A short piece to ask for help from the readers of this blog. I have tried in vain to find a suitable numerical procedure to calculate the onset and development of gullies on the steeper sideslopes of mine waste disposal facilities. I read about some Australian successes with a computer code called SIBERIA. But I can no longer find their website, and none of the references I read gives me details of the equations they use. So please, if you know the best way to calculate the onset and development of a set of gullies on a steep slope, let me know. Thanks

In 1870 the population of the United States was about 30 million–more or less the current population of Canada. By 1900 the United States population had doubled. Gold mining had something to do with this increase. In the early years of the 1900s, Chinese workers came to Canada (and the US.) Is the Canadian population about to double in the next thirty years by Chinese immigration to work the mines? These thoughts are prompted by the following news report:

A Vancouver-based mining company is reportedly planning a coal project for northeastern B.C., and wants to bring in as many as 400 workers from China to build the mine. The Globe and Mail reports the Chinese-backed Canadian Dehua International Mines Group Inc. has filed a project description with the B.C. government, saying it needs 400 workers with specific skills in underground coal mining. The document says there are few underground coal mines in Canada and Dehau will need skilled labour from China to meet its staffing requirements. The proposed Gething coal project is northwest of Chetwynd in northeastern B.C. Jim Sinclair of the B.C. Federation of Labour doesn’t like the idea of importing foreign workers, calling it the ultimate sellout of B.C. resources. Michael McPhie of the Mining Association of B.C. says the concept of importing an entire mine crew isn’t something they’ve seen before, and needs serious scrutiny.

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