I think the argument is pretty obvious. Ballarat, Bendigo, Kalgoorlie,
Johannesburg, Sudbury, Broken Hill, Moonta and dozens of other cities and
towns spread across the Commonwealth and elsewhere begtan their lives (or
still earn their living) as mining towns. Many became the central
settlements in districts that would have otherwise never been settled and
developed. The revenue from the Burra and Moontal copper mines saved the
colony of South Australia from Bankruptcy and the Colony of Victoria would
not have developed anywhere near as fast as it did without the goldrushes
of the 1850's.
The export of Cornish mining technology and culture to hard rock mines all
over the globe. The iron deposits on the shores of the great lakes led to
Detroit and the car manufacturing industries etc etc - the list goes on and
on. Surely mining history is one of the most integral and core components
of the history of the industrial revolution and the modern world!
Tony Webster
At 09:35 PM 14/02/99 GMT, you wrote:
>>I must confess that the comment "Who cares? Why bother?", coming from a
>>journalist with mining knowledge in particular, astounds me.
>>
>Phil,
>
>I don't think you read my message properly.
>
>Who cares? Why bother? are the sort of question the readers of the
>publication - a leading mining industry journal - are going to ask about
>mining history research. The journalist is perfectly well aware that it is
>considered important but what arguments have you, as members of this list
>and by default enthusiasts for the subject, got which will help him convince
>a sceptical audience?
>
>I must admit that, whilst I can come up with general arguments for the
>application of mining history research to the current mining industry, I
>would be hard pushed to convince an overstretched mine manager as to the
>relevant of my own work on medieval silver!
>
>Peter
>______________________________________________
>
>Peter Claughton, Blaenpant Morfil, Rosebush, Clynderwen,
>Pembrokeshire, Wales SA66 7RE.
>Tel. 01437 532578; Fax. 01437 532921; Mobile 0831 427599
>
>University of Exeter - Department of History
>School of Historical, Political and Sociological Studies
>E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
>Co-owner - mining-history e-mail discussion list.
>See http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/mining-history/ for details.
>
>Mining History Pages - http://www.exeter.ac.uk/~pfclaugh/mhinf/
>
>_____________________________________________
>
>
>
>
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Tony Webster
School of Earth Sciences & Centre for Ore Deposit Research
University of Tasmania
GPO Box 252-79
Hobart
Tasmania
Australia 7001
ph: (w) (03) 6226 7155
(h) (03) 6223 5005
fax (03) 6226 7662
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