As a result, the company officially opened the mine on 27 March 2013 while simultaneously handing over new houses to 246 families who were relocated from Segorong to Praktiseer and Pidima, also in Burgersfort. The opening of the mine and the completion of the houses has been a long and arduous 12-year journey but finally both the community of Segorong and Imerys South Africa have a good reason to celebrate, says Imerys CEO and chairperson Gilles Michel.
Polonium is a radioactive element discovered in 1898 by scientists Marie and Pierre Curie and named for Marieâs native country, Poland. One of the Earthâs rarest elements, itâs an odorless, silvery-gray soft metal that can be ground into powder.
Polonium is a very rare element in nature because of the short half-life of all its isotopes. 210 Po, 214 Po, and 218 Po appear in the decay chain of 238U; thus polonium can be found in uranium ores at about 0.1 mg per metric ton (1 part in 10 10), which is approximately 0.2% of the abundance of radium.olonium is a very rare element in nature because of the short half-life of all its isotopes. 210 Po, 214 Po, and 218 Po appear in the decay chain of 238U; thus polonium can be found in uranium ores at about 0.1 mg per metric ton (1 part in 10 10), which is approximately 0.2% of the abundance of radium.