Category: Historical

By Reuben Adams 5 November, 2015 Abandoned by its coal-mining residents in the 1970s to be reclaimed by nature, the eerie ghost island of Hashima serves as a significant reminder of early Japanese industrialisation. On 31 March, 1854, the Convention of Kanagawa was signed by American and Japanese government representatives; a significant treaty which made possible the first official trade between the nations. Within five years Japan – which had remained insulated from much of the western world to that point – had officially opened its doors by signing similar treaties with other countries. The coastal capital of Nagasaki subsequently became important as a stopover for commercial ships and naval vessels. Trade in the region flourished further in the late 1850’s, as western...

“I have the profound hope that we can not only put this industry on its feet but we can make it...profitable in the sense that it will pay the nation.” By Mark Scott 20 April WHEN the British Government took over the country’s coal mines on 1 January 1947, it temporarily ended decades of debate about private versus national ownership of the mining industry. Coal was a vital part of the British economy for centuries, fuelling the Industrial Revolution and employing more than a million workers at its peak in the early 1920s. However from the early twentieth century, Britain’s coal...

By Mark Scott March 2015 WHEN Broken Hill became Australia’s first nationally heritage listed city, mayor Wincen Cuy spoke of the town’s “ever-present history” of mining and workers’ struggles. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Broken Hill was synonymous with Australia’s mineral riches and the country’s fighter for workers’ rights; often the two went hand-in-hand. As the namesake and birthplace of the world’s largest mining company, and the site of some of Australia’s most fierce industrial battles, the NSW town’s elevation to National Heritage status rightfully stakes its place in Australia’s history. The Broken Hill area, more than 1000km west of Sydney, was solely inhabited by the Wiljakali...

By Jane Goldsmith   “Go down to the village and tell your dear friends; as sure as the bright stars do shine; there’s somethin’ that’s goin’ to happen today; oh, daddy, don’t go to the mine.” Marty Robbins, Dream of the Miner’s Child     OVERLOOKING the Hodgkinson River in Far North Queensland, Mount Mulligan is a natural spectacle, with miles of vertical sandstone cliffs bordering a deeply cut valley. However, it is best known as the site of Queensland’s worst-ever mining disaster. Coal discovery When coal was discovered at Mount Mulligan in 1907, the region’s existing metal miners saw the potential for cutting costs by using locally produced coking coal. The Irvinebank Mining Company, in need of coal for...

A defunct salt mine in Romania has been transformed into a booming tourist attraction, with an underground theme park and history museum. The historic Salina Turda salt mines in northern-central Transylvania were mined from the seventeenth century, and provided an integral source of wealth for the country’s Roman occupiers. The mine’s transformation into a theme park incorporated three former mining shafts, including Terezia mine, which reaches 120m below ground; Anton which reaches 108m; and the Rudolf, which extends down 42m. Features include a 180-seat amphitheatre, a sports arena with mini soccer stadium, a Ferris wheel, billiard and ping pong facilities, a mini-golf course and a bowling alley. Visitors descend the cavernous mine shafts in glass elevators, and into the Tereza...

THE birthplace of Michelangelo, da Vinci and the Renaissance, UNESCO-listed Florence is the cultural hub of central Italy. Framed by Italy’s major mountain chains, “the cradle of the Renaissance” is the capital of Tuscany and ticks the boxes as an international tourist hotspot. Visitors are widely attracted to Florence’s numerous art museums, monuments and galleries, its stylish fashions, and extensive menu of Italian cuisine. The city is within comfortable travel distance of some of Italy’s most dramatic countryside, with the province spanning across the Italian Alps and Tuscany’s famed vineyards. Florence has an artistic and architectural heritage envied across the globe. Combined with its subtropical Mediterranean climate, it is easy to see why Forbes named it one of the world’s...

EXTREME negligence was blamed for the Aberfan disaster of 1966, which saw 166 children and 28 adults lose their lives after a colliery spoil tip collapsed in the tiny Welsh village. The coal tip reportedly took just five minutes to slide down the mountain and engulf a school, several houses and a farm in its path. It was an incident that devastated the coal mining village near Merthry Tydfil in South Wales and changed the face of mining regulations – prompting new legislation to resolve the absence of laws and regulations for mine and quarry waste tips and spoil heaps. The incident took place early on 21 October, shortly after the school day had commenced. The mudslide, consisting of excavated...

HISTORIC records revealing grades of up to 5324.5 grams per tonne of gold at the Aorangi gold mine in New Zealand’s South Island have been uncovered by Perth-based explorer Strategic Elements. Aorangi, which is part of Strategic Elements’ Golden Blocks Goldfield project, produced about 26,000oz of gold at an average head grade of 46.9g/t before poor pumping equipment failed to prevent mine water issues and stalled further development. It was previously accepted that no attempt had been made to reopen the mine since its closure in 1914. However, archived records discovered by Strategic Elements revealed a little-known effort by local company Golden Block Mines (GBM) to reopen the goldfield in 1932. “It is now clear that No. 3 Level of...

THE island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea is said to have given copper its Classical Latin name. The phrase ‘aes Cyprium’ roughly translated to ‘alloys from Cyprus’ and was later shortened to Cuprum. According the Republic of Cyprus’ Mines Service, the small nation produced a total 852,717t of copper metal between 1931 and 2012. “The ancient Cypriots were not only experienced miners but also skilful metallurgists,” the Mines Service stated. “They discovered almost all copper ore bodies which have been exploited in modern years, and they were able to recover the rich part of the ore bodies by underground exploitation methods and produce high grade metal copper (copper talents) by metallurgical methods, of which their base is still...

SPANNING more than 7 million square kilometres, Australia is famous for its remoteness: 18 per cent of the country is classified as arid desert, and a further 44 per cent is classified as dry grassland. Australia is highly urbanised, with the majority of the population settled within the more temperate climates of the southeast and southwest coasts. In recent years however, Australia’s populace has become more rural, with people moving to the previously less-inhabited areas of the red centre and far north to live and work. This interesting migration pattern is thought to owe particularly – perhaps exclusively – to the rise of the resources industry. Resources and regional Australia The resources industry is recognised for its intrinsically hazardous nature:...

RUNNING close behind its big brother region, the Pilbara, WA’s Mid West is a significant minerals and energy province. While the closure of several Mid West mines and the mothballing of Oakajee dealt blows to local industry, other projects achieved major growth, and in 2011 to 2012 the region contributed $2.4 billion to the Australian economy. Iron ore sales totalled more than $577 million in the period, and the $2.5 billion Karara iron ore project is set to further bolster the region’s output. Karara began ramping up production in January and is expected to deliver 8 million tonnes of product by the end of the year. In July, Geraldton Port Authority reported that iron ore mines had caused a record...