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As we dig, drill, and excavate to unearth the planet’s mineral bounty, the resources we exploit from ores, veins, seams, and wells are gradually becoming exhausted. Mineral treasures that took millions, or even billions, of years to form are now being squandered in just centuries—or sometimes just decades.
Will there come a time when we actually run out of minerals? Debates already soar over how we are going to obtain energy without oil, coal, and gas. But what about the other mineral losses we face? Without metals, and semiconductors, how are we going to keep our industrial system running? Without mineral fertilizers and fuels, how are we going to produce the food we need?
Ugo Bardi delivers a sweeping history of the mining industry, starting with its humble beginning when our early ancestors started digging underground to find the stones they needed for their tools. He traces the links between mineral riches and empires, wars, and civilizations, and shows how mining in its various forms came to be one of the largest global industries. He also illustrates how the gigantic mining machine is now starting to show signs of difficulties.
Michael Dittmar wrote a chapter on "The End of Cheap Uranium".
"Extracted: How the Quest for Mineral Wealth Is Plundering the Planet", by Ugo Bardi et al., Chelsea Green Publishing, 2014, ISBN 9781603585415
Thursday 24/7/2014 at 16h00 in the Library, Bldg. 52-1-052
Coffee will be served from 15.30