Cheers to a good year and to a better one to come

s 2011 comes to a close, I want to thank everyone working on the magazine for making my first year as Publisher an excellent experience. I’d also like to thank those of you who have taken the time to correspond with us or invite us to your mine sites or offices. Without your generosity of time and willingness to share information there would be no magazine.

The purpose of Canadian Mining Journal is to promote what’s new and best in Canadian mining and mineral processing. However, to do that we need your continued support. We can’t visit every site or attend every event, but you can make sure we know about everything you are doing by ensuring that Editor Russ Noble (rnoble@canadianminingjournal.com), our Field Editor Marilyn Scales (mscales@canadianminingjournal.com), as well as our Northern Correspondent Bill Braden (billbradenphoto@gmail.com), Western Correspondent Tanya Laing Gahr (Tanya.l.laing@gmail.com), and Eastern Correspondent D’Arcy Jenish (darcyjenish@rogers.com), are all on your Press Release list.

We’re only as good as the information we receive, so we encourage you to keep in touch with us; and if you are sending us photographs, please make sure they are in a high-resolution, print quality format, otherwise we both look bad.

Moving ahead, 2012 is a special year for CMJ as it marks its 130^th anniversary. Looking through archival issues, I realize that our magazine, more than any other source, has chronicled the domestic history of the Canadian mining industry, both in its editorial and advertising content; but as we all know, the Canadian mining industry has grown dramatically over the years to the point where Canadians now operate as many mines outside of Canada as we do within our borders.

Perhaps more than any other industry, Canada interacts with the world via mining. Canadian companies now operate more than 200 mines outside of Canada. Factor in exploration companies, and we have a presence in over 100 countries, including over 20 companies in China alone.

And, of course, this is being reciprocated with Chinese investment in Canada.It’s not just our resources they’re investing in, but our expertise in finding, building and maintaining safe, sound and profitable mines. Canadians are leaders in one of the most in-demand industries in the world.

But, sadly, we’re in danger of letting our competitive advantage slip away due to a lack of skilled labour. The irony is not lost on me when I see crowds of mostly Liberal Arts grads protesting a lack of jobs for them while our industry is starving for talent. Canada has much to lose financially if we don’t ensure that there’s always another generation of miners to carry the torch.

In that vein, we really must promote the sciences and trades at school and to encourage our youth to consider mining as a career. Personally, I was delighted to see Rio Tinto’s national recruitment ad on television. To me, it’s brilliant. It makes mining look exciting, cutting edge and even cool. You can view the full video at http://jobs.riotinto.ca/.

The industry needs to do more of this on a national scale to illustrate that mining is as dynamic and quintessentially Canadian a job as there is. It’s amazing to consider that the miner stereotype never caught on as much as the lumberjack did for Canada.

One sector that could use some social science grads is Corporate Social Responsibility. This has been an important topic for us over the years and we will continue to watch CSR issues closely. The persistence of mining tragedies around the world is proof that there’s always room for improvement when it comes to safety, security, the environment and social relations.

I trust you appreciate the information we are presenting but; if you don’t, please let us know. Positive responses are also welcome.

Yours in Mining,

Publisher