The prospect of mining the ocean floor may seem far-fetched, but China, motivated by its insatiable hunger for resources, has opened its eyes to the idea. According to a story in The Japan Times, China will attempt to plunge the Jialong - the world's deepest-diving manned submersible - 5,000 metres below the surface of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and North America, exceeding the craft's previous depth of 3,759 metres.

Gov. Pat Quinn has signed legislation that could lead to the construction of a new "clean coal" plant in Chicago that converts coal to natural gas. Quinn signed the bill Wednesday at the site of a former steel mill on Chicago's southeast side. Image of Gov. Pat Quinn is from Wikipedia

Reuters) - Opti Canada Inc , whose major asset is a stake in Nexen Inc's troubled Long Lake oil sands project in northern Alberta, filed for court protection from creditors on Wednesday as it agreed on a equity-for-debt swap with bondholders. Opti said

Health and safety is a central issue in the South African mining industry. Hi-Tech Security Solutions Journal reports that on September 7th, as a part of the OSH Expo Africa, Lexis Nexis Compliance will be presenting Mine and Occupational Health & Safety Seminar in response to recent government scrutiny in relation to safety issues.

“The seminar will inform industry professionals of exactly where they stand in terms of the law. It is a must-attend event for all key players in mining and related industries,” says Ross Cullingworth, director, sales and marketing at Montgomery Africa. “Furthermore Lexis Nexis Compliance is a well-known leader in occupational health and safety, offering a range of professional services and products, and we are delighted that they are partnering with us at this event.”

Daniel Brockett, a drilling and mining supply executive, has launched BX Drilling Supply in Boise, Idaho. BX Drilling Supply offers a diverse range of products and supplies as well as logistics support, supply chain management and inventory management to the drilling and mining industry.

Palladium Investing News has announced that on July 21st, North American Palladium (NAP) will be hosting an investor seminar in Toronto. The seminar will also be webcast live on NAP's website.

The seminar will aim to provide investors with a better understanding of the significant exploration upside at LDI, addressing the uniqueness of the deposit, an overview of the Company’s past and current exploration targets, a discussion about the potential of the recent discoveries and other targets on the property, and how the recent exploration success ties into the mine expansion. In addition, Revelation Geoscience, a leading independent consultancy that has reviewed NAP’s exploration records, will provide insight on the highly prospective LDI property within a global context by comparing it to other PGM deposits.

On Wednesday, August 3rd, BNA will be holding an EHS webinar on using mentoring and mobile technologies to improve safety training and compliance.

The philosophy and methods of eliminating non-valued activities and improving performance, referred to in the business world as “lean,” is used extensively in manufacturing, software development, and other applications with great success. The lean principles also can be applied to training and knowledge sharing in a variety of settings, including safety training professionals. In this 90-minute Webinar, Todd Hudson, president of Maverick Institute, will discuss unique approaches and experiences applying lean principles to improve safety training, compliance, and performance in manufacturing and mining environments.

Shares in Canada’s Bear Creek Mining Corporation bounced by over 4% at the open on Wednesday after the company announced it was launching legal action against the Peruvian government to regain its license for a mining concession in the south of the country. Peru cancelled Bear Creek’s licence in late June after protests against the Santa Ana Silver project resulted in five people being killed by police at an international airport 160km away from the site. Bear Creek’s injunction comes weeks ahead of the swearing in of the South American nation’s new leftwing president Ollanta Humala (pictured).

The Namibian reports 500 workers at Rio Tinto's Rossing uranium mine in Namibia downed tools on Tuesday in a dispute over production incentives. The news comes in the wake of a senior Rio Tinto executive telling Dow Jones on Monday that the mine – which accounts for over 5% of world production of uranium oxide – is losing money at the current price of under $55 per pound of U3O8. Rossing which lies partly inside the Namib-Naukluft Park (pictured) has produced uranium since 1976. Rio Tinto owns 70% while the Iranian government with 15% is the second largest shareholder.