Place: Zoom - Note that this talk will be held online only.
Time: 15:00-16:30 CET
All are welcome. Please sign up [here] to register for the meeting and receive the Zoom link.
Mining is an unusual industry. It is site-specific and has a fixed nature, you cannot just mine anywhere. Minerals are either there or they are not. The costs of establishing new extraction sites, and closing down old ones, means that these sites tend to be mined for a long time, often far longer than a single human lifespan.
This talk will focus on how the longevity of mining operations in a particular geographic place has created demand for historical research, with reference to my own work. Institutional memory in the mining industry is often poor and the skills and expertise of historians are needed to understand what has occurred in a place and who may be responsible, as well as the cyclical nature of the industry. This longevity, for instance, means that determining who is responsible for environmental liabilities is as much a historical question as a legal one.
Duncan Money is a historian and researcher whose work focuses on mining and Southern Africa. He has worked in Africa, Europe and North America and has led research projects for mining companies, development banks and trade unions. Previously, he worked as an academic. More information is available on his [website].
