The mining industry in Canada is now facing a shortage of skilled labour, and the severity could be as severe as in was before the economic downturn in 2008, Mining Weekly reports.

Record prices for many commodities, coupled with cheap and more easily available finance, mean that activity in the mining sector is roaring and skilled mining engineers, geologists, technicians and other key people are again hot commodities and companies are having to pay up to get hold of them.

In response to the recent law passed by the Mongolian government limiting the number of foreign workers used in Mongolian mining projects, mining companies have begun training Mongolians for driving positions at local mines, UB Post reports.

41 companies of Umnugobi, Dornogobi provinces took part in research that studied the number of workers needed and salary proposals. These companies employ 1,189 Mongolian and 1,500 Chinese drivers at the moment. However, they reported that with the new law they will need 1500 additional Mongolian drivers. Employers pay 800,000MNT as a salary with potential for employees to earn bonuses.

Investors piled into Ringbolt Ventures on Tuesday after the company announced that it has commenced drilling on its Lisbon Valley Potash Project in the Paradox Basin in Utah. By mid-day the small-cap exploration company was trading up 15% on Toronto's venture exchange on above average volumes. Potash was first discovered in the Paradox Basin in an oil and gas well in 1924 and in 1962, Superior Oil Company drilled the first potash at the crest of the Lisbon Valley anticline. Since 1964, potash and by product salt have been produced from the nearby Cane Creek mine, now owned by Intrepid Potash.

Dow Jones reports a Khazakhstan mining and metals group says it's forging ahead with plans to build a $2 billion iron ore mine in northeast Brazil despite major logistical and environmental obstacles, while speculation about a takeover-bid swirls. The Pedra de Ferro iron ore project is already four years behind schedule, and the company may miss the 2014 start-up date as it is still waiting for environmental licenses to build a port from which to ship the iron ore, and for Brazil's federal government to build a railroad.

Russian mining and metals giant Mechel listed in New York where it has a market capitalization just shy of $11bn, reported on Tuesday winning the auction for the subsoil license for Pionerskoye iron ore deposit, sending its ADRs up 3.5% in midday trade. Pionerskoye's estimated reserves as of January 1, 2010 were 137m tonnes of iron ore with high iron content, which will enable the company to produce iron ore concentrate at the early stages of development without the need to use complex beneficiation technologies.

B2Gold Corp. reports a temporary shutdown of the underground workings at the Limon Mine in Nicaragua due to on-going rescue attempt of a missing worker during heavy rains and mine flooding.

Ivanhoe Mines' Chief Executive Officer Robert Friedland announced today that the company expects to receive US$502 million from Rio Tinto later today following Rio Tinto's decision to exercise all remaining share-purchase warrants that it holds in Ivanhoe Mines.

According to a report by Chinese news agency Xinhua, China has been sharply increasing its output of gold and silver coins to meet seemingly ever-increasing popular demand for precious metals as people buy to protect against perceived rising inflation. Indeed it has more than doubled the maximum issuance for 2011 for some popular gold coin sizes from its previously announced levels.

While the Obama Administration extended its emergency ban on new mining claims around the Grand Canyon only until December 20, 2011, statements made by federal officials at a press conference at Mather Point in the Grand Canyon National Park Monday indicate the ban will probably be permanent. Although U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar repeatedly stressed that mining projects currently in the regulatory pipeline remain alive and viable, fears of possible contamination of the Grand Canyon watershed were repeatedly stressed by federal officials speaking during the news conference. Image of Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar at the Statue of Liberty is from Wikipedia.