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Information and links on a variety of technical aspects of mining & mineral exploration.
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 Junior Mining Companies as Investment OpportunitiesFriday, November 13, 2009My travels took me into the company of consultants to the financial side of the mining industry - those folk who consult to the titans of the industry who broker the mergers and take-overs read more »Economic Success Leads to Tailings Dam Failure?Tuesday, November 10, 2009A paper by AMEC engineers from the 2009 Conference on Tailings and Mine Waste discusses the possible correlation between economic conditions and tailings dam failures. read more »  Coal, Railroads and the STBThursday, November 05, 2009Much has changed over the past two years. Economy has declined and, despite some positive signs, it is not clear we have reached bottom. Rail has gone from capacity constrained to excess capacity. Long term future of coal is even less clear. read more » Mining Investment Rule 121: Beware the Sole Owner and 4,000 Unwise InvestorsFriday, October 30, 2009We have David Baines of the Vancouver Sun to thank for a new story on mining investment gone bad. We use this case history to formulate another Investment Rule: Do not buy shares in a mining company controlled by one man. read more » Sungro Minerals Mining Scam UncoveredTuesday, October 06, 2009Here is a simple investment rule: do not buy shares in a mining company with no assets, especially if the share value of the company is very high. read more » Managing Costs - Core DrillingWednesday, September 30, 2009Sometimes the smallest products can make the biggest impact. While they don't carry $1 million price tags like some of the high technology capital equipment available on the market, coring consumables represent incremental cost over the life of a project that can save or lose a drilling contractor hundreds of thousands of dollars in ... read more » Planning for the futureWednesday, September 30, 2009In the introduction to ICMM's Planning for Integrated Mine Closure: Toolkit, the authors describe planning for closure as being "about how to design a mine operation in order to facilitate closure. When a project is designed,there is a lot of scope to do so with closure in mind..." read more » Steeling for a comebackWednesday, September 30, 2009At the beginning of August, Macquarie Research described iron ore prices as being "in transition." Announcing "progress" in its 2009 iron ore price negotiations, BHP Billiton highlighted what it views as significant progress in the evolution away from iron ore pricing dominated by an annually negotiated benchmark price towards a "transparent" pricing system based on index (or spot pricing). read more » Cost breakingWednesday, September 30, 2009Fragmentation within the mine is often overlooked as a critical element in the process and can be used to provide essential process control information. SPLIT digital fragmentation technology has been available for some time, with applications from the mine with post-blast analysis at the muck pile face through to the mechanical comminution circuit with ... read more » The road to GrasbergWednesday, September 30, 2009Until Bechtel built the first road in the early 1970s, and Freeport Indonesia subsequently developed the area, subrivers were the only access inland to the foothills of the Jayawijaya mountain range on Irian Jaya that hosts what is arguably the greatest ore complex discovered in the world to date, the Grasberg and Ertsberg copper gold deposits. read more » Kaftar Hona anthraciteWednesday, September 30, 2009Saddleback Corp was formed in 2004 and then established Saddleback Gold Corp in Tajikistan. It has offices in central London and in Dushanbe, the capital city of Tajikistan. The objective of SGC has been to build a diversified mining and exploration company by securing interests in mining and exploration projects in Tajikistan with a focus on coal and gold. read more » CCS all about finding the ‘right rocks’Wednesday, September 30, 2009The Coal Tech 2009 conference, held on September 15-16th, hosted a range of presentations on technologies including carbon capture and storage (CCS); coal-to-liquids; underground coal gasification; and syngas. read more » Canadian Mining Executives Salaries & Compensation 2009Thursday, September 03, 2009Here are some numbers on the salaries, bonuses, and other forms of compensation paid to executives of Canadian mining companies as of June 2009. read more » California Mining Investment RulesTuesday, September 01, 2009A new mine in California is almost unheard of. We must take our hats off to Molycorp for the reopening of, dare we call it the “new?” Mountain Pass mine in California. read more » Rare Earth Mining in California - Can We Out-mine the Chinese?Monday, August 31, 2009Rare earths such as neodymium and lanthanum are needed for hybrid cars that are better for the environment. But will we be allowed to mine all the metals that need to go into these cars or will we be stopped by the environmentally conscious consumers who demand them? read more » Canadian Mining Wages 2009Thursday, August 20, 2009CostMine has just sent me the new Canadian Mine Salaries, Wages & Benefit 2009 survey and report. Here are some numbers I found interesting about wages. read more » Canadian Mining Salaries 2009Thursday, August 20, 2009In the new Canadian Mine Salaries, Wages & Benefit 2009 survey, CostMine lists the salaries of those working in the Canadian mining industry in mid 2009. read more » Commodity Valuation CurvesFriday, August 07, 2009Mining companies are, like never before, faced with the need to value their mineral assets at fair value; particularly in a case of a proposed transaction at a time where “cash is king”. read more » Accounting for Mineral Reserves on the Balance SheetFriday, July 17, 2009Mineral Resource Management (MRM) is an important aspect in the mineral and extractive industry of South Africa as well as on a global level. This is due to increasing competition in today’s global economy read more » Mining Investment GuidesWednesday, July 15, 2009If you are looking for firms that invest in a diverse range of mining, resources, and oil and gas opportunities, the following guides by Thomas Su of Money Cat Consulting can help you find the information you need. read more » Guide to Mobile Equipment Life Cycle CostingMonday, June 29, 2009If you need to know how to apply Life Cycle Costing methods to mobile equipment, this guide is for you. read more » Mining salaries in Australia & New ZealandMonday, June 29, 2009Hays Resources & Mining published a new salary survey pertaining to the Australian mining industry: market changes, positions in demand, salary movements, changes to employer recruitment practices. read more » Mining Investment Rules by Vernon SmithWednesday, June 10, 2009Vernon Smith won the Noble prize for economics in 2002. His experiments with students involving simulated trading games, proves that “efficient” markets do not exist and that bubbles occur even when “traders” know what they are doing. read more » Africa Mining Starts Up Again, Sonjica SaysWednesday, March 04, 2009The speech by BP Sonjica South Africa's Minister of Mineral and Energy in Elagani in February 2009. read more » 2008 Coal Mine WagesWednesday, February 25, 2009Just received is the 2008 Survey Results U.S. Coal Mine Salaries, Wages and Benefits from CostMine. There is an enormous amount of data in this new survey. Here is my personal summary and perspective of some of the information on wages read more » Executive Salary as a Guide to InvestingFriday, February 27, 2009A review of 2008 salaries for mining company executives as a guide to investing in the company. read more » Exploration SalariesMonday, January 26, 2009The start of Roundup prompts us to look at exploration salaries world-wide. Luckily there is the CostMine survey "Exploration Salaries, Wages & Benefits" to help us do this. read more » Work in Mineral ExplorationThursday, January 29, 2009Thoughts on Roundup prompt us to explore job openings in mineral exploration and to think about stimulating the economy by undertaking fundament geologic research for mining. read more » Uranium Mining the Grand CanyonFriday, December 12, 2008The Grand Canyon is uranium country. It is also great vacation country. A move by the Bush administration to limit Congress’s power to prevent mining on public land makes me wonder if soon-to-be out-of-work Republicans are not more interested in vacation property than mining property. read more » Canadian Mining JobsFriday, October 31, 2008A Career in Mining is a website funded by the Canadian taxpayer. In spite of this obvious bias, it has some useful information about jobs in mining. read more » Reviewing Resource ModelsTuesday, October 21, 2008The following piece is repeated from an AMC Consultants newsletter. I make bold to post it here as, in my opinion, it establishes a standard of care that should constitute standard practice. read more » Investment RulesFriday, October 03, 2008Here are some investment rules to help you through the recent stock market turmoil. The first two rules are obvious and apply with force to investing in mining companies read more » Herbert Hoover and the Principles of MiningMonday, September 29, 2008Herbert Hoover was both a mining engineer and a president of the United States. His book Principles of Mining provides fascinating insight into old ways of mining and investing. read more » Five Finger InvestingWednesday, September 24, 2008The rule to follow for successful mine investing is the five finger rule: five countries, five companies, and five commodities read more » Zuma and African MiningMonday, September 22, 2008South Africa is again in a state of change. The second ANC president, Mbeki has resigned opening the way for his bitter rival Jacob Zuma to take over. The question that concerns mining people is: what will a Zuma government mean for mining? read more » Making Money in Troubled TimesWednesday, September 17, 2008With elections in Canada and the United States in the near future, it is conceivable, although admittedly unlikely, that one or two candidates may refrain from clever sound-bites and actually address the fundamentals. In the meantime, all you can do is count your savings, judiciously hold/sell falling stocks read more » John Higgs ConsultingTuesday, August 05, 2008The front line of mining may well be trucks and shovels, but they could not operate unless backed up by a reliable supply chain. An intriguing insight into how supply chains work comes from the website of John Higgs Consulting. read more » Political RiskFriday, July 25, 2008Political risk may be defined as the risk that a host county will take action or fail to take action that interferes with a foreign investment. read more » Mine Closure Costs As They Affect Investment DecisionsMonday, July 21, 2008A significant issue when deciding to invest in a mine is the closure plan. Similarly, a significant issue when deciding to invest in a mining company is the extent of its liability for closure of one or more of its mine properties. read more » Oil Sands Idle ThoughtsFriday, July 18, 2008I am in Fort McMurray to do real engineering work at one of the oil sands mines. I am here to test new technology to close the mines and protect the environment. read more » Merger or 'Murder' Agreements?Wednesday, July 09, 2008Last week one of our clients called in and asked for assistance with a ‘Murder Agreement’ which was Freudian slip and he actually meant Merger Agreement! read more » Flex Management SolutionsTuesday, June 24, 2008Here is an interesting project management website: www.flexmanagementsolutions.com. It has project management and programme management documentation such as manuals and templates. Here is more information from their newsletter. read more » Mineral Asset ValuationThursday, June 05, 2008In a Bloomberg journalist’s words, “Goldman Sachs cut its ties with the Institute of International Finance, a lobby group now best known for floating one of the dumbest regulatory proposals to emerge from the subprime-mortgage debacle.” read more » Mining SalariesTuesday, May 20, 2008Nobody will ever tell you their salary. That is generally because it is less than they would like you to believe. read more » US Coal Mine Salaries 2007Tuesday, March 11, 2008The 2007 Survey Results of U.S. Coal Salaries, Wages, and Benefits gives you the information you need to establish if you are getting a fair salary or wage. read more » International Reporting Codes - Sources of PublicationFriday, February 29, 2008For those of us involved in the minerals industry, locally and internationally, there is now, a combined source for all the major international reporting codes. read more » GoldSim Financial EvaluatorFriday, February 22, 2008Ever on the lookout for another piece of software that helps the engineer, scientist, and technical folk analyze financial systems in the mining industry, my attention was turned to the GoldSim Financial Module. read more » WITS GoldMonday, January 21, 2008At a recent conference, I stopped by the only booth that offered the cover of potential knowledge. It had pictures and maps of the South African Witwatersrand gold fields and the name WITS GOLD in prominent display. read more » Surface Mining Association for Research & TechnologyWednesday, January 09, 2008SMART is an association of mining companies that coordinate the technology development needed by the mining industry. read more » Israel’s 2007 Diamond Trade Figures Best EverThursday, January 03, 2008Israel’s diamond trade figures for 2007 showed a substantial rise in all areas, making 2007 the best year ever for the Israeli Diamond Industry. read more » Inferred ResourcesTuesday, December 04, 2007Most of us involved in the minerals industry are well aware of the definition of an Inferred Mineral Resource as described in the South African Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (SAMREC Code). read more » NI 43-101 QA/QCMonday, November 12, 2007Armando Simon and Greg Gosson, both of AMEC, writing in the Sept/OCt 2007 CIM Magazine on quality control reporting requirements by the mining industry, note "AMEC’s experience with numerous recent audits and due diligence studies indicate read more » Interesting Observations in the Valuation of Junior Exploration FirmsTuesday, October 30, 2007The Johannesburg Branch of the SAIMM recently hosted a great presentation by Ken Lomberg of Coffey Mining on the subject of platinum Juniors active in the Bushveld Complex. read more » Agora Tire Provides First Spot Market Price Index for OTR TiresMonday, October 22, 2007Agora Tire, Inc. recently announced the addition to their website
(www.agoratire.com) of the first ever spot market price index for OTR tires. read more » Rescan on Carbon InventoryThursday, October 4, 2007Rescan has grabbed the bull by the horns. They offer a Carbon Inventory and Auditing service. read more » Mining Equipment Operating Costs Increase DramaticallyMonday, September 24, 2007Newly released CostMine data shows a continuing dramatic increase in mining equipment operating costs. read more » Calculating Additional Revenue From Accelerated Environmental PermittingThursday, September 13, 2007Applied Ecosystem Services, Inc., the advanced-technology environmental consultants, provides a present value (PV) calculator on its web site that demonstrates the financial benefits possible by accelerating environmental permitting. read more » Boka GoldTuesday, August 28, 2007By now you must have read the news that Southwestern Resources is suing its ex-CEO for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and insider trading after realizing that he altered assay results from the Boka Gold project in China. read more » Salaries for Miners in 2006Tuesday, August 21, 2007Are you being paid as much for working in a mine as you are worth? Bet somebody, somewhere, doing the same job as you, is earning more. read more » Glencairn in Costa RicaWednesday, August 15, 2007There is a lesson for us all in the failure of the heap leach pad at the Bellavista mine. Here is an edited version of the first news report I saw read more » Cigar LakeMonday, July 30, 2007Cigar Lake start up is currently predicted to be sometime in 2011. When I first came across this property, startup was predicted sometime this year. The delay has affected stock prices. read more » Technical InvestingThursday, July 26, 2007Do technical factors and considerations affect the price of mining shares? Do savvy investors even consider technical, as in scientific and engineering, factors in deciding to buy or sell stock in mining companies? read more » Kevin Barker AdviceThursday, May 31, 2007Here is something I got from Kevin Barker, analyst and editor of The Barkerletter. I post lest we lose the advice contained herein. read more » Montana MiningFriday, March 23, 2007The idea started in Montana and now is spreading across the west: no new mining unless you can prove up front that you won’t need perpetual water treatment when you shut down. read more » High SalariesFriday, March 02, 2007Here is some investment advice. It may help you make money if you choose to put your hard-earned cash into mining company stocks. read more » Venmyn ValuationFriday, March 02, 2007Additional perspectives on the use of the JORC, SAMREC, and Valmin, codes for reporting on the valuation of mineral properties read more » Quality in MiningWednesday, February 28, 2007Is there such a thing as QUALITY IN MINING? Has the mining industry ever practiced conventional quality programs? read more » Cost IncreasesTuesday, February 27, 20072007, seems to be plagued by cost increases wherever we look. ‘Twas always thus in a new year, wasn’t it.’ read more » Franklin MiningWednesday, February 14, 2007A rare collection of technical and cost evaluation reports on a new mining project is available at the Franklin Mining, Inc site read more » Closure Costs in NevadaFriday, February 09, 2007A useful checklist of items to consider when estimating the cost of closure of a mine is provided by Nevada at this link. The document is the Mine Plan of Operations Reclamation Bond Checklist read more » Mine Insurance CostsWednesday, February 07, 2007How much will it cost you to insure your mining risks? The easiest way to find out is to contact an insurance company and ask them to give you a quote read more » Political Risk InsuranceTuesday, February 06, 2007What is PRI? As always the best definition of Political Risk Insurance (PRI) is at Wikipedia read more » Climate Change and InsuranceWednesday, February 07, 2007The Scientific American names Swiss Re Business Leader of the Year. I suspect this is based primarily on their e-publications on the implications of climate change and hence insurance costs. read more » Oil Sands TaxationFriday, February 02, 2007The news report reads (in part): “Alberta's new premier-designate wants more of the oilsands to be processed within Alberta instead of being transported as a crude resource to the United States." read more » I Think Mining BlogWednesday, January 31, 2007Some paper magazines will never die. They are the ones with high quality, thoughtful, well-written articles. The rest are doomed to fade and wither. Part of their problem is the competition of Blogs read more » 2007 Predictions - Blog ReplyMonday, January 08, 2007Here is a reply to a request I made that TechnoMine readers pick their 2007 favorites. read more » Mining and the Twelve Days of ChristmasThursday, December 28, 2006A blog-like review of the 2006 mining industry, mining technology, and the twelve days of christmas, and prospects for mining in 2007. read more » 2007 PredictionsThursday, December 21, 2006My favorite holiday is the 4th of July. In California the day rises sunny and fresh: a bike ride to the beach; watch the parade and the politicians perched on expensive convertibles read more » International Mine Valuation MethodsMonday, December 18, 2006How do you put a dollar value on a property not unlike a moose pasture that returned some metal grades after few drill holes? Or an area with several holes with encouraging grades? read more » Mining AccountingThursday, December 14, 2006There are four big accounting firms. They provide services to the mining industry. Here are links to the mining pages of each of the big four and lists of their recent publications read more » Aventurine and the Sherpa SoftwareFriday, November 24, 2006If you have not previously seen the Aventurine site, you have a treat awaiting you. If you need to estimate the cost of a mining activity, you have to get Sherpa software. read more » Cross Border RecruitingThursday, November 16, 2006Salaries in the United States for folk in the upper echelons of mining are higher than most other places—except perhaps Europe. To see the salary ranges, see the mining salary surveys from Western Cost Mine. read more » Mining Cost Service (MCS) IndexesMonday, November 6, 2006The Dow Jones Average tells you how much you are worth, how much money you made from wise investing, and how much you can spend on fancy goods and vacations. read more » Mine Reclamation Cost Estimating Computer CodesTuesday, October 24, 2006Why do none of the InfoMine Tools ever get used anymore? In answer to this question from a colleague, I guessed that nobody likes doing simple calculations anymore—we all like fancy black box computer codes. read more » Risk and EvolutionThursday, October 12, 2006I returned from California to three packages on my desk: The DecisionTools Suite from Palisade; "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" by Daniel C. Dennett; "The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, and the Radical Remaking of Economics." By Eric Beinhocker. read more » SAMVAL CodeTuesday, September 19, 2006For Industry Discussion -- this is the newly issued (August 2006) South African Code for the Valuation of Mineral Assets. The guiding principles of the code are: read more » Cigars and NickelTuesday, September 12, 2006If you like cigars, you may enjoy this piece. If you do not like cigars, you may agree with some of the points I make. If you invest in nickel, you may have a contrary opinion. read more » Exploration SalariesFriday, September 15, 2006Another window on the otherwise hidden world of salaries: CostMine (a division of InfoMine) has just released its 2006 survey of worldwide exploration salaries. read more » AMD Cost EstimatesMonday, August 14, 2006A computer code to establish the cost of Acid Rock Drainage? Sounds too good to be true? Not so. I quote from the Office of Surface Mining Technical Innovation and Professional Services' website read more » |
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