Republic Of Mining named to ‘Top 10 Mining Blogs’ list by Australian guide – by John Barker (Thompson Citizen – November 1, 2011)

The Thompson Citizen, which was established in June 1960, covers the City of Thompson and Nickel Belt Region of Northern Manitoba. The city has a population of about 13,500 residents while the regional population is more than 40,000.  editor@thompsoncitizen.net

Mining IQ, a Sydney, Australia-based mining guide and international learning and communications portal, which is a division of International Quality & Productivity Center (IQPC), has named Republic Of Mining (http://republicofmining.com) to its list of “Top 10 Mining Blogs,” one of only two Canadian sites to be included.

In 1973, the publishers of Industry Week magazine co-founded a company called Penton Learning Systems, which managed a consortium of more than 100 colleges and universities and assisted in the design and development of over 30,000 short courses and seminars in the fields of quality management, project management, finance and accounting, marketing management, strategic planning and implementation. IQPC was founded in 1989 and is still owned by Penton Learning Systems of Little Falls, New Jersey.

Republic of Mining is published by Stan Sudol, a Toronto-based journalist, communications consultant, mining strategist and speechwriter. Sudol picks up Thompson Citizen and Nickel Belt News mining stories, editorials and photos, with our permission, from time to time, usually about Vale’s Manitoba Operations.

Mining IQ, founded in March, is headed editorially by Megan Edwards, its editor and director, and is focused on providing industry professionals with mining industry knowledge, information and an online networking and communication platform.

Mining IQ says, “This blog [RepublicOfMining.com] aims to build awareness among the media, the general public and political decision makers about the economic and social benefits of sustainable mining practices in the 21st Century. It has a really admirable mission statement and it rings true with the content on the site.”

Sudol says, “My blog has been on the web for almost four years and I am incredibly honoured to be recognized half-way around the world by Australian-based Mining IQ, located in one of the great mining nations on the planet. It shows the enormous global impact that blogs have in their ability to communicate important and balanced information about a much maligned industry.”

Mining IQ continues, “We especially like the variety of categories available on the site with commentary from aboriginal mining to mining education and from women in mining through to green mining. Stan Sudol has hit the nail on the head with his enlightened approach.”

“The environmental movement has been very effective in diseminating their views on the Internet. The mineral industry’s social licence to operate is being challenged throughout the world, even in mine friendly jurisdictions like Canada and Australia,” Sudol says.

The blog focuses primarily on the the historical, political, and economic aspects of the mining sector, as well as its corporate social responsibility initiatives. The blog also highlights the enormous environmental opposition to resource development. There are many postings of critical articles about the mining sector giving the industry an accurate perspective of its current public image. Part of the blog’s popularity is that it provides ample context to complex issues through a wide variety of commentary.

The Canadian Business Ethics Research Network recently said that RepublicOfMining.com is “The ultimate mining database!” It continued, “A new blog is fast becoming a go-to resource for professionals and academics involved in the mining and resource extraction industries…. Republic of Mining has in fact become a large, well-research repository for articles and information about aboriginal mining issues within Canada and abroad.”

Republic of Mining also has a large selection of historic articles and profiles about the Canadian mining industry including magazine articles from the 1930s to 1970s.

Sudol says, “It is estimated that about $50 million a year is funneled into Canadian environmental groups and NGOs to stop resource projects. There is an “information war” on the web and in the media between environmental NGOs and the mining sector. Republic of Mining is trying to ensure that clear and accurate facts about the mineral industry are available on the web, the first source that media, businesses, politicians, and the general public and students go to for their information.”