Blasting Plans Worry Some Chateau Heights Residents
from The Daily Gleaner
Some Chateau Heights, New Brunswick, Canada residents still have concerns about the future of their water supply after attending a public information session about potential blasting in a nearby quarry. Percy Jones & Sons Ltd. has obtained a draft operating permit and has plans to haul rock from a quarry it owns on flatlands off Route 620 in the next year or two. More

Online Images of the Explosion are Remastered in Time for 92nd Anniversary
from The Canadian Press via Google
People living as far away as Timbuktu and Singapore can now access newly remastered film footage and photographs of the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion. The Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture announced Friday that all photographs, films and archival records on the 1917 disaster have been re-digitized for their Web site. More

Robotic Clam Could Detonate Underwater Mines
from MSNBC
Robot clams may one day help dig up and detonate buried underwater mines, researchers now reveal. They could also serve as smart anchors for robot subs or deep-sea oil drilling. Mechanical engineers Anette "Peko" Hosoi and Amos Winter at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology designed robots after the Atlantic razor clam because it is one of nature's best diggers. More

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Work Starts Removing Rocks from U.S. 64
from The Chattanoogan
Crews with contractor Charles Blalock & Sons Construction continued drilling on the western side of the rockslide in the Ocoee Gorge near Chattanooga, Tenn., in preparation for a series of trim blasts. Trim blasting includes workers drilling holes into an exposed layer of unstable rock, then packing the holes with explosives and detonating the charges. More

Afghanistan's Dogs of War Sniff Out Mines
from MSNBC
On the heels of President Barack Obama's announcement that 30,000 more U.S. troops will be heading to Afghanistan, it's important to remember one thing that makes the fight there so difficult and unique: Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. More

MSHA Alerts Mines About Oxygen Risks of Rescue Chambers
from OHS Online
MSHA posted a new Safety Alert that reminds underground mine personnel that oxygen systems inside portable refuge chambers must be protected against damage when the chambers are moved, or dangerous conditions could result when miners use the chambers in an actual emergency. Chambers, also called refuge alternatives and shelters, are designed to protect miners for 96 hours as they await rescue, so they contain high-pressure compressed oxygen cylinders that remain in a "ready state" until being deployed during an emergency, the alert notes. More

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Senate Votes Down Australian Cap-and-trade Bill
from Business Green
Australia's plans for transitioning to a low-carbon economy were thrown into turmoil today when the opposition successfully blocked the government's flagship emission cap-and-trade bill for the second time this year. More

Battle Over Mountaintop Mining Slowly Gains Ground
from ABC News
Environmental activists gained more momentum this year than in the past decade against the destructive, uniquely Appalachian form of strip mining known as mountaintop removal, though they have yet to mobilize the millions of supporters they want. More

Private Explosives Factory's License Restored
from Dawn.com
The government has restored the license of a private factory which was allegedly involved in pilferage of explosives. The premises of the Biafo Industries – one of the two explosives manufacturing companies in the private sector located in the Hattar Industrial Estate – have been de-sealed after a penalty of Rs120,000. More

Canadian Miner Meets Adversity in Ghana
from VOA News
With gold prices at record highs, many companies are trying to get in on the action and mine in Africa's second-largest gold producer, Ghana. But one Canadian company already operating in Ghana is running into problems with the local community and the government. More