team, he thought he had come up with a brilliant strategy and set a time to present to the C-suite. He was thrilled that he had completed the task in six weeks -rather than the allotted three months. However, it didnt go well and the presentation ended with the words Anuj, how about you take the time to rethink this and present it to us again in three months time? This experience taught him a lot. Anuj believes that the only time one actually fails is when one chooses to believe so. During this experience, he received a lot of constructive feedback and excellent commentary. He presented again three months later after doing extensive research and in corporating the feedback he had received. And as they say,the rest is history in the making of a Top 10 CIO.

From an achievement perspective, Anuj believes that Ausenco has realized multiple tangible successes in cost savings and in infrastructure upgrades. However, for Anuj, the biggest success the team has achieved to-date, is changing the corporate culture to appreciate that IT is not just a behind-the-keyboard cost centre, but rather a partner that drives improvement, efficiency, and collaboration. Anuj feels that cultural change is often the hardest to enact, but that it can be the most rewarding.He talks about his passion for sport and how he learned about leadership following successful sports teams. One of his favourite quotes is by James Kerr, author of Legacy, and one of the most successful New Zealand All Blacks (rugby) coaches Create the highest possible operating standards, develop the character of your players, develop the culture of your team and, The Score Takes Care of Itself.He has seen this play out with in his team at Ausenco.

Talking about challenges, Anuj notes that the industry was going through a transition when he became CIO, and managing this transition was demanding.Looking to the future, Ausenco decided to make new investments in technology. Planning and experience were paramount to the success of this project, as the company needed to not only upgrade the older technology, but to also select the technology that would still be relevant in five years.Navigating the various technologies and choosing the right ones was challenging but during those five years, the company made the best choices possible and has developed excellent relationships and partnerships with key players in the technology space.

According to Anuj, learning on the floor and directly experiencing how things are done, is critical to understanding how a new system, or an innovative process, will effect change. This understanding has helped him communicate his messages clearly and engage his co-workers in embracing the solutions that help solve their problems Most importantly, these changes arent made to just keep up with technology, but are made to have a material impact on the business.

Anuj discusses how cyber security is also a critical challenge for CIOs, and that ensuring they can keep the crown jewels safe, is no easy task. As technology advances, it has become easier for bad actors to also use technology to try and breach perimeters. Its definitely something that the CIO is concerned with and where we have to continually invest to constantly strengthen security says Anuj.

Anuj agrees that AI has been a very interesting development in the modern world. Ausenco has partnered with market leaders in the space to bring AI into their workplace and to use AI to address critical business problems in order to be more efficient. They are also looking to be a leader in this space. He mentions that the company has already kicked off three projects in the AI space and has six more waiting in the wings. These projects, and the investment required, have developed through collaboration with key stakeholders and leaders in the business and will reach fruition next year. The company has also moved further with big data. Most organizations have copious amounts of data that may or may not be used or accessed effectively. Newer technologies have made it possible to bring this all together whether in a data lake or a warehouse and get the right data to the right people at the right time with the simple click of a few buttons. Anuj further adds that the company has also ensured that its new tools and systems have a robust data plan in place that will allow gathering the data together in a simple fashion, whether through APIs or other means.

Anuj believes that both the mining and metals, and energy sectors are ripe for disruption. He highlights that they have not always been quick to change,but today with advances in technology such as IoT and AI, these industries are likely to accelerate the adoption of new technologies and change the status quo.

According to Anuj, every CIO and leader, should foremost have a high level of emotional intelligence (EI).A high EI leads to trust, helps build relationships, reduces conflict and stress in a team, improves productivity and incorporates good communication. Empathy is one of the components of EI and is critical to managing and developing a strong team as well as for building relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.

For Anuj, creativity or innovation is the next must-have attribute of a CIO. He saysThere needs to be the innate ability to challenge the status quo and Find a Better Way (Ausencos purpose).This needs to be constant, he argues. Without this attribute and open-mindedness, CIOs will find themselves constantly challenged, claims Anuj. No one will know everything about everything so it is important to continue to learn and leverage ones skills and those around you. He refers to this as the start-up mindset but advises approaching this with a level of humility that is often missing in start-up culture.

For Anuj, the third key attribute of a CIO is to be a change manager. The only thing that is constant in his line of work (IT) is change. As CIO, once a project is underway, it is about staying consistent with the change and being able to navigate what may be a complicated path. Change is never easy as it involves an element of disruption that not everyone is comfortable with.Possessing strong EI and change management skills helps the implementation go a lot smoother. He emphasises that being a change manager takes excellent project management and planning skills.

Anuj also believes that CIOs need to be data stewards to excel at their work. This is where leaders need to understand the data,andbe able to translate the technical data and information into a language that is easily understood by the board and C-Suite. In addition, the CIO must be able to pull various sources of organizational and business data together to make it more useful across business groups.

For future CIOs, Anuj advises, Stay open to new experiences and keep learning. Always say yes to challenges no matter how daunting they seem at the time. Its pressure that makes diamonds. There is only so much that books can teach you, everything else you will learn from experience and other peoples experiences stay open to them.

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Anuj Anand: Pushing the Boundaries of the Mining Industry by Leveraging Tech-Based Innovation - Analytics Insight

Shooting threats and rumors have schools under pressure, and parents and students on edge – The Philadelphia Inquirer

Parents in the Penn-Delco School District flooded Sun Valley High School with phone calls Tuesday and rushed to pick up their children as rumors spread that something violent might happen.

In Bristol Borough, three students were arrested last week for making three shooting threats in as many days, causing school closings, early dismissals, and heightened anxiety among parents and students.

And on Friday in Cheltenham, the high schools principal informed parents that police were investigating a message on a bathroom stall threatening a school shooting on Dec. 17. A week earlier, the district had brought in police after discovering a social media post depicting the high schools floor plan with circled exits.

Such scenes have been playing out across the Philadelphia region and nationally. Schools are chasing a stream of threats many fueled by social media that often dont materialize. But in the process, students and parents are left on edge, unsure how to feel about attending school.

These are teenagers. They know what happened at Oxford, said Amanda Scott, a parent in the Penn-Delco district, referring to the recent school shootings in Michigan. Her husband rushed to pick up their son from Sun Valley High after he texted during a lock-in Tuesday that there was a possible shooting threat and he wanted to go home.

Ten minutes go by, 15 minutes go by theyre like, Is this the one? Scott said.

School administrators see a variety of reasons for the recent wave of threats, the reports made by students, and the panic that followed: A heightened reliance on social media. Fear in the wake of the Michigan shootings and determination not to let a similar tragedy happen here. And social and emotional needs that may have gone unmet during the disruption of the pandemic.

Dewey Cornell, a forensic clinical psychologist and University of Virginia professor whose Student Threat Assessment Protocol is used widely in the United States and Canada, said hes hearing from districts around the country that theres been a surge of student threats, many of them coming from social media and possibly part of a contagion effect of copycat threats following a highly publicized incident.

But he sees a problem that was present before the Michigan shootings: A general increase in student anxiety, distress, and misbehavior in school, said Cornell, who directs the Youth Violence Project at the University of Virginia. We also have schoolteachers and counselors who are understandably fatigued, short-handed, and less able to respond to student challenges. Schools are under tremendous strain.

In Philadelphia, where children are living amid a gun violence crisis, the School District has used its threat assessment protocol more than 50 times so far this year. Thats a lot, even for a large school system like Philadelphias, said Kevin Bethel, chief safety officer for the district.

On Monday, the districts Carver High School of Engineering and Science locked down after someone posted a photo of multiple guns on Instagram and promised to shoot up carver high school on Norris st and berks today at 2:00. District safety personnel, Philadelphia police, and investigators from the polices homeland security department who are trained in data mining all responded. No shooting happened.

With social media so prevalent among children and a lifeline for many in Philadelphia and other school systems where children learned virtually for a year or more that does create a challenge, particularly for law enforcement and school safety and school leaders, Bethel said. Theres so much activity.

Word of threats sometimes spreads faster on social media than schools have been able to respond. Some students at West Chester East High School stayed home Wednesday after awakening to text messages and social media posts warning of a threat at the school. Others asked parents to pick them up early.

The warning stemmed from a social media post by a student the night before, announcing a legal threat against the school. Police investigated and determined overnight that it wasnt violent.

But you put the words school and threat together, and it took on a life of its own, said Superintendent Bob Sokolowski, whose district investigated two more threats last week: a message in a bathroom stall at Peirce Middle School discovered later Wednesday, and reports Thursday night of a student planning to bring a weapon to Rustin High School. Both were unfounded.

He said he understood the impulse to report. Parents and students are concerned right now: Is my school going to drop the ball?

In Penn-Delco, Superintendent George Steinhoff said he saw a culmination of the trend thats happening around the country last week: On Monday, the high school was disturbed by students fighting in the hallways, in a scene that was later widely viewed on social media. Then on Tuesday morning, a student came forward to report that she had seen a written threat the day before.

The district immediately began investigating and went into lockdown. The threat ended up not being credible, but there was just enough time for students to begin to worry, Steinhoff said. With so many students texting their parents and leaving, the high school ended up dismissing early.

In some ways, its an incident that was created from essentially a non-incident, Steinhoff said. Its a sign of how the heightened anxiety of students right now can make these situations much more difficult to handle.

Scott, the Penn-Delco parent, felt the school had unfairly blamed students for turning to text conversations or social media when they heard rumors of a threat.

The one time something happens that would be devastating, Scott said.

Steinhoff said there was a fine line between making sure youre supporting students while also trying to maintain order. He plans to hold a webinar for parents Monday and also wants to hear from students about their needs.

Theres no question that this national crisis in adolescent mental health is manifesting itself in schools, he said.

This fall, Upper Darby schools have imposed only one actual lockdown, which involves darkening lights and can only be lifted by police, Superintendent Dan McGarry said. But lock-outs or lock-ins that either restrict outside access to the school or keep students from moving between classrooms have been more frequent. The high school, for instance, briefly went on lock-in Friday after a message was sent to a printer located in the school about causing harm to the school, district officials said. Police determined it was not an immediate threat.

Earlier Friday, the district informed the community that a social media post circulating among students with the words HHS Shooting written in a bathroom referred to a district in another state. The high school was also on lock-in Thursday after a student showed administrators a social media post with a picture of a person holding a weapon and making a threat toward the student.

Assessing the various threats is not as simple as people want to make it out to be, in particular with social media, McGarry said, where it might not be clear when or where a photo was taken.

McGarry said Upper Darby is holding trainings and also disciplining students involved in making threats to the fullest extent.

In Bristol Borough, police filed criminal charges against all three students who made threats last week two high school students and a sixth grader even though the students didnt have access to firearms.

Kids just want to feel safe when they come to school to learn, said Bristol Borough Police Sgt. Joseph Moors. I want the parents and students to know that people will be held accountable for their actions.

Still, administrators see challenges: Social media isnt going away. And schools have to get to the root of issues driving some students to make threats, said Bethel, the Philadelphia safety officer.

Whether we arrest them or not, he or she is not going to be expelled from the system, he said. We have to be able to do the long-term management of the childs mental health.

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Shooting threats and rumors have schools under pressure, and parents and students on edge - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Global Process Mining Software Market Analysis Report 2021-2028: Increasing Investments in Digital Optimization & Transformation and Integration…

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Process Mining Software Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Component (Software, Services), by Deployment, by Application, by Industry Vertical, by Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global process mining software market size is estimated to reach over USD 7.95 billion by 2028 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 50.1% from 2021 to 2028

The increasing awareness about the need to understand and analyze business processes driven by digital transformation is one of the key factors driving market growth. Additionally, the constant increase in data volumes across industries is driving the demand for process mining software and services.

Restrictions imposed on global imports and exports amid the COVID-19 pandemic hampered the operations of industries such as transportation, logistics, and manufacturing. The resultant shortage of resources encouraged businesses to seek new opportunities for cloud-based solutions and adopt automation technologies.

Process mining software combines Business Intelligence (BI), analytics, automation, critical change agents, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) functions to help enterprises bridge the gap in siloed data scattered across various business processes. Process mining also assists organizations in discovering and fixing the inadequacies impeding the performance of business processes.

The market has also benefitted from the high volumes of data and the growing need to generate insights from data distributed across enterprises. Businesses are in desperate need of tools that can enable efficient data processing and data mapping. This, in turn, is boosting the demand for process mining software solutions that offer features such as automated process mapping and fact-based insights.

Process Mining Software Market Report Highlights

Market Variables, Trends & Scope

Market Driver Analysis

Market Restraint/Challenge Analysis

Market Opportunity Analysis

Market Lineage Outlook

Penetration & Growth Prospect Mapping

Porter's Five Forces Analysis

Pest Analysis

COVID-19 Impact on Process Mining Software Market

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/bs2vnb

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Global Process Mining Software Market Analysis Report 2021-2028: Increasing Investments in Digital Optimization & Transformation and Integration...

Data Mining in Business Analytics – Online College | WGU

Simply put, data mining is the process that companies use to turn raw data into useful information. They utilize software to look for patterns in large batches of data so they can learn more about customers. It pulls out information from data sets and compares it to help the business make decisions. This eventually helps them to develop strategies, increase sales, market effectively, and more.

Data mining sometimes gets confused with machine learning and data analysis, but these terms are all very different and unique.

While both data mining and machine learning use patterns and analytics, data mining looks for patterns that already exist in data, while machine learning goes beyond to predict future outcomes based on the data. In data mining, the rules or patterns arent known from the start. In many cases of machine learning, the machine is given a rule or variable to understand the data. Additionally data mining relies on human intervention and decisions, but machine learning is meant to be started by a human and then learn on its own. There is quite a bit of overlap between data mining and machine learning, machine learning processes are often utilized in data mining in order to automate those processes.

Similarly data analysis and data mining arent interchangeable terms. Data mining is used in data analytics, but they arent the same. Data mining is the process of getting the information from large data sets, and data analytics is when companies take this information and dive into it to learn more. Data analysis involves inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data. The ultimate goal of analysis is discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and making decisions.

Data mining, data analysis, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and many other terms are all combined in business intelligence processes that help a company or organization make decisions and learn more about their customers and potential outcomes.

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Data Mining in Business Analytics - Online College | WGU

Data Mining – Applications & Trends

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Data mining is widely used in diverse areas. There are a number of commercial data mining system available today and yet there are many challenges in this field. In this tutorial, we will discuss the applications and the trend of data mining.

Here is the list of areas where data mining is widely used

The financial data in banking and financial industry is generally reliable and of high quality which facilitates systematic data analysis and data mining. Some of the typical cases are as follows

Design and construction of data warehouses for multidimensional data analysis and data mining.

Loan payment prediction and customer credit policy analysis.

Classification and clustering of customers for targeted marketing.

Detection of money laundering and other financial crimes.

Data Mining has its great application in Retail Industry because it collects large amount of data from on sales, customer purchasing history, goods transportation, consumption and services. It is natural that the quantity of data collected will continue to expand rapidly because of the increasing ease, availability and popularity of the web.

Data mining in retail industry helps in identifying customer buying patterns and trends that lead to improved quality of customer service and good customer retention and satisfaction. Here is the list of examples of data mining in the retail industry

Design and Construction of data warehouses based on the benefits of data mining.

Multidimensional analysis of sales, customers, products, time and region.

Analysis of effectiveness of sales campaigns.

Customer Retention.

Product recommendation and cross-referencing of items.

Today the telecommunication industry is one of the most emerging industries providing various services such as fax, pager, cellular phone, internet messenger, images, e-mail, web data transmission, etc. Due to the development of new computer and communication technologies, the telecommunication industry is rapidly expanding. This is the reason why data mining is become very important to help and understand the business.

Data mining in telecommunication industry helps in identifying the telecommunication patterns, catch fraudulent activities, make better use of resource, and improve quality of service. Here is the list of examples for which data mining improves telecommunication services

Multidimensional Analysis of Telecommunication data.

Fraudulent pattern analysis.

Identification of unusual patterns.

Multidimensional association and sequential patterns analysis.

Mobile Telecommunication services.

Use of visualization tools in telecommunication data analysis.

In recent times, we have seen a tremendous growth in the field of biology such as genomics, proteomics, functional Genomics and biomedical research. Biological data mining is a very important part of Bioinformatics. Following are the aspects in which data mining contributes for biological data analysis

Semantic integration of heterogeneous, distributed genomic and proteomic databases.

Alignment, indexing, similarity search and comparative analysis multiple nucleotide sequences.

Discovery of structural patterns and analysis of genetic networks and protein pathways.

Association and path analysis.

Visualization tools in genetic data analysis.

The applications discussed above tend to handle relatively small and homogeneous data sets for which the statistical techniques are appropriate. Huge amount of data have been collected from scientific domains such as geosciences, astronomy, etc. A large amount of data sets is being generated because of the fast numerical simulations in various fields such as climate and ecosystem modeling, chemical engineering, fluid dynamics, etc. Following are the applications of data mining in the field of Scientific Applications

Intrusion refers to any kind of action that threatens integrity, confidentiality, or the availability of network resources. In this world of connectivity, security has become the major issue. With increased usage of internet and availability of the tools and tricks for intruding and attacking network prompted intrusion detection to become a critical component of network administration. Here is the list of areas in which data mining technology may be applied for intrusion detection

Development of data mining algorithm for intrusion detection.

Association and correlation analysis, aggregation to help select and build discriminating attributes.

Analysis of Stream data.

Distributed data mining.

Visualization and query tools.

There are many data mining system products and domain specific data mining applications. The new data mining systems and applications are being added to the previous systems. Also, efforts are being made to standardize data mining languages.

The selection of a data mining system depends on the following features

Data Types The data mining system may handle formatted text, record-based data, and relational data. The data could also be in ASCII text, relational database data or data warehouse data. Therefore, we should check what exact format the data mining system can handle.

System Issues We must consider the compatibility of a data mining system with different operating systems. One data mining system may run on only one operating system or on several. There are also data mining systems that provide web-based user interfaces and allow XML data as input.

Data Sources Data sources refer to the data formats in which data mining system will operate. Some data mining system may work only on ASCII text files while others on multiple relational sources. Data mining system should also support ODBC connections or OLE DB for ODBC connections.

Data Mining functions and methodologies There are some data mining systems that provide only one data mining function such as classification while some provides multiple data mining functions such as concept description, discovery-driven OLAP analysis, association mining, linkage analysis, statistical analysis, classification, prediction, clustering, outlier analysis, similarity search, etc.

Coupling data mining with databases or data warehouse systems Data mining systems need to be coupled with a database or a data warehouse system. The coupled components are integrated into a uniform information processing environment. Here are the types of coupling listed below

Scalability There are two scalability issues in data mining

Row (Database size) Scalability A data mining system is considered as row scalable when the number or rows are enlarged 10 times. It takes no more than 10 times to execute a query.

Column (Dimension) Salability A data mining system is considered as column scalable if the mining query execution time increases linearly with the number of columns.

Visualization Tools Visualization in data mining can be categorized as follows

Data Mining query language and graphical user interface An easy-to-use graphical user interface is important to promote user-guided, interactive data mining. Unlike relational database systems, data mining systems do not share underlying data mining query language.

Data mining concepts are still evolving and here are the latest trends that we get to see in this field

Application Exploration.

Scalable and interactive data mining methods.

Integration of data mining with database systems, data warehouse systems and web database systems.

SStandardization of data mining query language.

Visual data mining.

New methods for mining complex types of data.

Biological data mining.

Data mining and software engineering.

Web mining.

Distributed data mining.

Real time data mining.

Multi database data mining.

Privacy protection and information security in data mining.

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3 Cryptomining Stocks to Profit From The Bitcoin Boom – Motley Fool

It's hard to ignore the signs that Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) is gaining mainstream acceptance. Retailers from cinemachains to grocery stores and others are starting to accept cryptocurrencies for payments. According to a Blockdata report, Bitcoin processed 62% more transactions by dollar value than PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) in 2021. Now, investors can benefit from bitcoin's potential without ever owning a coin directly, thanks tobitcoin mining stocks.

Among the multiple bitcoin miners we will look at three in particular: Argo Blockchain (NASDAQ:ARBK), Hut 8 Mining (NASDAQ:HUT), and Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT).

(Image source: Getty Images.)

We'll look at each company's operations, efficiency, potential growth, and a few intangibles. The company with the highest score at the end should take the pole position for investors to do further research.

The first comparison we'll make between the three companies is their current in-service mining power, measured by exahashes per second. More power means faster calculations. Since the reward for bitcoin mining is based on solving a complex mathematical problem, the faster to the finish line, the better.

Company

Argo Blockchain

Hut 8 Mining

Riot Blockchain

Mining Rate (EH/s)

1.3

1.7

2.8

(Data source: Argo, Hut 8, Riot financials. Table by author.)

Since the Argo figure comes from the end of October, and both Hut 8 and Riot are from the middle of November, we know this is a current comparison. Riot scores a 3, Hut 8 gets a 2, and Argo gets a 1.

A current leader is important, but it's at least as important for investors to know who might lead in the future. Each mining company is forthright about what machines they are buying and what they expect their hash rate to be in the future.

(Source: Argo, Hut 8, Riot earnings. Chart by author.)

At first, this appears to be a decisive victory for Riot. However, investors need to remember that each company's growth rate must also be considered.

Company

Argo Blockchain

Hut 8 Mining

Riot Blockchain

EH/s one year growth

185.7%

164.7%

207.1%

(Data source: Argo, Hut 8, Riot earnings reports. Table by author.)

Riot comes out ahead in both growth percentage and its final predicted EH/s rate. However, Argo actually expects to grow its mining rate faster than Hut 8. For this calculation, Riot scores a 3, Argo gets a 2, and Hut 8 gets a 1.

With the price of bitcoin over $50,000, it's easy for investors to forget about the cost each miner pays to generate their profits. The most efficient miner makes more money per bitcoin, so potential shareholders should pay close attention to this metric as well. Mining companies use average cost per bitcoin mined as a point of comparison.

Company

Argo Blockchain

Hut 8 Mining

Riot Blockchain

Average cost per bitcoin mined

$6,393

$17,700

$10,096

(Data source: Argo, Hut 8, Riot earnings reports. Table by author.)

In a somewhat surprising twist, the company with the smallest existing and planned EH/s rate is also the most efficient. Argo cam post such a low cost partly thanks to the company's focus on renewable energy sources. The company's facility in Quebec Canada primarily uses hydroelectric power, while its site in Texas takes advantage of the area's extensive wind and solar power.Going green for Argo's power needs is also providing more green for the company's bottom line.This metric gives Argo a 3, Riot a 2, and Hut 8 a 1.

There are a few other considerations for investors that might not be obvious without some digging. Argo seems to have some catching up to do. The company has the smallest starting and smallest planned EH/s rates. However, Argo has begun construction of a new bitcoin mining facility it calls Helios, in Dickens County, Texas, that could change the company's future.

The Helios facility will ultimately have access to up to 800 megawatts of power. If Argo were to use this entire amount, its Helios facility would become the largest bitcoin mining facility in North America. A power source this size would allow Argo to go far beyond the 3.7 EH/s that it has planned over the next year or so. This massive potential gives Argo a score of 3.

Hut 8 has two intangibles that investors should keep an eye on. First, the company has 10,000 highly efficient GPUs by NVIDA (NASDAQ:NVDA) that are being installed. These units are mining at a total cost of under $3,000 per bitcoin. Given that Hut 8 has the highest average cost per bitcoin of the three companies, this should help improve efficiency. Second, the mining company's CFO, Shane Downey, said, "We have already surpassed our goal of 5,000 bitcoin held in reserve." This is the largest amount of the three companies and could provide additional potential profits if the price of bitcoin continues to rise. The company's huge bitcoin reserve gives it a score of 2.

Where Riot is concerned, the company presently uses about 200 megawatts of its power to mine bitcoin for other institutions. Riot runs the machines, pays out bitcoin to the other companies, and collects a percentage, plus enough to cover its costs. This decision technically lowers Riot's risk: It will cover its costs, and receive a profit, even if the price of Bitcoin declines. However, using 200 megawatts of the 750 megawatts at North America's largest bitcoin mining facility means nearly 27% of Riot's largest asset is working for someone else. The inability to directly mine with 200 megawatts of power means Riot scores a 1 for this section.

The tally shows Riot scores the highest, based primarily on its current and projected lead in mining power. The company's lead in these two segments gave Riot half of its points.

Company

Total Score

Argo Blockchain

10

Hut 8 Mining

8

Riot Blockchain

12

(Data source: article scores. Table by author.)

Each of these companies has the potential to be a good investment, with the obvious caveat that their values will be closely tied to the price of bitcoin. If you believe that bitcoin will continue to rise in the future, but want an alternative to holding the coin, this initial scorecard suggests starting your research with Riot Blockchain.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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3 Cryptomining Stocks to Profit From The Bitcoin Boom - Motley Fool

Adventus Mining Announces Commencement of Drilling on Rathkeale Property and Initial Results of Kingscourt Drill Program Under The South32 Earn-In…

TORONTO, Dec. 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Adventus Mining Corporation ("Adventus")(TSXV: ADZN) (OTCQX: ADVZF) is pleased to announce the commencement of exploration scout hole drilling on its Rathkeale block in County Limerick in the Republic of Ireland. The work is being done under the earn-in agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of South32 Limited ("South32"), which has a right to acquire a 70% interest in the Kingscourt, Rathkeale and Fermoy blocks, which are 100% owned by Adventus through its wholly owned subsidiary, Adventus Zinc Ireland Limited ("AZIL"). These three project areas encompass 1,277 km2 of favourable strata known to host Irish-type zinc-lead-silver systems. South32 is required to fund EUR 3,500,000 in exploration on the three blocks over a four-year period with AZIL acting as operator during the earn-in period (see January 13, 2020, news release).

Highlights:

Rathkeale Block Geology

The Rathkeale Block consists of a total of eight contiguous prospecting licences covering an area of approximately 255 km2 of prospective ground for base of Waulsortian Zn-Pb mineralization in west County Limerick. The block lies immediately west of Glencore's Tobermalug deposit (1) (45.4 Mt inferred mineral resources grading 7% zinc and 1% lead), and Group Eleven's Pallas Green West and Stonepark projects. The rocks underlying the Rathkeale Block are primarily Lower Carboniferous in age. The geological history of the area progressively records the early Carboniferous marine transgression across the Old Red Sandstone continent, development of Visan basin and shelf palaeoenvironments and later deposition of the late Namurian strata of the Newcastle West area. Historical drilling and geological interpretation suggest that the Rathkeale syncline is a complex of half graben structures associated with a series of ENE trending, Early Carboniferous extensional faults. Thick breccias and conglomerates along with associated alteration including dolomitization and black matrix breccia have been intersected in historical drilling on this zone. This polymict sequence of Rathkeale Limestone and Waulsortian Mudbank clasts indicates large scale faulting following the initial deposition of the Waulsortian. Regional extension was accompanied by gravitational collapse and excavation of footwall scarps during Chadian to Arundian; a similar age to that recognized in the north Dublin Basin and more significantly coeval with development of the Boulder Conglomerate at Navan.

Rathkeale Block Target Refinement

Over the last year, the target generation compilation was updated to include all the new exploration data being collected over the Rathkeale Block. Large datasets for surficial geochemistry (including soil and lithogeochemical samples), historical drilling, historical geophysical studies (gravity, magnetics, electromagnetic) and geological mapping were incorporated and developed into working models. Each target that was developed required rock exposures to be checked and mapped; however, high-priority areas had a combination of geochemical & geophysical techniques were applied (ionic leach soils, SGH, ground MT) to further enhance target refinement for drilling.

To visualize the Rathkeale geological and structural framework, detailed cross-sections using historical drill hole and recent seismic information were constructed and digitized. These cross-sections were then added to a Leapfrog Geo 3D model that was developed for visualization of all target generation initiative ("TGI") datasets. This 3D model allows for enhanced target selection in the 3D environment, notably for drill hole planning. A key component of the Phase 1 scout hole drilling at Rathkeale is the refinement and verification of the current geological and structural interpretation, which will lead to the overall enhancement of target evaluation. The seven Phase 1 scout hole drill targets were selected due to a combination of pre-existing targeting utilising 2017 seismic data, updated structural-stratigraphic targeting, historical mineral occurrences without base of Waulsortian test current geochemical-geophysical targeting.

The first drill hole in the program, collared in late November 2021 is drilling on the Killeen target in licence PLA 3368. The Killeen target is in the hanging wall of the GB fault, close to an original 2018 seismic target (Attyflin). This scout hole is aimed at targeting at an area of anomalous LGC (hydrothermal pyrite & barite signature), a conductive feature identified in the ground MT survey in the HW of a key structure on the block and at providing essential geological context. The siting of the hole, 1.5 km from the seismic line ADV17-01 will allow the collection of downhole velocity data which is the next key step in the interpretation of seismic data. Additionally, the hole will act as a test of the use of the MT method as a subsurface interpretation tool in this environment.

Kingscourt Drilling Update

Two holes 21-3609-01 and 21-3732-01 were completed in mid-2021 on the Marl Hill (Julianstown) and Marvelstown targets respectively described in the May 6, 2021, news release. Although only trace levels of zinc-lead mineralization were intersected in each drill hole, the key target horizon, known as the Pale Beds, was present and well developed, which confirmed modeling. The presence of slumped sedimentary breccias at Mark Hill in drill hole 21-3609-01 further enhances the prospectiveness of the target area.

The pXRF data collected on drill core indicates elevated base metal concentrations in the Micrite Unit that appears to be the most prospective assemblage intersected in 21-3732-01. The pXRF data also indicates a greater degree of hydrothermal alteration in this part of the basin denoted by hydrothermal dolomite signatures (with enrichments in manganese, iron, and magnesium). The profiles of the Pale Beds in 21-3732-01 show a broad pattern of mineralization and alteration, with a galena dominant signature towards the base of the Pale Beds and sphalerite mineralization at a higher elevation. Both weakly mineralized zones are interpreted as fault-controlled mineralization with the lower zone being more sulphide deficient (lead and barium enriched), whereas the higher zone having formed in a more reduced environment leading to low arsenic pyrite, low cadmium sphalerite, more sphalerite formation relative to galena with associated dolomitization.

With these two drill holes, only a very small portion of the prospective area from the Kingscourt Fault east along the broad hanging wall of the Ardee Moynalty Fault Zone has been tested. This area is thought to be a compartmentalized basin that has a large area of untested prospective ground yet to be drilled. A key area of interest is the Marvelstown to the Kingscourt Fault area where pXRF data indicates a greater degree of hydrothermal activity. The use of innovate processing of pXRF data to model stratigraphy has confirmed the absence of an approximate 60 m section of the ABL in 21-3609-01, which is observed both in drill core and in chemical profiles.

Next Steps

Adventus and South32 plan to continue with drilling the remaining scout hole targets on the Rathkeale Block, as each target is considered stand-alone. Key targeting information derived from the completion of the current drill hole on the Killeen target will be incorporated into the Rathkeale TGI, and the geological and geophysical modelling will be updated using the downhole data obtained, with future drill planning adjusted accordingly. The technical team is also continuing to work on the remaining Kingscourt targets and assessing follow up drilling based upon results from the first two drill holes. Additional drilling at Kingscourt is expected in the first half of 2022.

Geochemical sampling is ongoing on the Fermoy block with results expected in Q1 2022 for incorporation into the Fermoy TGI with detailed follow up to be carried out ahead of developing targets for drilling in the second half of 2022; however, it should be noted that five new prospecting licenses have now been issued for the Fermoy block totalling 122km2, expanding the coverage over prospective lands with field work commencing in 2022.

Technical Information and Quality Control & Quality Assurance ("QAQC")

Project work in Ireland is being managed and reviewed by Vice President of Exploration for Adventus, Jason Dunning, M.Sc., P.Geo., a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101, who has also reviewed and approved the technical and scientific information of this news release as accurate. Technical staff collect and process samples that are securely sealed and shipped to ALS Global ("ALS") in Loughrea, Ireland for sample preparation that includes crushing and milling to prepare pulps that are then split for analysis. All assay data have undergone internal validation of QAQC; noting there is an established sampling control program with blind insertion of assay blanks, certified industry standards and sample duplicates for the project. A QAQC program is also in place at ALS and includes insertion of blanks, standards, and duplicate reanalysis of selected samples. ALS' quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025: 1999. At ALS, elements are analyzed using a 48-element 4 acid digestion with ICP-MS technique with overlimit testing in place using ore grade methodologies, also with 4 acid digestion.

Qualified Person

The technical information of this news release has been reviewed and verified as accurate by Mr. Jason Dunning, M.Sc., P.Geo., Vice President Exploration for Adventus, a non-Independent Qualified Person, as defined by NI 43-101.

About Adventus

Adventus Mining Corporation is an Ecuador focused copper-gold exploration and development company. Its strategic shareholders include Altius Minerals Corporation, Greenstone Resources LP, Wheaton Precious Metals Corp., and the Nobis Group of Ecuador. Adventus is advancing the Curipamba copper-gold project through a feasibility study, while continuing to explore the broader 215 square kilometre district. In addition, Adventus is engaged in a country-wide exploration alliance with its partners in Ecuador, which has incorporated the Pijili and Santiago copper-gold porphyry projects to date. Adventus also controls an exploration project portfolio in Ireland with South32 Limited as funding partner. Adventus is based in Toronto, Canada, and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ADZN and trades on the OTCQX under the symbol ADVZF.

About South32

South32 is a globally diversified mining and metals company. Our purpose is to make a difference by developing natural resources, improving people's lives now and for generations to come. We are trusted by our owners and partners to realise the potential of their resources. We produce bauxite, alumina, aluminium, and metallurgical coal, manganese, nickel, silver, lead and zinc at our operations in Australia, Southern Africa, and South America. With a focus on growing our base metals exposure, we also have two development options in North America and several partnerships with junior explorers around the world.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This press release contains "forward -looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "pending", "intends", "plans", "forecasts", "targets", or "hopes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "will", "should" "might", "will be taken", or "occur" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking information herein includes, but is not limited to, statements that address activities, events, or developments that Adventus and Salazar expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future. Although Adventus and Salazar have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Adventus and Salazar undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Please also visit the Adventus website at http://www.adventusmining.comand LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/adventus-mining-corporation.

Table 1: Drill Collar Information, Rathkeale block

Hole ID

EAST

NORTH

ELEV (m)

AZIMUTH

DIP

DEPTH (m)

COMMENT

21-3368-01

550316

647065

24

152

-70

N/A

In progress; target depth of Pale Beds ~ 900 m

Notes:(1) All drill holes are surveyed in UTM Datum (ITM / IRENET95)

Table 2: Drill Collar Information, Kingscourt block

Hole ID

EAST

NORTH

ELEV (m)

AZIMUTH

DIP

DEPTH (m)

COMMENT

29-3609-01

685436

787317

61

160

-75

657

Successfully completed as planned

21-3732-01

680528

782619

70

160

-75

534

Successfully completed as planned

Notes:(1) All drill holes are surveyed in UTM Datum (ITM / IRENET95)

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Adventus Mining Announces Commencement of Drilling on Rathkeale Property and Initial Results of Kingscourt Drill Program Under The South32 Earn-In...

The Ins and Outs of Privacy in Clinical Trials for Patients With Cancer – Curetoday.com

Keeping your personal information safe is always required

It seems like every day there is news about groundbreaking developments in cancer treatments. But the thing about research is that it can show amazing possibilities in the laboratory and still not make a difference in real life. Even if those incredible ideas could work, it takes people willing to be clinical trial participants to transform the ideas of researchers into better treatments.

Though I havent been on a clinical trial due to cancer progression, I have been a participant in an exercise/diet intervention for people with metastatic breast cancer and part of the control group in a cardiac intervention trial for people prescribed Herceptin (trastuzumab). Ive also been a research team member and have reviewed clinical trial consent forms.

Despite all of this, I still find the idea of participating in a clinical trial a hurdle. Part of it is that I want to know that my personal data will be safe and remain private.

Personal health privacy is a big deal. There is a history of misused data and unethical behavior in the U.S. that cant be ignored. The hospitals we trust can give our de-identified health care data to researchers and sell it to other companies (or create their own data-mining companies), and they dont always have to let us know.

Yet, if we want to take down cancer, we have to find confidence in a system that wasnt designed to protect us. In clinical trials, there are steps that researchers and institutions are required take to assure that private information is kept as safe as possible. However, the words your doctor or clinical trial researcher uses can be unfamiliar. Here, a quick rundown of words to know when it comes to clinical trial privacy:

Institutional Review Board (IRB): The IRB is made up of people from different backgrounds some have scientific training, but there are also people without scientific training as well as community members. It is meant to keep research participants as safe as possible. In terms of data, the IRB asks why specific data is needed, who collects and can look at that data, and how it will be protected. IRB itself is short for Institutional Review Board of Biomedical Researching Using Human Subjects.

Protected Health Information (PHI): Also called Personal Health Information, this is all the information--demographic, medical history, test results, mental health conditions, insurance information, and so on--that your doctors collect to identify you and provide care.

De-identified: This means that your personal health information isnt easily linked to you, but it is not anonymous. Each person is given a patient-identifier for the study (not the number used with your medical records) and that alone is used when the research team is looking at all the collected information. With de-identified data, a select person, such as the main investigator, is able to link your specific information (for example, tissue or blood samples) to you. This is also called coded data and is used in clinical trials.

Anonymous: In research, this means that not even the investigator can link your information to you. You might see this word used to describe some patient surveys.

HIPAA (Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act): For clinical trials where patient data will be de-identified, this Act ensures that 18 personal identifiers are removed from the information collected. HIPAA and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act limit the PHI that healthcare providers, health insurance companies, and the companies they work with can collect. Those rules also limit what can be done with the data in terms of sharing it with other organizations or using it in marketing.

Data Storage: In the clinical trial plan, researchers must describe the specifics of how they will keep de-identified data safe from being tracked back to the patient. This is done by using technology to disguise (encrypt) the information, limiting who can see it and keeping paper records in a locked location.

Consent Form: This form ensures that the patient explicitly agrees to participate and outlines how their identity and information will be kept safe. It must be written in a way that middle schoolers can understand. Often, it will include information about where and how the de-identified patient information might be shared.

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, dont forget tosubscribe to CUREs newsletters here.

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