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The History of Mining

The events, technology and people involved in the industry that forged the modern world

By Michael Coulson
Cover of The History of Mining (Hardback) by Michael Coulson Cover of The History of Mining (Ebook - phone) by Michael Coulson Cover of The History of Mining (Ebook - tablet) by Michael Coulson

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About the Author

Michael Coulson

Michael Coulson has been associated with the mining sector for over thirty years first working on the mining desk at James Capel in 1970, for many years the leading mining stockbroker in the City. 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 ... Read more on Michael Coulson

Contents Listing

Life portraits, illustrations and tables
About the author
Acknowledgements
Foreword by Mark Bristow, Chief Executive, Randgold Resources
Preface
Introduction

The Ancient World (from the beginning to 1066)
1. The Stone Age
- In the beginning
- Tools and weapons
- Mining
2. The Bronze Age
3. The Iron Age
4. China
5. Early mining in India
6. Mining in ancient Egypt
- The stone quarries
- Metals in the desert
7. The eastern Mediterranean and the Near/Middle East
- Jordan
- Greece
- Asia Minor
- Persia, the Empire and Iran
8. The Roman Republic and Empire
9. Great Britain
10. Central/Eastern Europe
- The eastern Alps
- Germany
- The Balkans
- Other mining regions
11. North America
12. South America
- Chile
- Peru
13. Africa
14. The Structure of Ownership and Operation
15. Conclusions

The Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution (1066-1800)
1. Introduction
2. Mining in Central Europe
3. Scandinavia
4. France
- The Paris Basin
5. Great Britain
6. Spain
7. The Lure of Africa
8. The Opening up of North America
9. Gold and Silver and the Spanish Conquistadors
10. Chile
11. The East
- China
12. Diamond mines in India and Brazil

The Industrial Revolution (1800-1900)
1. Introduction
2. Diamonds in South Africa
3. The Gold Rushes of the 19th century
- California
- Other American Gold Rushes
- and silver too
- The Witwatersrand
- Western Australia
- The Klondike
4. Russia's Gold
5. Mining in Europe
- Spain
6. The Emergence of Canada
7. Latin America
- Mexico
- Brazil
- The Cornish Influence
- Peru
- Chile
8. Copper and much else besides in the USA
9. Mining in the East
- Japan as a mining nation
- Malayan tin
- Tin in Thailand and Indonesia
- Borneo diamonds
10. King Coal
- Coal in the UK
- French coal mining
- Belgium
- Germany
- The rest of Europe
- The United States
- South Africa
- Asia and the Far East
- Australia and New Zealand

The Modern Age (from 1900)
1. Broken Hill and other Australian giants
- Mount Isa
- Olympic Dam
- Lesser lights
2. Canadian century
- The early decades of gold
- More than gold
- After the Second War
- The Crazy 90s - Lac de Gras to BreX
3. The development of mining technology
4. Diamonds
- South West Africa
- Namaqualand opens up
- Offshore diamonds
- Diamonds in the Second War and after
- The Age of De Beers
- Botswana
- The Coming of the Canadians
- The Diamond Revolution
5. Copper in Central Africa
- The development of Northern Rhodesia's copperbelt
- Zambia nationalises the copper mines
6. Other nationalisations in the 1960s and before
- Bolivia
- Chile
- Peru
- Cuba
7. The Australian nickel boom
8. The Mining Promoters
9. Gold comes to the fore again
- Gold and inflation
- South Africa and China
- Rise of the open pit
- The Australian Revival
- New Zealand
- Gold rushes today
10. Platinum
11. Iron Ore
- Australia
- Brazil
- Iron ore in the East
- The growing African industry
- Europe's coal and steel community
12. Chile: King of Copper
13. The rise of Uranium
- The beginning
- Canada and Australia
- The rise of Kazakhstan
- World Production Figures
- The future of uranium
- Environmental heat
14. Coal in the Western Economies
- The US
- Great Britain
- South Africa
- India
15. China
- The foreign influence
- Coal
- Mining today
16. The Soviet Union
- The rise of the Gulags
- Norilsk
- The search for indigenous diamonds
17. The Mighty USA
- Aluminium
- Gold
- Iron Ore
- Copper
18. European mining
19. London rises from the ashes
20. The Environment
21. Mining and Labour
22. Mining and the Media
- The Mining Press
- The Internet
- Mining Literature and Film

The Future for Mining
1. What lies ahead?
2. Nationalism and nationalisation
3. Environmental issues
4. New technology, new opportunities

Appendices
Historical Mining and Minerals Timeline
Bibliography
Index
Life portraits, illustrations and tables
About the author
Acknowledgements
Foreword by Mark Bristow, Chief Executive, Randgold Resources
Preface
Introduction

The Ancient World (from the beginning to 1066)
1. The Stone Age
- In the beginning
- Tools and weapons
- Mining
2. The Bronze Age
3. The Iron Age
4. China
5. Early mining in India
6. Mining in ancient Egypt
- The stone quarr ...

Jacket Text

THE INDUSTRY THAT FORGED THE MODERN WORLD

Throughout history metals and raw materials have underpinned human activity. So it is that the industry responsible for extracting these materials from the ground - mining - has been ever present throughout the history of civilisation, from the ancient world of the Egyptians and Romans, to the industrial revolution and the British Empire, and through to the present day, with mining firms well represented on the world's most important stock indexes including the FTSE100.

This book traces the history of mining from those early moments when man first started using tools to the present day where metals continue to underpin economic activity in the post industrial age. In doing so, the history of mining methods, important events, technological developments, the important firms and the sparkling personalities that built the industry are examined in detail. At every stage, as the history of mining is traced from 40,000BC to the present day, the level of detail increases in accordance with the greater social and industrial developments that have played out as time has progressed. This means that a particular focus is given to the period since the industrial revolution and especially the 20th century. A look is also taken into the future in an effort to chart the direction this great industry might take in years to come.

Many books have been written about mining; the majority have focused on a particular metal, geographical area, mining event or mining personality, but 'The History of Mining' has a broader scope and covers all of these essential and fascinating areas in one definitive volume.

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