One of the Seven Great Wonders of the World is being threatened by mining. Reuters reports that legal and illegal mines operating below the Great Wall of China are tearing chunks of the wall away and allowing the historic landmark to crumble: About 200 km (124 miles) southwest of Beijing, in rural Laiyuan county in Hebei province, dozens of small mines are threatening the stability of the centuries-old wall as prospectors dig for copper, iron, molybdenum and nickel, state news agency Xinhua reported. Some mines have excavated within 100 meters of the wall.

Mines in the Upper Hunter area of Australia are suffering from a serious skills shortage that will be affecting not only the coal industry but all other businesses that are competing with the mines for skilled workers. However, local coal companies may be not be helping as much as they could, reports the Newcastle Herald.

The region's TAFE colleges have recognised the issue and are gearing up their training courses to fill the need. They can't do this alone, however. Unfortunately, it appears that the commitment of coal companies to training local personnel may be a little patchy.

Facing a skills shortage in mining, the government of Mozambique is planning to train 4000 people for the mining industry over the next four years, including geologists, engineers and metallurgists, reports Club of Mozambique.

Speaking about the current situation, [Mozambican Mining Resources minister Esperança] Bias said that every year Eduardo Mondlane University took on around 20 students for this area and trained around half of them and that at the Higher Polytechnic Institute the total number of trainees was between 20 and 30 per year. These figures are still far below requirements, as, according to the minister, “if we analyse current mining activities in Mozambique, we can immediately see that the number of professionals that leave educational establishments is very small.”

Reuters reports a proposed European Union law to rank Canadian oil sands as dirtier than conventional fuel can probably be successfully defended if Ottawa challenges the move at the World Trade Organization according to legal advisers to the EU's executive. The statement comes a day after environmentalists hurled accusations and interrupted a speech by Canada's resources minister, who was on tour to persuade Britain not to join the EU oil sands initiative. The government of Alberta has also written to EU experts voicing "grave concerns" that the bloc's plans are unfair and a potential threat to trade ties ahead of a Tuesday meeting to debate a green ranking of fuels. Royal Dutch Shell and France's Total are the top European investors in the oil sands.

In early morning trade in New York, copper for delivery in December jumped 5.5% from yesterday's 15-month low to trade at $3.23 a pound after France and Germany made positive noises about tackling Europe's debt problem promising a definitive agreement by heads of state "by Wednesday at the latest." Copper is also being lifted by supply worries – Reuters reported on Friday China's copper smelters are slowing their rate of refined copper production as supplies of raw material concentrate and scrap fall. Two strikes at mines owned by US-based producer Freeport McMorran has cut production while shipments from the world's No. 1 copper mine, BHP's Escondida in Chile, could be delayed to next year after recent work stoppages.

Two days after the BC government compensated Boss Mining $30 million for expropriating its mining claims near Kelowna as part of a province-wide uranium mining ban in 2008, another company is pursuing a cash settlement. BIV reports that International Montoro Resources (CVE:IMT) is proceeding with its claim against the BC government for expropriating its Cup Lake-Donen uranium deposit in April 2008. The company is seeking $2 million for its properties after sinking $2 million into the ground says BIV.

China's net coal imports this year are expected to reach around 150 million tonnes less than last year's 164.83 million tonnes, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday, citing the country's coal association. The annual output is estimated to exceed 3.5 billion tonnes this year, compared with about 3.3 billion tonnes last year. Domestic demand will keep rising at a moderate pace amid steady economic growth, but uncertainty in the macro economy will decelerate demand growth, predicted Wang Zhanjun, an official with China National Coal Association. Meanwhile the state electricity authority said power cuts were likely this winter due to tight coal supplies and a fall in hydroelectric output. China relies on coal for the vast majority of its power-generating capacity.

Taseko Mines (TSE:TKO) estimates its proposed New Prosperity copper-gold mine would generate $9.8 billion in tax revenues for the federal and BC government over the next 20 years. The Vancouver-based company is taking another run at developing the $1.5-billion project after the federal government rejected it last fall. The gold- copper project in northern British Columbia raised the ire of environmentalists and First Nations groups for the proposed destruction of a lake to be used as a tailings impoundment. A provincial environmental assessment process had approved the project, but the federal government’s own review rejected it last November.

Zambia has stopped issuing and renewing mining licences as part of a shake-up of the mining sector by President-elect Michael Sata and his new government. Mining Minister Wilbur Simusa said in a statement that his "ministry has with immediate effect and until further notice suspended the issuance of new applications, renewal and transfer of mining and non-mining rights."