HOT TOPIC: Greenpeace v. the oil sands

At 8 am, Tuesday, Sept. 15, the day before Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama met to discuss environmental matters, Greenpeace activists invaded Shell Canada's Muskeg River oil sands mine north of Fort McMurray, AB. Mining was temporarily halted and no one was injured. Greenpeace refused Shell's offers to discuss their concerns, and the protesters left on Wednesday afternoon.

The protest raised fears in some quarters that the oil sands mines are vulnerable to future invasions or terrorist attacks.

In your opinion, is the safety of the oil sands and the people who work there an issue?

To register your opinion, please go to the CMJ webpage, www.CanadianMiningJournal.com, and click on the Hot Topic box on the right hand side.

If our readers wish to expand on the reasons for their opinions, please address your comments to Net News editor Marilyn Scales, MScales@CanadianMiningJournal.com.

Last week: We asked CMJ readers whether they thought the gold price will be sustained above the US$1,000/oz level through the end of this year. Almost two out of three were optimistic; 65% believed the price will remain strong. But there were 35% who believe the current high price will retreat.