A Blogging Community for Miners and Commodity Traders

Mining camps and American frontier government

Browsing the web today I came across an amazing document on the history of mining that I must share with you before heading out of the office. 
The document is Mining Camps–A Study in  American Frontier Government  written by Charles Howard Shinn in 1885.  It is available in full at the link I provide from the Bancroft Library of the University [...]

McCain’s black coal mining, 100-year Navajo Hopi war

The great leaders fail to get the followers to follow.  Lame duck President Bush and the great bluster-queen McCain both failed to get the common sense American to vote for the bail-out of Paulson’s friends. 
This proves that all politics is local, and that a “tribe” cannot always be counted on to follow the wisdom of the elders.  [...]

Good news for BC mining. A start on power to the north and to the mines.

In an increasingly gloomy news day, I stop to post this news that is good news for British Columbia mining. 

The Premier of British Columbia on Friday announced that the BC government will begin the environmental assessment and First Nations Consultation phase for the proposed Northern Transmission Line.   The line involves electrification of the Highway 37 [...]

Mining oil sand opportunities for Palin and Harper alike. How to prevent a North American financial and energy melt down.

The weekend brought no conclusion to the United States financial markets or regulations aimed at preventing a melt-down.  The weekend did bring further clarity to the Canadian position on shutting down the oil sands mines.  And long rides in beautiful sunny weather left me wondering if Sarah Palin could bolster her foreign policy experience by [...]

Mining professors weigh in on human resource shortages and the folly of 20-year olds

Three professors from the University of British Columbia ask this timely question in a newly published article: 
…we in the mining business live in interesting times. It is not clear how long the current super cycle will last or how successful we will be in meeting the demands for human resources…..the decision to enter a mining [...]

Shut down the oil sands mines demand Canadian politicians

 
American elections are long, furious, and fun.  By comparison Canadian elections are short, dreary, and dowright sad.   Compare.  This week the most terrible thing that any American politician did related to mining was accept a gift, a gold-nugget pin.  By comparison, in Canada, the party heading for the honor of the Queen’s opposition in Parliament has called for [...]