Foundational-Resource Extraction
From WikiDemocracy
Mining in the United States
Mining in the United States has been active since the beginning of colonial times, but became a major industry in the 19th century with a number of new mineral discoveries causing a series of mining rushes. In 2015, the value of coal, metals, and industrial minerals mined in the United States was US$109.6 billion. 158,000 workers were directly employed by the mining industry.[1]
35th Annual Mining History Association Conference
by Discover Mining History 15/6/25
On November 20th, 2024, the museum joined with Lehigh University and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to host the dedication of a State Historical Marker for The President Pumping Engine at the Ueberroth Zinc Mine in the Friedensville Mining District in nearby Friedensville, PA. The President began operation in 1872 for mine dewatering and was reported to be “the most powerful stationary engine in the world.” The engine was housed in the only remaining Cornish-style engine house in the U.S.
Mining
by Morgan Stanley NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Mining is the process of extracting useful materials from the earth. Some examples of substances that are mined include coal, gold, or iron ore. Iron ore is the material from which the metal iron is produced.
A Brief History of Mining: The Advancement of Mining Techniques and Technology
by General Kinematics 23/5/19 GENERAL KINEMATICS
The metals and minerals we rely on in our everyday life are staggering. If you really take a moment to think about it, look around to observe the objects you are surrounded by which are not manufactured by plant-based resources. From the cement you walk on to the screen you are reading, our world and our way of life depends on the products of modern mining practices. Since civilization began, people have used mining techniques to access minerals in the surface of the Earth. Discoveries have shown that flint pebbles were extracted from deposits in France and Britain as far back as the New Stone Age. Ancient Egyptians mined copper as far back as 3000 BCE. In the earliest days, mining was slow-going and dangerous. However, as time progressed, society has developed safer and more accurate methods of locating and uncovering substances found in the earth.
Mining, Minerals, Metals: Background
The mining industry can be dated as far back as 41000 BCE, to a mine in Swaziland. The mine, called the Lion Cave, is where natives mined hematite to produce ochre, a red pigment. Other mines found that existed during the same time frame were flint mines, which humans used for tools and weapons during the time.
The History of Mining
by Michael Coulson 12/11/12 Google
Born in 1945 Michael Coulson has been associated with the mining sector for over 30 years, although his university background is in economics where he holds a BSc from the University of London. He first worked as a graduate trainee on the legendary mining desk at James Capel in 1970, for many years the leading mining stockbroker in the City. After that he became a mining salesman at Sterling & Co and also developed the firm's research coverage of the sector. In 1973 he joined Fielding Newson-Smith (later to become NatWest Markets) as a gold mining analyst where he began a long association with the South African gold mining industry. Two years later he became senior mining analyst at L Messel (latterly Lehman Bros) where he started to produce an annual gold review which he published every year until 1991. In 1979 he moved to Panmure Gordon and in 1982 he left and joined Phillips & Drew (UBS) with the task of establishing the firm in the mining market.
Mining in World History
Digging Deep
Before the advent of the great mineral revolution in the latter half of the 19th century, South Africa was a sleepy colonial backwater whose unpromising landscape was seemingly devoid of any economic potential. Yet lying just beneath the dusty surface of the land lay the richest treasure trove of gold, diamonds, platinum, coal and a host of other metals and minerals that has ever been discovered in one country. It was the discovery and exploitation of first diamonds in 1870 and then gold in 1886 that proved the catalyst to the greatest mineral revolution the world has ever known, which transformed South Africa into the supreme industrialised power on the African continent.
Issues in the History of Mining and Metallurgy
by Charles Harvey 28/7/06 Taylor & Francis
History of Mining
by Dumitru Fodor 19/12/23 SPRINGER NATURE LINK
This paper has as purpose the presentation of the activities of extraction and valorisation of the deposits of solid utile mineral substances on the territory of Romania, along four historical periods comprised between Paleolithic Era and the end of the Millennium II A.D.
Mining Aspects from Version History
by Thomas Zimmermann 22/12/06 IEEE Xplore
Aspect raining identifies cross-culling concerns in a program, to help migrating it to an aspect-oriented design. Such concerns may not exist from the beginning, but emerge over time. By analysing where developers add code to a program, our history-based aspect mining (BAM) identifies and ranks cross-cutting concerns. We evaluated the effectiveness of our approach with the history of three open-source projects. BAM scales up to Industrial-sized projects: for example, we were able to identify a locking concern that cross-cuts 1284 methods in Eclipse. Additionally, the precision of HAM increases with project size and history: for Eclipse, it reaches 90% for the top-10 candidates
Rush That Never Ended
by Geoffrey Blainey 2013 Google
Forget about Ned Kelly and the bushrangers: for my money if you want a really romantic and exciting saga of Australia, take a look at our mining history. It's a turbulent, dramatic story with enough material for a bookshelf full of best-sellers ... a saga of tough men, iron-nerved gamblers, violence, death and glittering riches set against the backdrop of some of the most awful country on earth. And never has the story been better told than by Geoffrey Blainey.—Trevor Sykes
An Overview of the Mining History and Geology of Butte, Montana
by Gammons, Christopher H 6/06 ProQuest
The Butte mining district – formerly known as the “Richest Hill on Earth” – is now more notorious for its environmental problems, the legacy of 140 years of mining, milling, and smelting on Butte Hill (Dobb 1996; Langewiesche 2001)
Environmental & Engineering Geoscience
by FRED G. BELL 1/11/88 GeoScienceWorld
One of the modern methods of mining is longwall extraction which involves total extraction of panels within a coal seam. Subsidence consequent upon longwall mining can be regarded as more or less contemporaneous with the mining activity. What is more, unlike subsidence associated with old pillar and stall workings, it normally is predictable within about ± 10 percent. Of the components of ground movement developed by such subsidence, tensile stress gives rise to most damage to structures.
Background Conditions and Mining Pollution throughout History in the Río Tinto (SW Spain)
The Río Tinto drains the eastern part of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), an area with a huge amount of massive sulphide deposits that has been mined for the last 4500 years. This river presents extreme conditions, with very high concentrations in solution of metals and metalloids and low pH values. Mining activities in the upper part of the watershed of the Río Tinto have been documented since historical times and a huge amount of widespread acid-producing mine residues exist in this area.
The history and economics of gold mining in China
by Rui Zhang 3/15 ScienceDirect
As the largest producer of gold in the world, China's gold reserves are spread across a number of orogenic belts that were constructed around ancient craton margins during various subduction–collision cycles, as well as within the cratonic interior along reactivated paleo-sutures. Among the major gold deposits in China is the unique class of world's richest gold mines in the Jiaodong Peninsula in the eastern part of the North China Craton with an overall endowment of > 3000 tons.
Thoughts on Mining History
Mining California
by Andrew C. Isenberg 4/9/24 Google
Between 1849 and 1874 almost $1 billion in gold was mined in California. With little available capital or labor, here's how: high-pressure water cannons washed hillsides into sluices that used mercury to trap gold but let the soil wash away; eventually more than three times the amount of earth moved to make way for the Panama Canal entered California's rivers, leaving behind twenty tons of mercury every mile—rivers overflowed their banks and valleys were flooded, the land poisoned. In the rush to wealth, the same chain of foreseeable consequences reduced California's forests and grasslands.
Mining and Communities in Northern Canada
by University of Calgary Press 2015 open
For indigenous communities throughout the globe, mining has been a historical forerunner of colonialism, introducing new, and often disruptive, settlement patterns and economic arrangements.
Findings Related to the History of Mining in Turkey
The greatest innovation in the history of civilization is the use of minerals. Anatolia, owes its rich and long history, to the varied non-depleting mineral wealth. Nine thousand years ago copper was the first metal the habitants of Anatolia made use of. The oldest underground mining in Anatolia has been discovered around Tokat-Erbaa, Kozlu which belongs to the beginning of 5 thousand years B.C. In this study, for the first time in Turkey, using archaeometric methods, in two localities around Niğde tin mineralizations have been discovered. This is an important discovery for the mining history of Turkey.
The Impact of Mining on the Landscape
This book investigates the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB), one of the oldest and largest mining areas not only in Poland but also in Europe. Using uniform research methods for the whole study area, it also provides a summary of the landscape transformations. Intensive extraction of hard coal, zinc and lead ores, stowing sands and rock resources have caused such extensive transformations of landscape that it can be considered a model anthropogenic relief.
A history of mining and mineral exploration in Canada and outlook for the future
by Cranstone, D A 1/7/20 ETDEWEB
Mineral production through the years, exploration expenditures for non-petroleum minerals, changing rates and costs of ore discovery, ore reserves, the petroleum industry, sulphur production, and principal mineral areas are described. The future of mineral exploration and of mineral production in the long term are discussed. The report includes an early history of Canada's mineral industry, prospecting, and mineral exploration. 16 refs., 68 figs.
Reconstructing the history of mining and remediation in the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Mining District using lake sediments
by Matthew J. Morra 9/15 ScienceDirect
Mining that began in the late 1800s intensified during World War II contaminating Lake Coeur d’Alene sediments with potentially toxic elements. We used 80 y of the sediment record to reconstruct metal(loid) loadings to the lake and quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of tailings management. Sediment core analysis for pollen, chronological markers, and metal(loid)s permitted stratigraphic reconstruction showing that contaminant loading decreased after tailings pond construction, but that most metal(loid) concentrations exceed recommended limits. Arsenic concentrations (250–450 mg kg−1) at the sediment–water interface are potentially toxic; however, low P concentrations in recent sediments (1.0–1.4 mg kg−1) inhibit eutrophication and the concomitant release of soluble As.
History of Surface Mining Reclamation and Associated Legislation
by William T. Plass 1/1/200 ASA
Surface mine study provided a preliminary assessment of spoil physical and chemical characteristics and their effects on tree planting. Information from this study was used in the development of the federal surface mining law. A Montana Bureau of Mines study in 1974 described the effect of surface mining on subsurface water movement.
History and Environmental Impact of Mining Activity in Celtic Aeduan Territory Recorded in a Peat Bog (Morvan, France)
by F. Monna 25/12/03 ACAPublications
The present study aims to document historical mining and smelting activities by means of geochemical and pollen analyses performed in a peat bog core collected around the Bibracte oppidum (Morvan, France), the largest settlement of the great Aeduan Celtic tribe (ca. 180 B.C. to 25 A.D.). The anthropogenic Pb profile indicates local mining operations starting from the Late Bronze Age, ca. cal. 1300 B.C.
Mining in the Region
The history of coal mining on Cape Breton began over 250 years ago. In the early 1700’s, coal was needed in Louisbourg for the French to construct its Fortress. Coal was extracted from exposed seams along the cliffs and in 1720 the first coal mine was officially opened at Cow Bay, or Port Morien as it is now known. In the 1800’s, rows of company houses could be found at Morien, along with hundreds of miners. During the period of 1784-1820, coal deposits were mined on a small scale by either the colonial government or through lease by private individuals.
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Mining was far and away the most significant industry in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Colorado and has remained important since that time. The Pike’s Peak Gold Rush brought unprecedented numbers of people into the region and that in turn led to powerful social, economic, and political changes that brought about the creation of Colorado Territory in 1861, culminating in the admittance of Colorado to the Union in 1876.
Legends of America
by Albert S. Bolles 1987 Legends Of America
The hope of finding mineral treasure was one of the incentives that led the early colonists to America, who were quite diligent in searching for metals. All along the Atlantic Coast, almost immediately after the first settlements, discoveries were made of silver, lead, copper, iron, tin, antimony, coal, and other valuable minerals. Still, they were found generally in small quantities and, in competition with foreign production, the working of mines was frequently found unprofitable. Then, too, the presence and hostility of Indians made such enterprises dangerous.
Exploring 70 Centuries of Mining History
by Jennifer Errick 26/9/19 NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION
The earliest known metalworking in North America began some 7,000 years ago, when Native Americans mined copper in hand-dug pits on an isolated peninsula in the Midwest. Remains of this massive deposit and the booming industry that grew around it are now part of a national historical park.
The history of mining: From the stone age to the digital era
by r. Guneet Kaur 10/2/23 COINTELEGRAPH
Mining is the process of extracting valuable minerals, metals and other resources from the earth. This may entail extracting minerals from underground deposits or from the earth’s surface. The minerals and resources extracted through mining are used for a wide range of purposes, including energy production, construction and manufacturing.
A Quick History of Mining and How its Trajectory Over the Decades
Our company has been working with the mining industry for a few decades. Our company history begins with us working in agriculture and shifting towards the growing and expanding efforts of the mining industry in Mexico and the U.S. We worked hand-in-hand with the industry and have learned to love the hard work that these people put into their labor. The history of mining spans a great many decades and it teaches us a thing or two about how the world evolves and about how human beings continuously seek better ways to maximize labor and seek resources. Many people might not realize it, but today mining is inextricably connected to much of our technological advancements. Mining is, in fact, related to industrial policy and energy policy. In fact, today’s mining is tied to the use of your smartphone, and mining in foreign countries has faced quite a bit of scrutiny because of some of its unsafe practices.
Mining
Mining for metals, coal, hydrocarbons, and minerals was a vital aspect of Utah’s economic, industrial, political, and social growth and development. The mining industry has touched all aspects of life in Utah and has contributed greatly to the state’s history.
Mining North America: An Environmental History since 1522
Modern North America is a world built of minerals. Buildings, transportation networks, communication systems, waterworks, machinery, and appliances of every kind—all of these depend on minerals clawed from beneath the earth’s surface. A modern American automobile now contains at least thirty-nine different minerals, everything from aluminum and bauxite to tungsten and zinc. Computers and smartphones can contain even more, including precious metals such as gold, silver, and platinum, as well as rare earth elements such as europium and yttrium that provide color for their liquid-crystal displays.¹ Electrical lines depend on copper or aluminum; pipes are formed from several different...
The History of Mining Technology
Mining has been essential for humans almost since the beginning of time. After all, we need some sort of fuel source in order to give us power and energy to keep our homes and businesses warm, electricity to power our machines, and, recently, a source of fuel for automobiles, airplanes, trains, and other means of transportation to move people and goods around the globe. Mining technology has come a long way since pickaxes in order to more efficiently deliver coal and ores, gold, silver, and more to the places they need to go.
The History of Underground Mining: A Journey Through Time
by MSHA Safety by 17/12/24 MSHA Safety Service Inc.
Underground mining has been a cornerstone of human civilization, shaping societies, industries, and economies for thousands of years. This article explores the history of underground mining, from its earliest days to its modern advancements, highlighting the methods, challenges, and innovations that have defined this vital practice.
Australia’s Major Mineral Discoveries
by Australian Mining History AUSTRALASIAN MINING HISTORY ASSOCIATION
In Australia, minerals have been part of the continent’s culture and development since the first human habitation. Minerals were used as pigment in ancient rock art and body painting, an integral part of the Aboriginal culture and heritage.
History of mining: five of the oldest mines still in operation
by Talal Husseini 20/9/18 Mini9ng Technology
While mining is nothing new, with archeologists finding evidence that the history of mining goes back to the ancient world, it is rare these days to find mines that have continued to produce on a commercial scale. Here are some of the oldest mines still in operation.
Mining
by John Sandlos, Arn Keeling 7/4/09 THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA
Mining is one of Canada’s primary industries and involves the extraction, refining, and/or processing of economically valuable rocks and minerals. Mineral products (including gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, nickel) are critical to modern industrial society. Although mining has been key to Canadian settlement and development, in recent decades the industry has also been criticized for its environmental and social impacts. Canada remains one of the world’s leading mining countries and has become a centre of global mining finance and expertise.
An illustrated history of mining and metallurgy,
by LIBRARY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
20 An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy ain LN The Greek stack furance with a kettle or crucible on top The gold ore mined by means of shafts was known as cana licium In the galleries the earth was kept from falling by wooden pillars The method of obtaining silver and gold from the ore is described by Pliny as follows The material…
Mining in West Virginia: A Capsule History
by MINER'S HEALTH SAFETY & TRAINING
Records indicate the early settlers in the western sections of Virginia were quite aware of the rich black resources. Coal is reported to have been mined as early as 1810 when a mine was operated near Wheeling, in the northern panhandle. The growth of the salt industry led to the opening of mines to supply furnace fuel during the 1820’s and 1830’s. The other coal fields in the state began to develop in the following two decades. Most of the coal produced was for local business and domestic consumption. Only along navigable rivers was the coal exported to distant markets.
History of Coal Mining in Pennsylvania
by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Room-and-pillar(opens in a new tab) mines have been active in Pennsylvania's bituminous coalfields(opens in a new tab) since the late-1700s. Bituminous coal was first mined in Pennsylvania at "Coal Hill" (Mount Washington), just across the Monongahela River from the city of Pittsburgh. The coal was extracted from drift mines(opens in a new tab) in the Pittsburgh coal seam, which outcrops(opens in a new tab) along the hillside, and transported by canoe to the nearby military garrison. By 1830, the city of Pittsburgh consumed more than 400 tons per day of bituminous coal for domestic and light industrial use.
=====United States Mining History The sinister history of America’s ‘uranium gold rush’ – by Erin Blakemore (National Geographic – July 12, 2024)===== [1]
Armed with picks and shovels, the prospectors turned to the American West intent on finding deposits of the mineral that would make their fortunes. Their pursuit of wealth led to vast riches—and left ghost towns in its wake.
Visit Mining Heritage Sites
Not surprisingly, the legacy of abandoned mineral lands spans North America. Long before the arrival of Europeans, American Indians mined flint, obsidian, and native copper for tools and weapons, turquoise and other stones for jewelry, and clay for pots and pipes. During the 16th century, the lure of gold and the prospect of great wealth drove Spanish explorers into North and South America. Later gold rushes and "Manifest Destiny" were responsible for Europeans settling much of the western United States. The industrial age of the 19th and 20th centuries introduced large-scale extraction of mineral resources such as coal, copper, iron, oil, gas, and uranium, leaving significant environmental impacts on the land.
Mining
Many metals occur in their native state or in readily accessible ores. Thus, the extraction and working of metals dates much further back in time than does the mining industry.
A Brief History of Mining in Cornwall
by Alex Boag-Wyllie 3/7/23 Wilderness England
Cornwall might be best known for its historic tin mining, but copper saw the real boom here. As Poldark fans can attest, the mining industry played a pivotal role in Cornwall’s history. By the 19th century, Cornwall was the biggest producer of copper in the world, producing two-thirds of the market. During this century, the region produced almost two million tonnes of tin. Read on to discover the history of mining in Cornwall. Explore its beginnings and triumphs to the tragedies and the enduring legacy that continues today.
Minerals and mines
Coal mining only really began in earnest during the 1600s. The first pits exploited surface outcrops, but by the 1790s, shafts up to 150 m deep were being sunk.
History & Culture
Butte, as the first major city in Montana and, at one time, the largest city west of the Mississippi River between Chicago and San Francisco, can accurately lay claim to the title of 'Montana's most historic city.' From its early days as a mining camp, to the rise of the Copper Kings and the resulting birth of the labor movement, through the industrialization and decline of mining, and down to a present marked by an environmental and urban renaissance, Butte's history is as colorful and diverse as the landscape of Montana.
A Brief History of Women in Mining
by Holly Armstrong 22/2/22 U>S> DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BLOG
Throughout America’s history, women have played a critical role in mines and mining operations, often in the face of prejudice and other hardships due to their sex. During Women’s History Month, we recognize the contributions women have made in the mining industry and their role in creating opportunities and better working conditions in mines.
California gold rush
The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California.[1] The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad.[2] The sudden influx of gold into the money supply reinvigorated the American economy; the sudden population increase allowed California to grow rapidly into statehood in the Compromise of 1850. The gold rush had severe effects on Native Californians and accelerated the Native American population's decline from disease, starvation, and the California genocide.
Gold Rush Overview
when James Marshall made his customary inspection of the sawmill he was building for John Sutter. During the previous night, Marshall had diverted water through the mill's tailrace to wash away loose dirt and gravel, and on that fateful day, he noticed some shining flecks of metal left behind by the running water. He picked them up and showed them to his crew, but while he was pretty sure that it was gold, the full significance of his discovery was truly impossible to imagine. He was still concerned about getting the mill finished.
The Mines
The gold mines that were the focus of these forty-eighters and forty-niners fell into three major regions. The first discoveries were along the American River and other tributaries to the Sacramento River. Not long thereafter, gold was found in the tributaries to the San Joaquin, which flowed north to join the Sacramento in the great delta east of San Francisco Bay. The Mokelumne River formed the boundary between the two areas, with the upper fields known as the Northern Mines, and those below the Mokelumne known as the Southern Mines. Other strikes occurred to the northwest around the Trinity, Klamath, and Salmon Rivers.
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush was sparked by the discovery of gold nuggets in the Sacramento Valley in early 1848 and was arguably one of the most significant events to shape American history during the first half of the 19th century.
The California Gold Rush
The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848 unleashed the largest migration in United States history and drew people from a dozen countries to form a multi-ethnic society on America's fringe.
California Gold Rush
by John Sutter 22/7/25 ritannica
In 1848 John Sutter was having a water-powered sawmill built along the American River in Coloma, California, approximately 50 miles (80 km) east of present-day Sacramento. On January 24 his carpenter, James W. Marshall, found flakes of gold in a streambed. Sutter and Marshall agreed to become partners and tried to keep their find a secret.
California Gold Rush
On January 24, 1848, carpenter James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill, a sawmill on the American River in Coloma, California. This news quickly spread across the country and around the world, igniting the California Gold Rush.
The Discovery of Gold
In 1847, all waited restlessly for the fighting to end outside California. The soldiers from New York contented themselves with garrison duty and odd jobs until word came of peace, but the Mormons were discharged in the summer of 1847, and many went to work for Johann Sutter. With peace, Sutter could finally proceed with his plans to lay out a town near his fort to attract some of the expected hordes of American settlers who would now stream through the passes of the Sierras. A town would require lumber, and for this Sutter needed a nearby sawmill so that he could reap the profits of every process in creating "Sutterville."
Historical Impact of the California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush of 1849-1855 radically transformed California, the United States and the world. It prompted one of the largest migrations in U.S. history, with hundreds of thousands of migrants across the United States and the globe coming to California to find gold in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The Four Best Places to Learn About California Gold Rush History
California Gold Rush history is the center of Coloma, California, where James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill. The Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park has a great museum, outdoor exhibits, gold panning lessons, tours, and living history days on the second Saturday of the month.
