This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

The Ontario Mining Association Environment Committee has representatives from most member companies, who possess a wide spectrum of specialties and tackle a broad palate of issues and concerns.  Under the leadership of Committee Chair Nancy Duquet-Harvey of Northgate Minerals, about 30 of the green miners met recently in Timmins.  The group had an extremely full agenda in the session, which followed the second Ontario Mine Reclamation Symposium and Field Trip.

The OMA Environment Committee regularly deals with the Ministry of Environment and handles both analysis of proposed legislation and regulations and proactively develops programs, protocols and, in some cases, computer software to improve environmental performance and reporting of member companies.  The group makes it a habit of sharing best practices, communicating well and working co-operatively.  The collective expertise that members bring to the Committee makes it possible to effectively address issues that are highly complex and technical. 

Major items on the agenda for the recent Timmins meeting included responses to the Toxics Reduction Act and the air standards setting process under Regulation 419.  The Committee has made two submissions on the toxics reduction initiative, expressing support for the government´s intent, but concern about provisions for very broad regulation-making powers and the lack of any defined test setting out how “toxic substances” will be identified and designated. 

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Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of gold. It has been prized as decoration as long as humankind has been around. It makes a solid foundation for world banking. It has been fought over. It is the stuff of which legends are made. And gold is undeniably beautiful.

Most of the general public and the mineral industry snap to attention when gold is in the news. Reports of new gold finds are especially welcome. But they may be fewer and farther apart if the findings of Halifax’s Metals Economics Group (MEG) are accurate. (www.MetalsEconomics.com) 

MEG examined the costs of finding and acquiring gold reserves and found that overall the industry is not discovering new deposits fast enough to meet future production demand.

The report looked closely at major gold producers, those with an output of 450,000 oz or more in 2008. They overcame “… rising costs, equipment and labour shortages, electrical outages, wars, permitting hurdles, typhoons, political opposition, and other obstacles,” the report noted to replace reserves at twice the rate they are mining them. Most of these gains were made through acquisitions or upgrading existing resources due to the high gold price, not through grassroots discoveries.

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Top Online Engineering Degree.com  is a guide to the best online engineering degrees and on acquiring your BS engineering degree online. In addition, the site highlights what accredited schools have the best online bachelor’s degree in engineering generally, and specifically in computer engineering, electrical, environmental, civil, mechanical, aerospace, and online software engineering degree programs.

This website recently produced a list of the top 25 mining engineering blogs that included Republic of Mining.com.

Top 25 Mining Engineering Blogs

Mineral mining engineers locate, extract, and prepare minerals for use by manufacturing industries and utilities. They design open pit and underground mines, supervise underground operations in the construction of mine shafts and tunnels, and create procedures to transport minerals to processing plants. Mining engineers are employed across industries including professional, scientific, and technical. Today, the challenges of mining are greater than ever before. New high-tech methods are being designed to make tomorrow’s mines more productive, safer, and economically successful. Mining engineers are seeking ways to extract essential raw materials without causing undue disturbance to the environment, as well as to prevent pollution and reclaim land mined in the past.

To help you stay informed about this diverse and fast-moving industry we’ve combed through hundreds of blogs to collect what we consider to be the twenty five best blogs devoted to mining, the industry, and the next generation of mining engineers. Enjoy!

Mining News & Developments

Stay informed of current news & developments happening in the mining community.

1. everythingmining – A detailed blog for the mining industry. Some of the various topics covered world wide are exploration, projects, education, technology, research, news and environment.

2. World Mining Exploration News – This blog will give you comprehensive information and news about the mining industry, technology, exploration, and mining tools. There is also inside looks into some of the mining companies.

3. Abandoned Mine Posts – Provides articles and notices about abandoned mine drainage and abandoned mine reclamation. Dedicated to enhancing the quality of life by reclaiming abandoned mine lands.

4. Mining Equipment & Suppliers Blog – Get the latest news on mining equipment and suppliers on this blog. There is also plenty of advice and research done on the tools and companies that miners use.

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