A short note to end a sunny day.  There is a report of potential failure of a tailings dam on the news.  Here is what is reported: The Regional District of Central Kootenay Emergency Operations Centre is working with various agencies to ensure public safety for travelers and area residents in response to concerns.

An insight into the salaries of technical, managerial and administrative folk who work on Canadian Mines.

Fifty-six mines across Canada provided data on wages paid in 2011.  Thirty-four are union mines; and twenty-two non-union.  Forty-five reported increased wages while eleven made no changes.  None decreased wages. 

Yesterday I blogged about the compensation of CEOs of major mining companies in Canada and the United States. Today let us turn to the stalwarts of the industry, namely the executives of junior mining companies.

How much compensation does the executive of a Canadian mining company deserve? We cannot answer that question. We can only tell what they do earn.

An email from a brilliant exploration geologist

I must return to the topic of the Pebble Mine.  What is happening there is so extreme and contentious that it is setting the pinnacle (and possible the standard) for debate about opening new mines in sensitive places. 

Too many sub-par publications sprout on about the shortage of experienced engineers in mining. “They are retiring and will leave the industry bereft,” is what the young journalists write too often.

In my email this past week was a missive from the news-editor of Mining.com. He passed on a letter sent to him for possible publication. I repeat the entire letter below. It has the edge I like. It has the honesty of an old man about to retire: I respect that. It has the frustration of change; and we all know the feeling.

I can hardly wait to get my first project involving the use of a drone to monitor the performance of a mine tailings facility. These days some are so big that it is impossible to see them all in one glance.

Protesters of a mining conference in downtown Vancouver were throwing more than just rocks.

The highly politicised nature of the Pebble Mine and mining development in general in the area makes any statement dangerous.