The Assay represents the ongoing research and work of the ERC-STG project “SCARCE” at the University of Vienna. Its team will present sources and methodology, as well as report on the visits to mines and archives and their participation in conferences and workshops. The blog offers an insight into the workings of a research project and is aimed at a broad interdisciplinary audience, combining a focus on different areas within the history of mining, such as the history of science, medicine, environment, and others while also addressing environmental and social science issues.