Posted today on CNN ....
CNN)Best known for floating aimlessly above sports stadiums, and for their slightly comic, bloated shape, blimps are an unlikely subject for a 21st century revival.
But after 20 years of development, Lockheed Martin and Hybrid Enterprises are poised to unleash a revolutionary new design that could unlock resources worth billions of dollars across the African continent.
Robert S. Stewart, head of mining firm Interop AG, has researched the ship's potential impact on projects across the continent, including the largest -- Rio Tinto's putative $20 billion iron ore plant inSimandou, Guinea.
"The airship could save the project $7 billion by staging it in a completely different way," he says
