MSHA releases preliminary fatality data for 2011
from MSHA
Preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration released reveal that 37 miners died in work-related accidents at the nation's mines in 2011. There were 21 coal mining and 16 metal/nonmetal mining fatalities last year, compared with 48 and 23, respectively, in 2010, making 2011 the year with the second-lowest number of mining deaths since statistics were first recorded in 1910.  More
 

Ohio quakes could incite fracking policy shift
from The Associated Press
In Ohio, geographically and politically positioned to become a leading importer of wastewater from gas drilling, environmentalists and lawmakers opposed to the technique known as fracking are seizing on a series of small earthquakes as a signal to proceed with caution.   More
 

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340-ton rock's move from Riverside to Los Angeles stopped by red tape
from KABC-TV
The planned move of a 340-ton boulder from a Riverside County quarry to a Los Angeles museum has run into a web of red tape. The story of the massive chunk of granite began about five years ago at the Stone Valley Quarry in Riverside. "It came from 180 feet up the face of our quarry, where they were drilling and blasting, and it came down as one complete piece," said Stephen Vander Hart, vice-president of operations at Stone Valley Materials, which did the drilling.   More
 

South Africa mines still face a rocky new year
from Business Report
The South African mining industry faces a challenging year ahead, with regulatory uncertainty, wage pressures and safety concerns poised to make the new year no easier than the past 12 months. A slowing global economy presents another major headwind for the industry, which accounts for 8.8 percent of South Africa's gross domestic product and employs 500 000 people.   More
 

Fertilizer company says another ammonium plant needed to address explosives demand
from ABC News
A company planning an ammonium nitrate facility, near Orica's plant says the Hunter River will act as a barrier to protect Stockton residents from any ill effects. In August last year the toxic chemical hexavalent chromium leaked from Orica's Kooragang Island plant and rained down on Stockton 800 meters away.  More
 

The tricky second wave of urban highway removals
from The Atlantic Cities
Dismantling urban freeways - replacing elevated viaducts of steel and concrete with parks and boulevards - is happening in so many places, it’s like an unspoken national urban policy. We've reached a unique point in city-building when the destruction of a public works project has all the glamour and buzz of breaking ground on a new one.  More
 

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Lack of livelihood projects drive small-scale mining
from Sun Star
Landslides that hit small-scale mining areas in Compostela Valley could have been averted if the government found ways to provide alternative livelihood to affected communities. "The government continues its great dependence on the exportation of raw materials and other natural resources. The national economy and the people continue to suffer from a bankrupt and poverty-riddled economy marked with the decreasing availability of agricultural lands for farming," the Save Pantukan Alliance said.  More
 

Old Amway Arena to be imploded after all
from Orlando Sentinel
Orlando's old Amway Arena will go out with a bang after all. Developers of the site where the arena sits have revised their demolition plans and now say they'll use explosive charges to implode the entire building sometime in March.   More
 

Crews demolish 20-story former Prudential Building in Houston medical district
from The Associated Press via The Washington Post
It didn't take long - mere seconds, in fact - to create a new hole in the skyline of Houston's medical district. Demolition crews used high explosives to implode the 20-story former Prudential Building that had been a landmark of the district landscape southwest of downtown Houston since 1952.   More
 

One big wish, boy blows up building
from WUPW-TV
A 7-year-old California boy gets to be the one to push the button and implode a massive structure in Erie County. 7-year-old Maxwell Hinton never thought he would get a chance to play with explosives at such a young age. But the little boy's big dream came true thanks to an organization that turns wishes into realities.  More
 

More detector dogs trained to boost crackdown on smuggling
from Today's Zaman
Eight dogs have passed professional training qualifications to detect drugs, tea and tobacco and are starting work at border gates as part of the crackdown against smuggling and terrorism in Turkey, the Cihan news agency reported.   More
 

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