At the conclusion of Book I, Agricola finishes his apologetic for metals as such, with the general point that metals are externals. They are neither good nor bad in themselves, but they can be used well or badly according to the intentions of the person using them. It's ourselves we need to watch out for, not our materials. God made metals, and as part of his creation, they are not wrong or evil.
Having already discussed gold and silver, and the uses and dangers of money at some length, he discusses some problems people have with iron, lead and bronze, mostly in their use as weapons and in instruments of torture (molten lead going back at least to the ancient Greeks). He then enumerates a number of peaceful uses for the same metals-- tools that are used every day, as well as the decorative arts.
He then goes on to the mining profession. There is a certain paradigm that Agricola takes for granted, in which someone owns the land (and therefore controls the mine and its profits); there is a superintendent who distributes shares of the profits; there is a foreman and finally, there are workers. Agricola favors this type of ownership pyramid. He doesn't for example suggest reforming it altogether, regarding the metal as a shared resource and working it as a cooperative. However, he notes some abuses that have occurred and need to be watched out for.
The land ownership piece is critical where mining is concerned because only certain land has mineral deposits. Sometimes, land is outright stolen (Agricola seems to be talking, with bitterness, about some sort of eminent domain arrangement) or taken over through violence. Other times, certain mine superintendents have extorted money from the land owner under false pretenses, and at still other times, mine foremen have been known to conceal productive veins by blocking them with clay, and come back later to get the ore out. And often enough, mines have been worked by slave labor-- though Agricola says this is no longer the case in his time.
Agricola points out that all these abuses are illegal. An intelligent and alert mine owner can obtain justice from the magistrates, or may even be able to prevent them before they start.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Do We Even Need Metal?
More serious issues with mining are set forth today - that is, not only concerns about mining as a career choice for yourself, but as a component of our lifestyle in general. For me, today, it's hard to imagine life with no metal in it at all. But apparently, in Agricola's time some people advocated simply not using any metal - otherwise he wouldn't have felt the need to refute them. It was felt that we are creatures of the earth's surface, made to cultivate the land, but that we are not made for digging under the earth's surface. If you have food, clothing, shelter and exercise, says this school of thought, you don't need metal at all and you'll be better off without it.
One of the concerns is the impact of mining on the environment. The smelting process required heat, which was provided by burning trees. Already in the 16th century, one could notice that whole forests were being cut down and not renewed, and the impact this had on animals whose habitat was in that forest. Also, pollution of streams and rivers was a problem, along with its impact on fish.
Another reason is the impact that some metals (i.e. gold and silver) seemed to have on people, as an incitement to various forms of violence and dishonesty - war, bribery, thievery and so forth. The cruel punishment of thieves is also a form of violence.
As to mining as a career choice, well, it was seen as highly risky, but it's much less risky if a person goes into it with some knowledge and expertise. There were a lot of bad miners out there hacking away mindlessly at any old rock. If you know what you are looking for, the success rate is much higher. Mining is also less stable than farming, though Agricola points to a few specific mines that have been worked for hundreds of years without being exhausted. Finally, there are dangers of working under the earth's surface. Again, Agricola feels these dangers can be lessened if not entirely eliminated, through care and training.
One of the concerns is the impact of mining on the environment. The smelting process required heat, which was provided by burning trees. Already in the 16th century, one could notice that whole forests were being cut down and not renewed, and the impact this had on animals whose habitat was in that forest. Also, pollution of streams and rivers was a problem, along with its impact on fish.
Another reason is the impact that some metals (i.e. gold and silver) seemed to have on people, as an incitement to various forms of violence and dishonesty - war, bribery, thievery and so forth. The cruel punishment of thieves is also a form of violence.
As to mining as a career choice, well, it was seen as highly risky, but it's much less risky if a person goes into it with some knowledge and expertise. There were a lot of bad miners out there hacking away mindlessly at any old rock. If you know what you are looking for, the success rate is much higher. Mining is also less stable than farming, though Agricola points to a few specific mines that have been worked for hundreds of years without being exhausted. Finally, there are dangers of working under the earth's surface. Again, Agricola feels these dangers can be lessened if not entirely eliminated, through care and training.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
We're Not Stupid
What do you know and think about the mining profession? In the reading I did today (p. 1-3) Agricola feels the need to defend his profession from people who think miners are stupid, or at least lacking in knowledge: they think that mining is "an occupation of sordid toil, requiring not so much skill as labor." To counter this prevailing attitude of his day, Agricola gives some lists of the areas of knowledge miners of his day used.
They need to know earth science, not just so they can choose where to dig, but also the different kinds of substances they will find: "earths, juices, gems, stones, marbles, rocks, metals, and compounds." ("Juices" seems to refer to various substances that are found in a hardened state, but dissolve when moistened or when heated. For example, salt or soda. Miners knew how to extract juices from certain rocks like pyrites, and how to extract metal from some juices such as copper sulfate.)
There are different methods for assaying and preparing for smelting all the different metals that were known at the time. These were gold, silver, copper, quicksilver, iron, lead and tin--the seven metals known to the ancients-- and bismuth. Bismuth was known as a metal and also as "the roof of silver" since silver is often found together with it.
One more list. Miners have to have practical knowledge in some other areas, Philosophy, Medicine (the diseases specific to mining were already well known), Surveying, Arithmetic (for keeping the books), Architecture (for building underground works) and Drawing (for drawing the plans), and finally Law. Agricola also lists Astronomy; the stars were used in some fashion for identifying where or when to look for metals in the earth. He doesn't list reading and writing and it seems that skills were passed on in some other way. Miners were beginning to specialize, and so almost no one knew "the whole art." You need to go around and talk to different experts to find out what is really happening.
Interestingly the miners had a lot of practical knowledge of chemistry that was very sound. They understood that some substances are pure (every particle of pure gold, is gold), but others which may appear uniform are actually compounds and can be broken down. They knew a lot about distinguishing different compounds, and that the identical compound will behave consistently.
They need to know earth science, not just so they can choose where to dig, but also the different kinds of substances they will find: "earths, juices, gems, stones, marbles, rocks, metals, and compounds." ("Juices" seems to refer to various substances that are found in a hardened state, but dissolve when moistened or when heated. For example, salt or soda. Miners knew how to extract juices from certain rocks like pyrites, and how to extract metal from some juices such as copper sulfate.)
There are different methods for assaying and preparing for smelting all the different metals that were known at the time. These were gold, silver, copper, quicksilver, iron, lead and tin--the seven metals known to the ancients-- and bismuth. Bismuth was known as a metal and also as "the roof of silver" since silver is often found together with it.
One more list. Miners have to have practical knowledge in some other areas, Philosophy, Medicine (the diseases specific to mining were already well known), Surveying, Arithmetic (for keeping the books), Architecture (for building underground works) and Drawing (for drawing the plans), and finally Law. Agricola also lists Astronomy; the stars were used in some fashion for identifying where or when to look for metals in the earth. He doesn't list reading and writing and it seems that skills were passed on in some other way. Miners were beginning to specialize, and so almost no one knew "the whole art." You need to go around and talk to different experts to find out what is really happening.
Interestingly the miners had a lot of practical knowledge of chemistry that was very sound. They understood that some substances are pure (every particle of pure gold, is gold), but others which may appear uniform are actually compounds and can be broken down. They knew a lot about distinguishing different compounds, and that the identical compound will behave consistently.
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