Reuters is reporting that FE Steel, the world's No 5 steelmaker, on Monday halted production at a plant near Tokyo and global fourth-ranked Nippon Steel suspended operations at two small plants: - JFE said shipments from its 10 million tonnes per year Higashi Nihon plant near Tokyo had virtually halted due to a power outage. - JFE resumed operations on Sunday of two blast furnaces at its Higashi Nihon plant, one of its two mainstay plants, which were idled after Friday's quake and tsunami.

A Practical Mine Ventilation Design and Control short course will be offered by Missouri University of Science and Technology and the Western Mining Safety and Health Transition Center May 4-6, on Missouri S&T's campus. Those who complete the course will receive 24 professional development hours.

This three-day course will provide a sufficient background to design and maintain an underground ventilation system. The materials taught apply to most underground situations, including coal, metal, and nonmetal mines, with the emphasis on practical applications.

The course is designed for ventilation and planning engineers, safety engineers and production, technical and supervisory personnel who require proficiency or a refresher course in mine ventilation. For the computer simulation section, experience on the use of computers is helpful but not necessary.

Australian uranium counters took a substantial hit on Monday in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in […]

As the country still reels from the devastation of a massive earthquake and tsunami, we provide a brief view of where Japan […]

Canadian gold miner White Tiger Gold Inc. has offered 0.40 of its share for each Century Mining share. The offer values Century at about C$1.82 a share -- more than three times the stock's Friday closing, according to Reuters: White Tiger's operations are mainly in Russia, including the Savkino and the Nasedkino project, while Century Mining's primary asset is the Lamaque gold mine in Quebec. The boards of both companies support the deal and White Tiger shareholders will own about 39 percent of the company.

Somerset - The coal mining industry didn’t learn much from the large number of retirements that occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, because it’s happening again, Blair McGill said.

“We’ve lost a generation,” he said. “Over half the managers could retire today if they want. To develop supervisors who can move to the second and third levels takes time and education.”

McGill worked in the mining industry in West Virginia for more than 43 years before his retirement. He was a supervisor in his early 20s.

The Pennsylvania State University Fayette Campus is offering a two-year mining technology associate degree program at the Allegany College of Maryland Somerset County Campus beginning in June. An informational session about the program was held at the college on Friday.

People in the Toowoomba area will be able to access specialist training in the State’s emerging industries at a new faculty of the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE. Employment, Skills and Mining Minister Stirling Hinchliffe today toured the TAFE’s Faculty of Mining, Resources and Infrastructure as part of the Bligh Government’s Community Cabinet in Toowoomba. Mr Hinchliffe said SQIT introduced the new faculty this year to help meet industry demand for skilled workers.

“There is massive growth in the Queensland mining industry and it’s important we have enough skilled workers to meet those demands,” Mr Hinchliffe said. “We also want to see Queenslanders take advantage of the opportunities on offer."

India, ranked among the top five global players in production of several major minerals, is poised for rapid growth in its mining industry - about five percent of the GDP. However, lack of skilled workers is set to hit the industry, creating a demand-supply gap of over 2,200 people by 2025, according to a study on mapping of human resources and skills for the mining industry in India by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Exploration Orbite (TSX VENTURE:ORT.A) is pleased to announce that it has successfully produced its first ton of high purity alumina and has done so ahead of schedule and on budget. This first ton was produced at the company's pilot facility in Cap-Chat, QC, using the company's patented process that marks an important technological quantum step forward. "Producing our first ton of high purity alumina is a major breakthrough for Orbite because it proves definitely that the innovative process we have developed is viable and suited to large scale production. It brings us that much closer to a new metallurgical alumina production facility and a high purity alumina production facility with very high added value"