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Archive for February, 2011

Iphegnia enTauride: The Gay Side of Opera

Posted in Church, opera, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2011 | 3 Comments »

Google says it is upgrading its search engine to eliminate those annoying search-finds that are of poor quality and repeat other’s materials.  My search of Google Blogs for comments on Iphegenia enTauride by Gluck turned-up garbage.  Trite comments on the ability of the singers, etc.   Thus let me go to the heart of the matter and go where angels fear to tread.  (more…)

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Entertain Kids With Stories of War (Libya) and Gold Mining

Posted in About the news, Mining history, tagged , , , on February 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Recent events in Libya put me in mind of stories my father told us of war and fighting in Libya during the Second World War.   In memory of the stories he told us and relevant to current events, I pulled out and repeat here a piece I wrote some time ago.  (more…)

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Long-Term Stability of Closed Mine Tailings Piles: How So At Pebble?

Posted in consulting, environmental, Geotechnical, North America, Reclamation, safety, Tailings, Waste Rock, tagged , , , , , , on February 25, 2011 | 7 Comments »

   A slow morning and an even slower computer that took its sweet time downloading files.  During the enforced no-compute period, I pulled out the proceedings of the Mine Closure 2010 Conference held in Chile in November 2010.  I read a paper that had not previously caught my attention.  I could not but stop to wonder how this will be dealt with at the Pebble Mine when it closes in a hundred years time. (more…)

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Pebble Mine NI 43-101 Report Promises Watery Future

Posted in Copper, feasibilty studies, Gold, Investing & Finance, tagged , , , , on February 25, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Here is how you tease the mining industry and confound reporters:  issue a news release that you have published your new NI 43-101.  Then let them search for an actual copy.  I have had an army of so-called specialists looking for a copy of Northern Dynasty’s Pebble Mine Ni 43-101.  It does not yet exist, is what we finally determined.  The smartest amongst us finally got to the SEDAR site, only to find a news release.   And this announcement: (more…)

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Entertaining Kids Swimming

Posted in Mining history, People, tagged , , , , on February 24, 2011 | 1 Comment »

The blue waters of the swimming pool shine & shimmer in the pale moon of a balmy California evening.  A faint breeze ruffles the palm trees as the hot tub bubbles & steams.  This is swimming pool perfection.  (more…)

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Fort McMurray Oil Sands for Decency and Democracy

Posted in Jobs and Salaries, North America, Oil sands, tagged , , , , on February 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

This is a strange photo:  We have all sat at some time or another in a pool or hot-tub luxuriating in the moment of being; in the physical luxury of warm water and blue sky; in the visceral pleasure of perfect surroundings.  In Huntington Beach, California when I am visiting the kids and grandkids, I love to go to the town-house pool and hot tub.  Swim a couple of lengths; watch the tall palm trees ululating in the breeze; run to the hot-tub; delve deep into the heat and the physical shock of hot; then sit and chat to the locals about the big political issues.  The BIG ISSUES in a town-house complex include which trees to prune, which trees to cut down, and what species of tree to plant to replace lost trees.  (more…)

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Barrick Gold Attacks African Mining Critics

Posted in Africa, Human relations and mining, Law (Mining), tagged , , , , , , on February 22, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Noir Canada

Canadian academics and free speech advocates are up in arms over two mining multinationals’ use of libel law to bury their critics in lawsuits.  I quote the most indignant part of the report:

Canadian academics and free speech advocates are up in arms over two mining multinationals’ use of libel law to bury their critics in lawsuits. Alain Deneault, Delphine Abadie, and William Sacher published a book called Noir Canada. Pillage, corruption et criminalité en Afrique that detailed well-sourced human rights abuses by the multinational resource companies Barrick Gold and Banro Corporation. The companies have responded with $11 million in lawsuits, aimed at bankrupting their critics with court fees. Barrick Gold has threatened other publishers on the basis of brief summaries of yet-to-be-published critical books. (more…)

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Bev Oda and the KAIROS Grant: Good for Mining Controversy

Posted in About the news, Church, mining, People, tagged , , , , on February 21, 2011 | 3 Comments »

 
The Canadian political scene is abuzz with attacks on a minister of the Federal Government.  She apparently uttered “mistruths” about inserting the word “not” into a recommendation that a so-called religious group by the name of KAIROS be granted government money to continue their work.  (more…)

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Weekend Eve Mining: New Opportunities for Profit

Posted in Jobs and Salaries, Money & Mining, opera, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Went drinking last night.  A fellow drinker makes about $150 a month playing Eve On Line, a massive on-line mining game.  He tells me there are upward of 400,000 players, probably all making more than he does.  Thus the economy of Eve is about $60 M a month.  Probably more than most mines!

He specializes in those regions of space where security is low, but the ore is rich.  He spend a few hundred buying equipment.  The money is real–it comes from his credit card.  The product is electronic–he sells it on the game’s exchanges.  The money from selling goes into his bank account; hence the profit.  (more…)

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Diamonds, Oil, Gold: Mine Closure in Cold Climates

Posted in Diamond, Gold, North America, oil, tagged , , , , on February 18, 2011 | 2 Comments »

   

Juneau is my favorite State Capital.  It snuggles between the mountains and the calm waters of the inlet some way down the panhandle of Alaska.  Thus I readily accepted when I was asked to present a course at the upcoming Alaska Miners Association 2011 AMA Juneau Convention to be held March 15 to 18, 2011.   Here is a  LINK to the registration form.  The course will be a one  day course, in spite of what the form says currently, i.e., a half-day.  I htink a full day is better as we can pace ourselves and go into detail. (more…)

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