Extractive industries Books

Book SynopsisA well illustrated look at the history of coal mining in Staffordshire, a key part of industry around such towns and cities as Stafford and Stoke.

Read more less

Book SynopsisExplores a lavishly illustrated look at an important part of our industrial history with Lime Kilns.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor thousands of years slate has been quarried in Britain, but in Victorian times it became big business, and the legacy of the industry now shapes the landscape of North Wales, especially.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBritish miners contributed crucially to the Great War by supplying coal and enlisting en masse, facing immense sacrifices.At the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, despite many difficulties and falling manpower, coalmining was the most important industry in Great Britain. It employed around a million persons in well over 3,000 pits ranging from small hillside drift mines with a few hands to substantial collieries with workforces and pit communities the size of villages and small towns. A few months into the conflict, Lloyd George in a patriotic speech to a coal conference proclaimed that coal was ''everything for us, the country''s life and blood, its international coinage''.As well as digging coal for the war effort, often in dreadful and dangerous conditions, miners demonstrated ''their old work in a new guise'' when serving in huge numbers during the Great War. Thousands voluntarily swapped the pit for what many thought would be a better and safer option, around a quarter of a million enlisting by 1915; and about one in five of all military volunteers came from the coalfields of England, Scotland and Wales, an astonishing proportion. The massive response to the Call for Arms was most obvious in industrial areas where the so-called ''Pals battalions'' were established and it was these recruits who suffered so heavily during the disastrous Somme offensive of 1916. The sheer number and range of gallantry awards including several VCs - also testify to the immense contribution of former miners.The many thousands of pitmen who paid the ultimate price are inscribed on public war memorials in coalfield communities, often dominating the listings. Such was the response from large pits that many others are commemorated on memorials specially erected by colliery and coal companies, one the earliest in the village of Brampton in South Yorkshire on behalf of Cortonwood Colliery.Whether working below and above ground at collieries or as part of the armed forces, miners played a very significant role during the Great War of 1914-18, a total contribution that deserves to be told.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Residual Governance, Gabrielle Hecht dives into the wastes of gold and uranium mining in South Africa to explore how communities, experts, and artists fight for infrastructural and environmental justice. Hecht outlines how mining in South Africa is a prime example of what she theorizes as residual governance—the governance of waste and discard, governance that is purposefully inefficient, and governance that treats people and places as waste and wastelands. She centers the voices of people who resist residual governance and the harms of toxic mining waste to highlight how mining’s centrality to South African history reveals the links between race, capitalism, the state, and the environment. In this way, Hecht shows how the history of mining in South Africa and the resistance to residual governance and environmental degradation is a planetary story: the underlying logic of residual governance lies at the heart of contemporary global racial capitalism and is a majorTrade Review“Residual Governance is about mining and its wasted afterlives in South Africa; it is about residues, discards, and the lives lived with these residues and discards; it is about capitalism and its role in the Anthropocene. As Gabrielle Hecht argues so powerfully in this necessary and timely book, the story of mining and its residues in South Africa has many lessons for the world—and what grim lessons these are: from the entanglement of capitalism with racism, to so-called economic development with destructive extraction, to ecocide with human degradation. Yet we must heed these lessons. The future of the planet depends on it.” -- Jacob Dlamini, author of * The Terrorist Album: Apartheid’s Insurgents, Collaborators, and the Security Police *“In Residual Governance, Gabrielle Hecht shows masterfully how apartheid in South Africa was also a form of racial capitalism embedded in the very rocks via the compulsive mining of the ground. Even if this political regime is no more, its violence and domination persist to this day, treating both people and land as waste. Through well-researched and comprehensive narratives, Hecht exposes a governance of the left-over from mining (acidification of water, dumps, radioactive dust, hollowed-out earth, forceful displacements) that still follows the racist divide of the world. A fundamental read to grasp the ecological challenges of this era with a telling lesson: planetary futures must face the colonial and racist past.” -- Malcom Ferdinand, author of * Decolonial Ecology: Thinking from the Caribbean World *Table of ContentsAbbreviations ix Notes of Usage xi Introduction. The Racial Contract is Technopolitical 1 1. You Can See Apartheid from Space 19 2. The Hollow Rand 47 3. The Inside-Out Rand 85 4. South Africa’s Chernobyl? 129 5. Land Mines 163 Conclusion. Living in a Future Way Ahead of Our Time 197 Acknowledgments 209 Notes 215 Bibliography 237 Index 259

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe world is beginning to feel the crunch of depleting conventional energy sources and these desperate times call for exploring newer vistas in terms of alternative sources of energy. The construction sector is expected to require a major overhaul involving strategic advancements in the utilization of green energy given the rapid urban growth. A number of policy initiatives to mainstream energy efficiency are in place in most countries that are expected to accelerate energy efficiency and sustainability in buildings. Streamlining the green building movement requires coordinated monitoring and intelligent control of a building''s vital functions. This can be achieved through building management systems (BMS) involving the integration of structures, systems, services, and management. Green building movements should examine the potential of power generation from urban, municipal, and industrial wastes. Equitable distribution of water resources should be carefully plannedmonsoon-dominatTable of ContentsThe Essence of Energy Efficiency. Energy Efficiency in Buildings. Serene Settings. Siting and Microclimate. Spatial Cognizance. Building Form. Building Fabric. Extant Fabric and Fabric of the Future. Renewable Measures. Renewable Energy. Perceptions and Reality. Green Building Ratings.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom 1868–1872, German geologist Ferdinand von Richthofen went on an expedition to China. His reports on what he found there would transform Western interest in China from the land of porcelain and tea to a repository of immense coal reserves. By the 1890s, European and American powers and the Qing state and local elites battled for control over the rights to these valuable mineral deposits. As coal went from a useful commodity to the essential fuel of industrialization, this vast natural resource would prove integral to the struggle for political control of China. Geology served both as the handmaiden to European imperialism and the rallying point of Chinese resistance to Western encroachment. In the late nineteenth century both foreign powers and the Chinese viewed control over mineral resources as the key to modernization and industrialization. When the first China Geological Survey began work in the 1910s, conceptions of natural resources had already shifted, and the Qing state expanded its control over mining rights, setting the precedent for the subsequent Republican and People's Republic of China regimes. In Empires of Coal, Shellen Xiao Wu argues that the changes specific to the late Qing were part of global trends in the nineteenth century, when the rise of science and industrialization destabilized global systems and caused widespread unrest and the toppling of ruling regimes around the world. Trade Review"Historian Wu has written a brilliant and original cultural history of industrialization in late Qing China . . . Thoroughly grounded in the archives and research in both Chinese and German sources (no mean feat), the book examines the powerful interactions of Chinese and Western entrepreneurs and Qing and Western officials in creating an industrial China . . . Highly recommended" -- J. Roger * CHOICE *"Shellen Wu's new book is a fascinating and timely contribution to the histories of China . . . Empires of Coal looks carefully at the importance of mining [...] to the political economy of late imperial China . . . It will be required reading for anyone interested in the entanglement of science, technology, and modernity in global history." -- Carla Nappi * New Books in East Asian Studies *"Refreshing and subtle, this book's engagement with issues of imperialism, China's relationship to European science, and environmental history provides a fascinating reminder of the tight linkages between them all." -- Joanna Waley-Cohen * NYU Shanghai *"This book narrates how, from the 1860s to the 1910s, China entered into a modern, industrializing world driven by fossil fuels. The topic could not carry greater contemporary relevance for China and the world, and only a few other historians have written on it in the past." -- Micah Muscolino * Oxford University *"Wu's study...places China's nineteenth-century development in a global context and adds comparative value to its historical experience." -- Joanna Waley-Cohen * The English Historical Review *"[An] interesting and important set of insights into the history of coal mining, coal imperialism, and the science and political economy of coal in China....[This study] adds a fascinating and novel layer of analysis of German imperialism and engineering at work in China...that has been missing in many of the wider discussions of imperialism and global transformations during the time period." -- Jack Patrick Hayes * Pacific Affairs *Table of ContentsContents and Abstracts1Fueling Industrialization in the Age of Coal chapter abstractIn order to understand how and why a momentous change of the Chinese worldview occurred in the late nineteenth century, chapter 1 begins with a discussion of pre-modern forms of geological knowledge in China 2Ferdinand von Richthofen and the Geology of Imperialism chapter abstractChapter Two examines Richthofen's contributions to Chinese views of its own mineral resources. Richthofen's career spanned the zenith of European colonial expansion in the nineteenth century, concomitant with the golden age of the railroads and steamers. His academic work on China connected the geography of the eastern seaboard to the Central Asian landmass. Yet his enduring legacy in China remains his observations of Chinese mines and estimates of Chinese mineral potential. 3Lost and Found in Translation: Geology, Mining, and the Search for Wealth and Power chapter abstractChapter Three discusses missionary translations of geology works in the nineteenth century. In the act of translation, geology became further entangled with the role of science in imperialism and the wealth and power of the West. Nineteenth century missionary translations of science in the treaty ports tell only a small part of the story. Focusing on the deficiencies of these translations would only miss the greater accomplishment of these foreign and Chinese translators of Western science texts as cultural intermediaries. These late nineteenth century translations introduced the field of geology to the Chinese public, but in the tumultuous political and economic environment of the late Qing period it was mining and control over mining rights that added urgency to the adoption of modern geology. 4Engineers as the Agents of Science and Empire, 1886-1914 chapter abstractChapter Four examines the large-scale modern enterprises opened in the interior by the Chinese themselves, including influential government figures such as Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong. This chapter focuses on the people who made possible the expansion of the first modern Chinese industries while also promoting European influence on China's future development—engineers who carried their skills from technical schools and mining academies in Europe to the far reaches of empire. The German engineers who began working for Chinese industries transitioned easily when Germany acquired a leasehold in Shandong province in 1898. 5Nations, Empires, and Mining Rights (1895-1911) chapter abstractChapter Five examines the late Qing reform of mining laws and the nation-wide movement to reclaim mining rights. In particular, this chapter uses as a case study the example of two German mining companies in Shandong during the colonial period (1898-1914), and the Chinese response to the foreign scramble for mining concessions. Like the geological surveys taking place across the globe during nineteenth and twentieth centuries, mining regulations became a point of tension between colonizers and the colonized. The Chinese promulgation of mining regulations, based on Japanese and European precedents, demonstrate that by the last years of the Qing dynasty, they had joined the ranks of nations that viewed mineral resources as the key to wealth and power. 6Geology in the Age of Imperialism chapter abstractChapter Six examines continuities and changes in Chinese views on mining from the imperial period through the Republican era. During the late Qing period, control over natural resources became a symbol of sovereignty against foreign encroachment. The study of geology became a means of resistance against imperialism. In the Chinese discourse the positivist views of Western geology in this period transformed into a matter of anti-imperialist struggle with strong social Darwinian undertones. Republican era geologists actively tried to construct a history of geology motivated by Han nationalism, with the efforts of the late-Qing period largely erased from their revision. 7Epilogue chapter abstractThis chapter discusses the implications of the book and its significance for the literature on Chinese industrialization and modern Chinese history.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book examines uranium mining and management in the United States with a focus on federal considerations. From 2005 to 2007, uranium prices increased from about $20 a pound to over $140 a pound, which led to renewed interest in uranium mining, both exploration and extraction, on federal land in the U.S. In early 2012, thousands of claims have been filed to explore for and potentially extract uranium on federal land. This increase in claims filed, has raised concerns about the potential impacts that an increased level of uranium exploration and extraction could have on the environment. During uranium extraction, the waste rock piles that are formed can introduce radionuclides (such as radium) and heavy metals (such as selenium and arsenic) into the environment. Before the mid-1970s, many mines on federal land, were abandoned without any reclamation, leaving a costly legacy of abandoned mines that pose potential health, safety, and environmental hazards.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBook & CD. Coal mine dust is one of the most serious occupational hazards in the coal mining industry, and overexposure can cause coal workers'' pneumoconiosis (CWP) and a number of other lung diseases, collectively referred to a black lung disease. CWP has been the underlying or contributing cause of death for more than 75,000 coal miners since 1968. This book provides an overview of key studies, background history and health reviews on occupational exposure to respirable coal mine dust.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA harrowing journey through the past, present, and future of mining, this expertly-researched account ends on a vision for how industry can better serve the needs of humanity.A race is on to exploit the last bonanzas of gold, silver, and industrial metals left on Earth. These metals are not only essential for all material comfort and need, but for the transition to clean energy: in the coming decades, billions of tons of copper, nickel, silver, and other metals will be required to build electric vehicles, solar and wind installations, and green infrastructure. We need more metals than ever before, yet the qualities and quantities are diminishing, making the extraction process more polluting to land, air and water. And most of these metals will be mined from the global south, where social conflict will only grow, led by Indigenous peoples demanding a greater say in how their wealth is used.The stakes couldn't be higher: How can we mine the metals we need without replicating the environmental and human rights abuses of the past?Pitfall is the compelling story of the quest to exploit the metals our civilization needs—and at what cost to local people and their environments. Beginning with the first waves of big, foreign-owned mines in the 1960s, investigative journalist Christopher Pollon shows how transnational companies rose to dominate copper, precious metals, and lithium in Latin America, made inroads into war-torn countries in Africa, and exploited nickel, industrial metals, and rare earth metals across Asia and Oceania.If we cannot change our course, Pollon argues, we are condemned to mine deeper and darker places, including the depths of the ocean, sacrifice zones, and near-earth asteroids. This disturbing vision of the future also includes robotic mines without workers and social license—unless we act now.Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute.Trade Review"Pollon...takes us to mining operations around the globe, focusing on the economic, environmental and social devastation surrounding them...[A]n interesting and informative book about a problem with a long history and an uncertain future."—Daily Kos“Mind-boggling descriptions rely on facts, not sensationalism, for effect but are altogether chilling... Pitfall indicates that intensified reuse, recycling and other social changes cannot come too soon.”—Winnipeg Free Press"Pitfall provides an eloquent, clear-eyed warning that, absent a radical U-turn, the well-intentioned road to green energy alternatives could very well be paved with devastating ecological and social impacts."—Quill & Quire STARRED review"Few realize that our current solution to climate change—renewable energy—threatens to create an environmental catastrophe of its own. Christopher Pollon’s deeply researched, powerfully written book is just the primer we need to truly imagine a better future."—J. B. MacKinnon, author of The Day the World Stops Shopping"A harrowing and ruthlessly honest account that serves as a moral reckoning for our industrial age."—Wade Davis, author of The Wayfinders and Magdalena: River of Dreams"Christopher Pollon has scoured the planet to reveal the dark side of our consumer paradise, and the light at the end of the tunnel. Pitfall delivers a planetary investigation of the world's wildest industry—mining—and connects it straight to us."—Arno Kopecky, author of The Environmentalist’s Dilemma"An important account: the world badly needs to replace fossil fuel mining with the production of minerals necessary for energy that won’t destroy the climate. Christopher Pollon argues eloquently for reducing consumption, recycling materials, and trying to make sure mining actually benefits communities—it's a chance to get things right, or at least better, as we enter a new era."—Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature"Christopher Pollon is a rare journalistic voice writing about mining through the perspective of what humanity actually needs versus the financial imperatives of large firms and their investors. A crucial book for understanding the industry at the center of the world's clean energy revolution and how to make it less destructive."—Geoff Dembicki, author of The Petroleum Papers"A deeply reported and devastating critique of a seldom-examined business at the heart of the global economy... [Pollon's] forecast is grim—unless the world's richest nations consume less. His book may help persuade us."—Chris Wood, award-winning journalist and author of Dry Spring"In this timely and compelling account, Christopher Pollon makes it abundantly clear that we should think twice before trusting the mining industry to provide the materials—including cobalt, lithium, nickel, and rare earth metals—needed to build a more sustainable economy."—Stuart Kirsch, author of Mining Capitalism"Chilling, arresting—lifts the lid on just how murky getting the metals and minerals we take for granted can be."—Peter Hain, Former anti-apartheid leader and UK Cabinet Minister

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis probing, entertaining and richly illustrated book examines the history of the diamond trade through the centuries from India and Brazil to South Africa and Europe.

Read more less

Book SynopsisEmily P Webber completed a PhD at the University of Reading and University of Exeter, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Her research focused on masculinity and the British mining industry from nationalization in 1947 through to pit closures at the end of the twentieth century. Over the last few years, she has spoken to over a hundred miners, collecting their memories of the industry, and travelled across Britain's former mining communities.She was previously the Research Manager of the Imperial War Museum and contributed to several public-facing publications and acted as a curator for the award-winning Holocaust Exhibition. She is passionate about bringing history to wider audiences and was recently selected as one of fifteen successful candidates for the Television Festival's TV PhD Talent Scheme. She was also awarded the University of Reading's PhD Researcher of the Year award for the Humanities. She has presented her research at conferences both in the UK and overseas, including at Northwestern University, the Institute of Historical Research, and the University of Birmingham, and she has published in History Workshop Journal, Contemporary British History and Twentieth Century History. She has also written for Time Out London.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis manual explains the evolution of British coalmining from the 18th to the 20th century, the heyday of British mining, and examines every aspect of life as a pit worker.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBlood, Sweat and Earth is a hard-hitting historical expose of the diamond industry, focusing on the exploitation of workers and the environment, and the monopolization of uncut diamonds, and how little this has changed over time. It describes the use of forced labour and political oppression by Indian sultans, the Portuguese in Brazil, and South African industrialists, as well as the hoarding of diamonds to maintain high prices, from the English East India Company to De Beers. While recent discoveries of diamond deposits in Siberia, Canada and Australia have brought an end to monopolization, the book shows that advances in the production of synthetic diamonds have not yet been able to eradicate the exploitation caused by the world's unquenchable thirst for sparkle.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWorld Statistics on Mining and Utilities 2020 provides a unique biennial overview of the role of mining and utility activities in the world economy. This extensive resource from UNIDO provides detailed time series data on the level, structure and growth of international mining and utility activities by country and sector. Country level data is clearly presented on the number of establishments, employment and output of activities such as coal, iron ore and crude petroleum mining as well as the production and supply of electricity, natural gas and water.This unique and comprehensive source of information meets the growing demand of data users who require detailed and reliable statistical information on the primary industry and energy producing sectors. The publication provides internationally comparable data for economic researchers, development strategists and business communities who influence the policy of industrial development and its environmental sustainability.Table of ContentsAbout this Publication Introduction Part I: Summary Tables Part II: Country Tables

Read more less

Book SynopsisA groundbreaking analysis of 21st century labour practices in the mining industry and the new scramble for industrial power on the African continent. Since the beginning of the 21st century, African countries with mineral resources have witnessed an unprecedented rise in foreign direct investments and the development of new flexible workforce management practices in the mining industry. But what does this mean for those who actually work in this industry? Based on research in the Congo and Zambia, where a mining boom has led to more than thirty new mining projects in recent years, this book explores the processes of improvisation and adaptation behind the emergence of this neoliberal labour regime. The contributors show how mining projects' labour practices have been mediated, negotiated, or resisted by mine workers, unionists, and human resource managers. They discuss variations in labour practices put in place by new mining projects depending on the type of capital involved, the type of mine being developed, and their location. Finally, the book examines the implications of power dynamics surrounding companies' labour strategies from the broader perspective of the responsibility of trade unions, gender equality, and identity politics.Trade ReviewExposes a new history for thinking about labor in highly contested resource regions of the neoliberal order and what is soon to become a more fascistic and protective order of international economics after neoliberalism. ... Should be read by anyone working on mining in modern Africa, as it offers a broader history than the southern African focus of most work on African mining. As well, the work would be a welcome addition for broader readers looking to understand labor relations and the history of organizing in postcolonial spaces. -- African Studies QuarterlyTable of ContentsIntroduction: Mining Capitalism from Below by Benjamin Rubbers Labour Regimes: A Comparative History by Benjamin Rubbers and Emma Lochery Safety: The Politics of Life in a Neoliberal Labour Regime by James Musonda and Francesca Pugliese Gender: Navigating a Male-dominated Space by Francesca Pugliese and James Musonda Union Elections: Marketing 'Modern' Unionism by Kristien Geenen and Thomas McNamara Strikes: Claiming Union Power in Chinese Companies by Thomas McNamara and Kristien Geenen Human Resource Managers: Mediating Capital and Labour by Emma Lochery and Benjamin Rubbers Conclusion: Beyond the Neoliberal Labour Regime by Benjamin Rubbers

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn-depth account of the Marikana massacre, based on the voices of the miners and their families themselves, from the build up to the strike to attempts to hold the state to account and its lasting significance. In August 2012 the South African police - at the encouragement of mining capital, and with the support of the political state - intervened to end a week-long strike at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, in South Africa's NorthWest Province. On the afternoon of Thursday, 16 August, the police shot and killed 34 men. Hundreds more were injured, some shot as they fled. None posed a threat to any police officer. Recognised by many as an event of international significance in stories of global politics and labour relations, the perspectives of the miners has however been almost missing from published accounts. This book, for the first time, brings into focus the mens' lives - and deaths - telling the stories of those who embarked on the strike, those who were killed, and of the family members who have survived to fight for the memories of their loved ones. It places the strike in the context of South Africa's long history of racial and economic exclusion, explaining how the miners came to be in Marikana, how their lives were ordinarily lived, and the substance of their complaints. It shows how the strike developed from an initial gathering into a mass movement of more than 3,000 workers. It discusses the violence of the strike and explores the political context of the state's response, and the eagerness of the police to collaborate in suppressing the strike. Recounting the events of the massacre in unprecedented detail, the book sets out how each miner died and everything we know about the police operation. Finally, Brown traces the aftermath: the attempts of the families of the deceased to identify and bury their dead, and then the state's attempts to spin a narrative that placed all blame on the miners; the subsequent Commission of Inquiry - and its failure to resolve any real issues; and the solidarity politics that have emerged since. Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana): Jacana.Trade ReviewIn Marikana: A People's History, Julian Brown, a political studies professor at Wits University, has crafted what is probably the most comprehensive account to date of the Marikana massacre and its aftermath. * DAILY MAVERICK *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Abbreviations and Acronyms Introduction PART I: THE LIVES OF WORKERS 1. Migrant Lives 2. A Company Town 3. Politics Underground PART II: THE STRIKE AND THE MASSACRE 4. The Strike Begins 5. Monday, 13 August 2012 6. Tightening the Screws 7. The Massacre at Scene One 8. The Massacre at Scene Two PART III: AFTER THE MASSACRE 9. Burying the Dead 10. The Farlam Commission 11. Communities of Resistance 12. 'Let us Not Lose Hope' Conclusion: The Work of Mourning Sources and Interpretation Bibliography

Read more less

Book Synopsis​While canvassing for the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 Neil Findlay made a discovery. Visiting the home that used to be his grandparents’, he was shown a plywood panel where John ‘Jock’ Findlay, his grandfather, had written his life’s tale. This is Jock’s story. Jock grew up and grew old in the West Lothian village of Pumpherston – a village dominated by one industry, shale oil mining. In his own words he describes the good times, and the hard times, of living and working in Pumpherston. This is a story about a Scottish industry, a village and, most of all, a community.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis publication presents a methodology aimed at supporting the planning and implementation of regional demersal (bottom and beam) trawl and pelagic acoustic surveys. It can be useful for the implementation of new surveys-at-sea in areas where demersal trawl and pelagic acoustic surveys are not regularly carried out. In the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the assessment of pelagic stocks is essentially based on acoustic surveys using acoustic techniques with mid-water trawling. These routine surveys-at-sea provide essential information, which are crucial to fine-tune the assessments of the status of resources. However, survey practices differ from one subregion to another, resulting in a lack of large-scale standardized surveys. According to the report, the methodology presented can tackle this issue by increasing comparability between existing surveys thanks to the standardization of methods, sampling of catches and data recording and analysis. Finally, it represents a valuable tool to define minimum requirements towards sustainability and management objectives at the regional and subregional level.

Read more less