There’s still time to register for “Establishing and Maintaining a Social Licence to Operate in Mining” to get the Early Bird discount. Robert Boutilier and Ian Thomson’s upcoming webcast will focus on the strategic management of socio-political risk, and shed some light on the essential task of maintaining a social licence to operate. This course will discuss specific community initiatives and programs to show how they meet multiple risk reduction criteria simultaneously.

This three-day webcast will take place 23 - 25 April, 2012 - and you can attend from anywhere! For more information or to register, see the course page. Register before March 23rd to receive a 10% Early Bird discount!

Our most popular webcast is coming up once again this April! In Mining 101, Dr. Scott Dunbar explores the basic concepts of mining and mineral processing: how mines are found and built, how the ore is processed and what’s done with the waste, how mineral products are marketed, and some ideas about the future of mining. Parts of the course require some basic numeracy and high school science; however all of the material is taught in a friendly, non-threatening manner.

This three-session webcast takes place 17, 18, 19 April, 2012; register before March 19th to get the Early Bird discount! See the course page for more details and to register.

There’s still time to register for the XRF Operator Training webcast in April! In this webcast, Cindy Collins of Innov-X provides delegates with the basic knowledge of XRF theory and applications, as used in mineral exploration and mining, as well as the principles and practices of radiation safety that apply to XRF analyzers. It also prepares delegates for the qualification examination associated with becoming certified by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) as an Operator of Portable X-ray Flourescence Analyzers.

The webcast will be held 11, 12 April 2012, and you can attend from anywhere! For more information or to register, see the course page.

Mining is a risky business, and while many people have made a lot of money investing in mining projects, many others have lost money, or had to wait many years for a fair return on invested capital. In his upcoming webcast Mining Investment - Understanding the Risks, Jack Caldwell will explore the technical, social, political, and financial factors that make one mining investment better or worse than another, and the risks and rewards of investing. This course is intended primarily for those who are relatively new to mining and investment in mining, and who want to be able to make informed decisions about how and when to invest in a mine or mining company.

This three-day Webcast will take place 27, 28, 29 March, 2012 - and you can attend from anywhere! For more information or to register, see the course page.

Dr. Rimas Pakalnis’ upcoming short course, Empirical Design Methods for Underground Mines, provides the operators of underground mines with the tools required to make on-site pillar and opening stability assessments, and provides empirical methods for considering the complex interaction of stress, opening geometry, structure and rock mass. Participants will learn how to: make decisions on site stability assessments of openings and pillars, develop an understanding of the critical field data required for stability assessment, judge the influence of rock mechanics on the stability of planned openings, and understand the influence of rock mechanics on overall mine design. The 2-day course will take place May 17-18 in Vancouver, BC. For more details or to register, see the course page.

Dr. Rimas Pakalnis’ popular online course, A Rock Engineering Primer for Non-Engineers in Mining, is now available in Spanish! This course is designed to introduce rock engineering issues to personnel of mining companies who are not directly involved in mining: people like managers, metallurgists, field geologists . . . even accountants, secretaries and lawyers! The course’s goal is to teach non-engineering personnel what is needed by operations personnel at the mine site level, so that anyone in your organization can better understand the mine site.

For more information on Introducción a la ingeniería de rocas para el personal de minería que no son ingenieros, see the course introduction page.

Are you looking for information about environmental impacts of industrial activities on humans and animals? Would you like to know more about Project Environmental Clearance? Then check out the following books:

1. Environmental Impact Assessment Methodologies
2. Environmental Security: Human and Animal Health
3. Handbook of Environmental Laws, Acts, Guidelines, Compliances & Standards
4. Project Environmental Clearance: Engineering and Management Aspects of Mineral Production and Processing Industry

It is not possible to permit, operate or close a mine in the 21st century unless it exhibits ability and commitment to practice responsible tailings management. Tailings Management 101, by by Dr. Michael Davies, P.Eng., P.Geo. &
Kimberly Morrison, P.E., R.G. from AMEC Environment & Infrastructure, will review the concepts behind responsible tailings management as it pertains to the life cycle of a mine, i.e. planning, design, operation, and closure. The webcast, by use of examples from around the world, will emphasize current trends in best practices in tailings management embraced by leaders in the industry.

The three-day webcast will be held May 22 - 24, 2012, and you can attend from anywhere! For more information or to register, see the course page.

In the quest to continually improve information and services to the mining industry worldwide, CareerMine invites you to participate in the  CareerMine Mining Industry Salary Survey.

Please complete the survey by March 31, 2012 and you will be entered to win one of 50 packages that include one month of Job Access and a Featured Resume – a $50.00 value – as well as free access to the upcoming CareerMine Salary Center.

The survey will only take a few minutes and your participation will assist CareerMine in gauging the compensation of mining industry professionals around the world.

The average annual salary for an exploration manager in Australia has increased a whopping 187% when tracked in Australian dollars in the last decade. In contrast, American and Canadian exploration manager salaries have only increased 48% and 124% respectively, from 2000 to 2011, according to a newly released survey by CostMine.

Why?

A number of factors: the Australian mining boom, favourable exchange rates for Australians and a strong Australian economy are just a few of the reasons. As a result, exploration managers from around the world are willing to migrate to Australia to earn more money. The following figure illustrates the trends for average salaries for exploration managers in Australia, Canada and the United States, since 2000.

In addition to exploration managers, the new study compares wages for senior and project geologists, technicians and other essential exploration personnel for 129 exploration offices from 38 countries around the world.

The 2011 Exploration Salaries, Wages and Benefits report can be purchased from CostMine or R2Mining. Click here for more information or email info@costmine.com or info@r2mining.com . Price US$945 + s/h.