Italic page numbers indicate illustrations.
Aboriginal communities. See First Nations
accidents. See cave-ins; explosions; specific sites
acidification, of soils in Mexico, 31–32
acid leaching, 258, 265, 276n49
acid mine drainage: in low-grade iron ore mining, 323–326; in precious-metals mining, 32, 35, 36
acid rock drainage (ARD), 32, 35, 36
Actor Network Theory (ANT), 168–169
AEC. See Atomic Energy Commission
AECB. See Atomic Energy Control Board
Africa: iron ore in, 335n15; tar sands in, 362n6; uranium in, 224–225, 227
African Americans, in Colorado coal mine explosions, 148
African slaves, in colonial Mexican mines, 403
afterdamp, in coal mine explosions: at Delagua, 147, 161n106; effects of, 133; at Primero, 136; at Starkville, 141, 142–144
agency: of humans, 166, 169; of minerals, 166; in recent thinking on materialism, 168–169
agriculture: in colonial Mexico, 59; in Europe, shortage of land for, 403, 410n15; in Grants Mineral Belt, 265; minerals used in, 1; in Montana, copper mining pollution affecting, 177, 179–181
Aguilar Rivera, Rogelio, 60
Aguirre, Miguel de, 69n61
air pollution: from copper mining, in Montana, 166–167, 176–177, 179–185, 286; from gold mining, in Yellowknife (See arsenic); from precious-metals mining, in Colorado Front Range, 88–89, 89; from precious-metals mining, in Mexico, 31; from steel industry, in U.S., 406; from uranium mining, in Canada, 261; from uranium mining, in U.S. West, 230, 231–235, 239–243, 266–267; U.S. Clean Air Act on, 303n4
air quality standards, tribal, 332
Akaitcho mine (Northwest Territories), 287
Alameda, Manuel, 108
Alberta Cancer Board, 350–351
Alberta Clipper project, 352
Alberta Health and Wellness, 351
Alberta tar sands mining, 12–13, 339–361; area of, 339, 340, 345; in climate change, 355–356; composition of tar sands, 340; conflict in Canada over, 356–361; energy required for, 344–345; expanding footprint of, 351–356; First Nations affected by, 348–351; First Nations opposing, 339, 359–360; health impacts of, 350–351; history of, 340–344; in situ extraction of, 343–347; international investment in, 360–361, 407; location of, 6, 339, 340, 341; opposition to, 339, 358–361; vs. other locations, 340, 362n6; pipelines for (See pipelines); political goal of developing, 340; productivity of, 342, 345, 349; provincial power in, 356–358; reclamation projects for, 346; surface extraction of, 342–343, 344–345; tax and royalty revenue from, 358; terminology for, 362n11; waste from, 346; water consumption for, 345–346; wildlife affected by, 345, 347, 348–350, 364n35
alkaline leaching, 265, 276n49
Allen, John, 117
Alpine Chronicle (newspaper), 108
Alzate, José Antonio, 63
amalgamation, in colonial Mexico, 23, 52, 55, 57, 58, 62, 65
Ambrosia Lake mine (New Mexico), 267–268, 270
American Institute of Mining Engineers, 20
American Legislative Executive Council, 331
American miners, financial settlements after coal mine explosions for, 150, 162n125
American Mining Congress, 234
American Rare Metals, 221
American River, 399
American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO), 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 37, 43n49
Anaconda Copper Mining Company: Comstock Lode’s connection to, 125; Deer Lodge Valley smelter of, 166–167, 176–180; economic and political power of, 178; establishment of, 176; source of social power of, 177–178. See also Montana copper mining
Anaconda Standard (newspaper), 178, 180
Andrews, Thomas G., Killing for Coal, 3, 372
Anglo Mexicana Company, 51
animals, domesticated, arsenic poisoning in, 288–289, 300. See also livestock; wildlife
Animus River, 236
Anishinaabe: ceded territories of, establishment of, 320, 329; ceded territories of, mining on, 329–332; in Elliot Lake region, 258, 259; in Lake Superior basin, 316–317, 320, 329–332; resistance to terminology of mining, 323; in Treaty of La Pointe, 319–320; and uranium mining, 259
Annales School, 167–168
ANT. See Actor Network Theory
anthropocentrism, 169
Antoine, Jim, 305n14
Aparicio, Pablo, 63
aquifers: around Alberta tar sands, 345–346; around Cerro de San Pedro, 19, 24, 36, 37; inside Comstock Lode, 114; around uranium mines, 235, 278n77
Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act of 1970 (Canada), 294
ARD. See acid rock drainage
Argo plant, 86
Argo Tunnel, 82
Armco Steel Corporation, 203, 215n43, 327
Army, U.S., 405
Army Corps of Engineers, U.S., 207
arsenate, 182
arsenic: from Alberta tar sands, 350; health impacts of, 181, 285–288; from Mexican precious-metals mining, 31, 44nn50, 54; from Montana copper smelting, 166, 177, 179–185, 286
arsenic, in drinking water: in Mexico, 44n54; standards for, 44n54, 286, 290–291; in Yellowknife, 286–292, 295, 299
arsenic, from Yellowknife gold mining, 11–12, 280–302; animals affected by, 288–289, 300; dispersal of, 280–281, 286–287; in drinking water, 286–292, 295, 299; early encounters with, 283–285; federal government response to, 289–297, 301; health impacts of, 287–288; industry response to, 289–290; remediation efforts for, 281, 296–297; studies testing levels of, 293–295, 309n57; underground disposal of, 281, 282, 296–297, 302; volume of, 285, 290, 295; warnings to public about, 287–289, 306n24; Yellowknives on historical impacts of, 281, 297–301, 302
arsenic trioxide: health impacts of, 286; in Montana copper mining, 181–182; in Yellowknife gold mining, 280–281, 284, 286–287, 295–296
arsenopyrite, 284–285
Asaida, S., 151
ASARCO. See American Smelting and Refining Company
asbestos: diseases associated with, 377; in drinking water, 327, 328; fireproof materials made from, 369, 370, 377; health impacts of, 369, 370, 376, 377–384; in Lake Superior, 209, 327–329; lawsuits on, 378–379, 384, 390; price of, 373, 375. See also asbestos mining
Asbestos (town in Quebec), 13, 369–391; acceptance of risks in, 369–370, 382, 384, 391; Catholic Church in, 370, 380, 384–386; characteristics of residents of, 370, 384–385; after closure of mine, 391; as company town, 372; housing in, 375, 388–390; JM’s communication about risks in, 370, 378–381; JM’s relationship with community of, 371–372, 384–390; location of, 6, 369; physical changes to, 373–375, 385–390; population of, 385, 389. See also Jeffrey mine
Asbestos Age, 374–375
“Asbestos and Health” (documentary), 383–384
asbestosis, 377–378, 380, 393n41
asbestos mining: booms in, 371, 374, 389; collapse of industry, 369, 370, 390; geology of deposits, 371; government subsidies for, 391; health impacts of, 377–384; locations of, 6, 369. See also Jeffrey mine
Asbestos Strike of 1949, 381, 387–388
Asian miners, in Colorado coal mine explosions, 136, 150–151, 158n29
As It Happens (radio program), 293
Athabasca River, 6, 346, 347, 348. See also Alberta tar sands
atomic bombs: as tool in mining, 210, 216n62; U.S. development of, 224–225. See also uranium
Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (U.S.), 225–226, 232, 237, 257
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), 225–246, 265–268; on Ambrosia Lake mine, 267–268; EPA on problems with, 270; establishment of, 225–226, 257; on health effects of uranium milling, 236–243, 268; on health effects of uranium mining, 232–235, 266; procurement program of, 226–229, 257–258, 267; responsibilities of, 226, 232, 266; shielded from liability, 234, 246
Atomic Energy Control Act of 1946 (Canada), 257
Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB), 257, 259–265
atomic nostalgia, 391
atomic power, 220, 225–227, 263. See also uranium
Austrian miners, in Colorado coal mine explosions, 150, 163n126
automobiles, minerals in, 1–2
autopsies, on workers from Jeffrey mine, 380
azogue. See mercury
Babbitt (Minnesota), 200–201, 325
Bad River, 315
Bad River Band: iron mine proposed on ceded territories of, 313–317, 331–333; protests on White Pine copper mine by, 330–331; and Wisconsin iron-mining law, 332
Baker Creek, 286–287
Barba, Alonso, 55
Barcott, Bruce, 352
Barnet, Jorge, 35–36
Bartola process, 77
Basque, 34
Beaumont (Texas), discovery of oil in, 406
Beaver Lake Cree Nation, 348–349
Becquerel, Henri, 222
Begay v. United States, 235, 251n26
Belcher mine (Nevada), 117
Belgium, in uranium mining, 224
benevolent associations, in Colorado Front Range, 93
Bennett, Jane, 169
Berger, Thomas, 294
Bergkrankheit, 232
Bethlehem Steel Iron Company, 335n15
Bielenberg, Nick, 173, 177, 179, 180, 182
Big Bonanza ores, 120
bighorn sheep, 90
Big River Mine Tailings (Missouri), 15n7
Big Thompson River, 85
bile duct cancer, 350–351
bioaccumulation: of arsenic, 286; of mercury, 326; of toxics from iron mining, 313
biocentrism, 169
biological deserts, 236
bitumen: diluted (dilbit), 343–344, 352–354; First Nations’ use of, 340; as percentage of tar sands, 340. See also Alberta tar sands
Black Hawk (Colorado), air pollution in, 88–89, 89. See also Boston and Colorado Smelting Company
black lung disease, 399
black powder, at Comstock Lode, 123–124
blacksmiths, at Comstock Lode, 120–121
blast furnaces, in Colorado Front Range, 78, 83, 87, 102n32
Blejer, Hector, 295
block-caving, at Jeffrey mine, 375
bluebunch wheatgrass, 171
Bobtail lode (Colorado), 83
Bonner, Charles, 112
Borchert, John, 199
Borda family, 50
Boston and Colorado Smelting Company, 77–78, 83, 85–86, 88–89, 89
Boulder County (Colorado), 80, 81
Boundary Waters, 325
Boundary Waters Canoe Area, 325
Bourbon Reforms, 20, 23, 49–50
Bowles, Samuel, 91–92
Braschi, V.M., 28–29
Braudel, Fernand, 167
Braun, Daniel C., 381–382
Britain: asbestos in, 377; on coal dust in mine explosions, 152; coal mining fatality rate in, 134, 157n9; investment in Colorado mining from, 76; investment in Mexican mining from, 26, 45n63, 51–52; mining as motivation for imperialism of, 403, 404
British Columbia: hydraulic gold mining in, 400; Northern Gateway pipeline in, 339, 352
Bromley, Barbara, 289
Brown, A.R., 159n56
Brown, Kate, Plutopia, 3
Brown, Lewis H., 381
buffalo, 90
Bullion pit (British Columbia), 400
bunchgrasses, 171–172, 179–180
Bureau of Mines, U.S. (USBM): at Delagua mine, 146; establishment of, 139; on health impacts of uranium mining, 266; on radium, 222, 223; in safety reforms for coal mining, 153; at Starkville mine, 141, 159n58
Burroughs lode (Colorado), 83
Burwash Yellowknife Mines, 283
Bustamante, Carlos M., 61
Butte (Montana), 176
Butte Inter Mountain (newspaper), 178
Caboto, Giovanni, 403
Cache la Poudre River, 85
cages, Comstock Lode accidents involving, 118–119
California: gold rush in, 399–401, 404–405; hydraulic gold mining in, 110, 193, 399–401; nostalgia tourism in, 401–402; oil in, 406
Callon, Michael, 168
Callow, A.C., 289
Camargo, Julio, 26
Canada: environmental movement in, 263–264, 293–294; greenhouse gas emissions in, 35, 355–356; investment in Mexican mining from, 33–34, 36; in Kyoto Protocol, 356; location of mining sites in, 6; minerals in economy of, 2, 408; provincial power over resource development in, 356–358; as regional vs. global oil provider, 340; uranium mining in, 224–225, 227. See also specific locations
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), 342
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), 293
Canadian Department of the Environment, 263–264
Canadian Energy Research Institute, 358
Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 297–298
Canadian Mining Journal, 374, 375–376
Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA), 295
cancer: and arsenic, 292, 293, 295, 309n53, 350; and asbestos, 370, 377, 379, 382; radium as treatment for, 222; and tar sands, 350–351. See also lung cancer
candles, at Comstock Lode, 121
capital investment, as modern form of imperialism, 407. See also foreign investment
capitalism, as theme in environmental history, 5–7
CAPP. See Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
carbon dioxide, from coal mining, 399. See also greenhouse gas emissions
carboneros (charcoal makers), 24
Cárdenas, Lázaro, 407
Carlin Trend (Nevada), 32
Carnegie, Andrew, 76
carnotite, 221–224
carpenters, at Comstock Lode, 120–121
Carrizales, Leiticia, 44n50
Casa de Apartado, 51
case law, environmental, 209
Catholic Church, in Asbestos (Quebec), 370, 380, 384–386
Catorce. See Real de Catorce
Catorce Company, 62
cattle: domestication of, 171–172; Hereford, 172–173; Shorthorn, 172–173; in Yellowknife, impact of arsenic on, 289. See also Montana Longhorn cattle
cave-ins, at Comstock Lode, 108, 111–113, 128n16
cazos (amalgamating mills), 57, 58
CBC. See Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
ceded territories, in Lake Superior basin: establishment of, 320, 329; map of, 315; proposed iron ore mines on, 313–317, 329–333; state recognition of, 329–330
Central City (Colorado), 84, 91, 93
Central City Herald (newspaper), 83
Century of Progress World’s Fair (Chicago), 398, 399
CEPA. See Canadian Environmental Protection Act
Cerro de San Pedro (Mexico), precious-metals mining in, 19–38; colonial, 23–27; contemporary open-pit, 19, 35–37; deforestation for, 24–25; grades of ore, 42n35; industrial, 29–32; location of, 6, 19, 24; number of workers in, 24, 29; productivity of, 25, 29, 37, 41n20; waste from, 25, 30–32, 36; water resources and, 19, 24, 25
CF&I. See Colorado Fuel & Iron
chalcocite, 176
Chambers, Clarke, 200
chapopote, 29–30
Charlo, Joseph, 300
Chartier, Norman, 384
Chase, George, 96
Chez Nous Ideal, 388–389
Chicago: Century of Progress World’s Fair in, 398, 399; Museum of Science and Industry in, 398–399, 402, 408
Chihuahua (Mexico), 63–64
children, in financial settlements after mine explosions, 151
Chile, iron ore mining in, 335n15
China: investment in Canadian tar sands by, 360; iron ore mining in, 333
Chipewyan First Nation, 348
Chippewa, Lake Superior Tribe of. See Bad River Band
cholangiocarcinomas, 350–351
chrysotile asbestos, 369–370
Churchrock mine (New Mexico), 269, 270
cigarette smoking, by asbestos miners, 380, 382, 383
Cinnamon, Laurie, 288–289
Clean Air Act of 1967 (U.S.), 303n4
cleanup. See remediation
Clean Water Act (U.S.), 334n1
Clear Creek basin (Colorado), 85, 90
Clear Creek County (Colorado), 80, 81, 82
climate change, impact of tar sands on, 355–356
Climax Uranium Company, 241
Cline, Chris, 335n9
Cloke, Paul, 168
CM&S. See Consolidated Mining & Smelting
coal: materialist thinking on, 170; rise in demand for, 132; transportation of, 406
coal dust: as cause of mine explosions, 133–134, 145, 152–153; mitigation techniques for, 134, 153, 164n142
coalfield war of 1913–14, 134, 155–156
coal mining: comparison of fatality rates in, 134, 157n9; environmental impacts of, 399; health impacts of, 399; locations of, 6; longwall, 335n9; museum exhibits on, 398–399, 402; U.S. national productivity of, 406. See also Colorado
coal power: in Colorado Front Range precious-metals mining, 76, 86–87; in Mexican precious-metals mining, 27, 28, 29–30, 43n44; in Montana copper mining, 176; vs. oil, as primary fuel in U.S., 406; railroads’ switch to, 86–87
coke, 343
Cold Lake, 6, 340. See also Alberta tar sands
Cold War: asbestos mining in, 375–376; iron ore mining in, 202; uranium mining in, 227–228, 257–258
colonialism. See imperialism
Colorado: forest protection in, 93; mine safety regulations in, 153–154, 233; railroads connecting, 79; state coal mine inspector of, 139, 145, 153, 159nn45, 59; Superfund sites in, 90; uranium mining regulations in, 233, 238; uranium tailings used in construction in, 240–243; wildlife protection in, 90; workers’ compensation in, 162n123
Colorado Central Railroad, 79, 86
Colorado coalfield war of 1913–14, 134, 155–156
Colorado coal mining: establishment of, in Front Range, 86–87; fatality rate for, 134, 157n9; locations of, 6
Colorado coal mining, explosions in, 9, 132–156; causes of, 133–135; coalfield war of 1913–14 after, 134, 155–156; at Delagua, 133, 134, 146–151; financial settlements for, 149–151, 162n123; at Primero, 132–133, 135–139; safety reforms affected by, 139, 153–154; at Starkville, 133, 140–146; total number of casualties in, 133, 134, 154; unionization after, 153–155
Colorado Department of Health, 241
Colorado Front Range coal mining, 86–87
Colorado Front Range precious-metals mining, 8, 73–97; coal power in, 86–87; concerns about mineral loss and exhaustion in, 94–97; and conservation movement, 75, 92–97; deforestation in, 83–86, 93; gold rush era in, 75, 79–80, 82; health impacts of, 90–91; heavy-metal contamination from, 87–90; industrialization of, 76–79, 97; labor unions in, 93–94; locations of, 6, 75; placer and lode, 74, 79–80; productivity of, 80–81, 81; railroads in, 76, 79, 83–87; Raymond’s reports on, 77, 78, 88, 99n8, 102n32; waste from, 80–82, 82, 90, 101n24
Colorado Fuel & Iron (CF&I): at Delagua mine, 146; increase in hiring and production at, 132; safety reforms at, 153, 154, 164n142. See also Primero mine; Starkville mine
Colorado General Assembly, 93
Colorado Plateau, 219–229; Euro-American discovery of, 219; location of, 6; uranium mining in, 220–229
colorados (red ores), 52–53, 58
Colorado School of Mines, 78–79
Colorado State Forestry Association, 93
Colorado Territorial Assembly, 90
Columbus, Christopher, 403, 404
Cominco, 283
communication with public: about arsenic in Yellowknife, 287–289, 306n24; about asbestos in Asbestos, 370, 378–381
Compañía Metalúrgica Mexicana, 29
Companion to Global Environmental History (McNeill and Mauldin), 4
company towns, 372
Comstock Lode (Nevada), 8, 108–127; amount of ore in, 109; cave-ins at, 108, 111–113, 128n16; corporate consolidation at, 110–111, 126; corporate profits at, lack of, 109, 110, 111, 126; corporations’ rise at, 109, 110, 126–127; decline of, 125; discovery of, 111; explosives at, 123–124; fatal falls at, 117–119; formation of, 115; geological characteristics of, 111–116; hot air in, 116–117; hot springs in, 115–116; industrial technologies in, 110, 122–125; labor force structure at, 119–122; legacy of, 125–127; location of, 6; number of casualties in, 108, 109, 118, 126; number of miners at, 119–120; number of mines in, 109; operating costs at, 109, 111, 115, 120; productivity of, 109, 127n4; respiratory diseases at, 117, 122–123, 130n49; timber supports in, 111–114; types of jobs at, 120–121; unionization at, 119–120, 126; ventilation pipes in, 116–117; wages at, 119–120; water inside, 114–116
Confédération des travailleurs catholiques du Canada (CTCC), 386–387
Congo, Democratic Republic of, tar sands in, 362n6
Congress, U.S.: annual reports on mining to, 77, 94–95, 99n8, 102n32; Bureau of Mines established by, 139; on National Conservation Commission, 96; on Rocky Mountain National Park, 94; and uranium mining, 225–226, 235, 242–243, 270. See also legislation; specific laws
Congressional Research Service, 355–356
Con mine (Northwest Territories), 280–290; dispersal of arsenic from, 286–287; early encounters with arsenic at, 283–285; establishment of, 283; location of, 284; pollution control technology at, 289–290, 301, 307n34; productivity of, 280, 302n1; roasting facility at, 284–286; volume of arsenic output at, 285; water pollution at, 286–287
conservation movement, U.S.: Colorado Front Range in, 75, 92–97; early concerns about mineral exhaustion in, 94–97; traditional view on origins of, 92–93
Consolidated Mining & Smelting (CM&S), 283, 289
Consolidated Union mine (Nevada), 120
Consolidated Virginia mine (Nevada), 116, 120
construction projects, uranium tailings used in, 240–243, 254n44
consumer goods, minerals in, 1–2
consumerism, and environmental movement, 192
containment (settling) ponds, 73; in tar sands mining, 346, 364n35; in uranium mining, 236, 251n29
Coole, Diana, The New Materialisms, 169
Cooper, Walter, 383–384
copper: atomic structure of, 175–176; material power of, 167, 170, 175–178, 185; properties of, 175–176; uses for, 175
copper mining: in Lake Superior basin, 319–320, 330–331; locations of, 6; low-grade, 322; open-pit, expansion of, 193, 322. See also Montana copper mining
Copple, William, 235
corporations, at Comstock Lode: consolidation of, 110–111, 126; rise of, 109, 110, 126–127. See also specific companies
Cortés, Hernán, 22
costs, operating: at Comstock Lode, 109, 111, 115, 120; in Lake Superior basin, 319; of open-pit mining, 32–34
Cottrell electrostatic precipitator, 281, 282, 289–290, 291, 301
Council of Canadian Academies, 345–346
Courrières coal mine explosion (France), 152
CPHA. See Canadian Public Health Association
Crandon mine (Wisconsin), 329–330
Crapeau, Rachel Ann, 300
Cree First Nation, 348–349, 350
Creoles, 50
Cripple Creek District (Colorado), 80
crops. See agriculture
Cross, Jerry, 113
crude oil. See oil, crude
CTCC. See Confédération des travailleurs catholiques du Canada
cultural construction: of mineral depletion, 321; of resources, 333
cultural identities, and contamination, 326
cultural loss, of Yellowknives, 297–301, 302
Curie, Marie, 222
Curie, Pierre, 222
Curtis, Kent, 402–403
cyanide: in gold mining at Yellowknife, 283–284; in precious-metals mining in Mexico, 19, 28, 32, 34, 35, 36
Daily Central City Register (newspaper), 91
dairy cows, impact of arsenic on: in Montana, 183; in Yellowknife, 289
Davin, Nicholas Flood, 401
Davis, Edward W., 202–211; on depletion of high-grade iron ore, 199, 202, 204; on economic development, 207; on processing of low-grade iron ore, 199, 202, 204, 205–206, 322; on tailings from low-grade iron ore, 206–207, 209–211, 215n50
Davis, Jerry, 150
debt peonage, 67n13
deer, 171
Deer Lodge Valley (Montana): arrival of cattle in, 171–173; early settlers in, 171; ecosystem of, 171; entropy of, 174–175; location of, 6. See also Montana copper mining; Washoe smelter
Defense Production Act of 1950 (U.S.), 203
deforestation, in Colorado Front Range, 83–86, 93
deforestation, in Mexico: of Cerro de San Pedro, 20, 24–26, 30, 30; colonial regulation of, 403; Humboldt on extent of, 26, 42n27; of Real de Catorce Mining District, 60–61, 64–65
Dehourdi, Eli, 184
Deidesheimer, Philip, 112
Delagua mine explosion (Colorado), 133, 134, 146–151; burial of bodies from, 149; ethnicity of casualties in, 150–151; financial settlements after, 149–151, 162nn124–125, 163nn127, 131; inquest into, 151, 153; number of casualties in, 133, 146, 147, 161n97; rescue and recovery efforts after, 146–149; survivors of, 146–147; Victor-American response to, 146–151
Democratic Republic of Congo, tar sands in, 362n6
Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad, 79
Denver (Colorado), railroads connecting, 79
Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, 79
Denver Pacific Railway, 79, 84
Denver Post (newspaper): on Delagua mine explosion, 148; on mine safety laws, 153; on Primero mine explosion, 135–138, 157nn13–15, 158n29, 159n39; on Starkville mine explosion, 140–142, 144–145, 159n56, 160nn62, 69, 161n86
Denver Republican (newspaper): on Delagua mine explosion, 161n106, 162n118; on mine safety laws, 154; on Primero mine explosion, 138, 139, 157nn16, 25, 158n33, 159n42; on Starkville mine explosion, 142, 143
De Quille, Dan. See Wright, William
desulphurization, 77
Dettah (Northwest Territories), arsenic in, 287–288, 292, 298–299, 301
Deutsches Museum (Munich), 398
de Villiers, A.J., 292, 293, 308n53
diesel power, 35
dilbit (diluted bitumen), 343–344, 352–354
direct-shipping ores, 196, 317
Discovery mine (Northwest Territories), 280
dislocations, 175
disposal, underground, of arsenic, 281, 282, 296–297, 302
DNR. See Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
dogs, arsenic poisoning in, 288, 300
Doherty, Patrick, 108
domesticated animals, arsenic poisoning in, 288–289. See also livestock
Domínguez, Francisco Atanasio, 219
Douglas Channel, 352
Draeger, 139
“Drill, baby, drill,” 402, 408, 410n11
drills: hand, 122; machine, 122–124
drinking water: asbestos in, 327, 328; colonial Mexican regulation of, 63; radiation levels in, 251n29, 262, 269. See also arsenic, in drinking water
Drinkwater, Terry, 238
Duluth (Minnesota), asbestos in drinking water of, 327, 328
Duluth Metals Limited, 325
Dundas, Christopher, 325
Dunka mine (Minnesota), 325
Duquette, Michel, 357
Dutch disease, 357–358
dynamite: at Comstock Lode, 122, 123–124; invention of, 131n53
Dysart, Stella, 228
EA. See environmental assessment
Earth Day, 268
Eaton, Nicole, 359
economic development: in depressed regions, through low-grade ore mining, 194–195, 211; in Lake Superior mining district, 199–200, 207, 211–212
economic power, of Anaconda Copper Mining Company, 178
Edison, Thomas, 201
efficiency, modern quest for, 194–195
Einstein, Albert, 224
Eisenhower, Dwight, 202–203, 267
elections, of 2012 in Wisconsin, 331, 337n40
electrostatic precipitator (ESP), 281, 289–290, 291, 301
Elizabeth I (queen of England), 404
elk, 171
Elliot Lake (Ontario) uranium mining, 11, 256–273; environmental impacts of, 258–265; and environmental movement, 263–264; evolution of regulation of, 258–265; vs. Grants region, regulation of, 270–273; health impacts of, 260, 262–265; industry responsibility for safety in, 259–260, 264; location of, 6, 258; productivity of, 258, 259, 261; waste from, 258–262 (See also uranium tailings)
emissions, greenhouse gas, 35, 355–356. See also air pollution
Empire Mine (California), nostalgia tourism at, 401–402
enargite, 176
Enbridge Company, 339, 351, 353, 354, 359
Energy, U.S. Department of, 243, 355
Energy East, 352
energy power, in social power, 170
Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB), 344, 345
energy usage: in open-pit mining, 34–35; in tar sands mining, 344–345. See also fuel; specific energy sources
Engels, Frederick, 167
Engineering and Mining Journal, 89
engineers, at Comstock Lode, 120–121
England. See Britain
entropy: and cattle, 173–175; and copper mining, 177–178; definition of, 174
Environment, Canadian Department of the, 263–264
environmental assessment (EA), of arsenic at Yellowknife, 297, 300
Environmental Assessment Act (Canada), 360
Environmental Bill of Rights, NWT, 296
Environmental History (journal), 282
environmental history of mining: vs. collective memory of mining, 408; future directions for, 14; materialism in, 169–170; review of scholarship on, 3–4; social costs of mining in, 408–409
environmental justice: as theme in environmental history, 5, 10–13; in uranium mining, 256–257, 272–273
environmental movement, Canadian, 263–264, 293–294
environmental movement, U.S., 191–193; changes in views on nature in, 192; common binary narrative on impact of, 191–193; Hays on phases of, 192, 208; and pollution from uranium mills, 238, 268. See also conservation movement
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S.: establishment of, 303n4; on greenhouse gas emissions, 355; on mercury levels, 326; on pollution from uranium mining, 269–270, 278n77; on proposed iron ore mines on ceded territories, 330, 334n1; Superfund sites of, 2, 15n7, 90; on tar sands spills, 354; on water pollution in Lake Superior, 328, 336n33; on White Pine copper mine, 331
Environment Canada, 344–345, 347
enviro-technical perspective, 74, 168, 186n5
EPA. See Environmental Protection Agency
ERCB. See Energy Resources Conservation Board
EROI (energy return on investment) ratio, 344
Escalante, Silvestre Vélez de, 219
ESP. See electrostatic precipitator
ethnicity, in Colorado coal mine explosions, 136, 158n29, 165n147
Ethyl Corporation v. EPA, 209
Europe: imperialism in (See imperialism); investment in Mexican mining from, 26, 45n63, 51–52; lung cancer from radioactive materials in, 232; pitchblende in, 221, 224; radium in, 222–223; resource shortages in, 403, 410n15. See also specific countries
Evans, Morgan, 182–183
Evans, William J., 147
E.W. Davis Works, 203
exhaustion. See heat exhaustion; mineral depletion and exhaustion
explosions, at Comstock Lode, 123–124. See also Colorado coal mining, explosions in
“extractories,” 121
Exxon, 329–330
face-centered cube, 175
Fair, James, 115
family wage ideologies, 151, 163n130
farming. See agriculture
Farnsworth, Joseph, 119
Farrell, James J., 162n118
Federal Radiation Council (FRC), U.S., 262, 267, 268
Federal Steel, 327
Federal Tort Claims Act of 1946 (U.S.), 234, 246, 255n49
Federal Water Pollution Control Agency (U.S.), 240
Ferdinand of Spain, 403
financial compensation: after arsenic poisoning in Yellowknife, 288; after Delagua mine explosion, 149–151, 162nn124–125, 163nn127, 131; after Primero mine explosion, 149, 163n126; after Stag Cañon mine explosion, 163n127; after Starkville mine explosion, 149; for uranium miners, 235, 251n27
fire, in Delagua mine, 146. See also Colorado coal mining, explosions in
fireproof materials, asbestos in, 369, 370, 377
First Nations, 11–13; activism on arsenic by, 294; impacts of tar sands mining on, 348–351; negotiations with oil interests, 407; opposition to tar sands mining by, 339, 359–360; tar sands used by, 340. See also Native Americans; specific groups
Fischer, Lindsay, 356
fish: arsenic in, 350; mercury in, 325, 350
Fisheries Act (Canada), 360
fishing: on ceded territories, 329; in Lake Superior, 207, 208, 317, 322, 327–328
Fitzgerald, Scott, 332
Flanagan South pipeline, 352–353
flooding: in colonial Mexico, 25; inside mines (See water, inside mines)
Flourensia cernua, 61
fondón de a caballo, 58–59, 69n61
food: arsenic on, in Yellowknife, 281, 287, 289–293, 300; for colonial Mexican mine workers, 51, 59
forced labor, in colonial Mexico, 50
foreign investment: in Alberta tar sands, 360–361, 407; in Canadian mining, from U.S., 369–370, 407; in Colorado mining, from Britain, 76; in Mexican mining, from Britain, 26, 45n63, 51–52; in Mexican mining, from Canada, 33–34, 36; in Mexican mining, from U.S., 27–28, 32, 43n41, 45n63, 407; as modern form of imperialism, 407
foremen, at Comstock Lode, 121
ForestEthics, 359
Forest Reserve Act of 1891 (U.S.), 93
forests: effects of sulfur dioxide on, 180; U.S. legislation protecting, 93. See also deforestation
Fossett, Frank, 83
Foster, Fred, 143
Francaviglia, Richard, 196
France, coal mine explosions in, 152
fraternal lodges, in Colorado Front Range, 93
FRC. See Federal Radiation Council
French Canadians: in Asbestos (Quebec), 370, 381; Quiet Revolution by, 381–382
frontier thesis, 401–402
Front Range. See Colorado Front Range
Frost, Samantha, The New Materialisms, 169
frozen block method of stabilization, 281
fuel: for smelting, in colonial Mexico, 26, 28, 29, 58; for smelting, in Colorado Front Range, 83, 86–87; transition from wood to coal as, 86–87. See also specific types of fuel
fuelwood. See deforestation
Fugitive Landscapes (Truett), 3
Galloway, James, 116
Galloway, James Hezlep, 120
Gálvez, José de, 49–50
Gamboa, Francisco Javier de, 54, 63
gangue, 81
Garcés y Eguía, José, 53, 55, 64
García Cubas, Antonio, 27
García Pérez, José, 60
GDP. See gross domestic product
General Mining Act of 1872 (U.S.), 83
geological time, 205
Germany, Deutsches Museum in, 398
GHG. See greenhouse gas
ghost towns, mining, 200–201
Giant mine (Northwest Territories), 280–302, 285; closure of, 296; dispersal of arsenic from, 286–287; disposal of arsenic inside, 281, 282, 296–297, 302; establishment of, 283; location of, 284; pollution control technology at, 289–291, 301; productivity of, 280; remediation of arsenic at, 281, 296–297, 297; roasting facility at, 285–287; volume of arsenic output at, 285, 290, 295; water pollution at, 286–287; Yellowknives on historical impacts of, 297–301, 302
Giant Yellowknife Gold Mines, Ltd. (GYGML), 283, 285, 288, 289–290
Gilpin County (Colorado), 80, 81, 83, 88
Giménez de Azcárate, Joaquín, 60
glass, uranium in, 221
gobernadora, 61
Gogebic Range, use of term, 318. See also Penokee-Gogebic Range
Gogebic Taconite (GTAC): on environmental impacts of taconite mining, 323–324, 328; Lake Superior basin mine proposed by, 313–319, 314, 331–333, 334n1; violations of water quality standards by, 335n9
Goldcorp, 34
Gold Hill (Nevada). See Comstock Lode
gold mining: in California, 110, 193, 399–402; imperialism motivated by, 403; locations of, 6. See also Colorado Front Range; Comstock Lode; Mexico; Yellowknife
gold prices: in Mexico, 34; vs. silver, 127n4
gold rushes: in California, 110, 399–401, 404–405; in Canada, 283; in Colorado Front Range, 75, 79–80, 82
González-Costilla, Onésimo, 60
gossan, 52
Grand Junction (Colorado), uranium tailings used in construction in, 240–243
Grants Mineral Belt (New Mexico), 265–270; vs. Elliot Lake region, regulation of, 270–273; evolution of regulation of, 265–270; location of, 6; productivity of, 258, 265, 266, 276n56
Great Bear Lake region (Canada), 224
Great Bear Rain Forest (Canada), 352
Great Britain. See Britain
Great Canadian Oil Sands, 342
Great Depression, asbestos mining during, 372–373, 386
Green Decade, 268
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 35, 355–356
Greening, George, 124
Greet, Frank, 140
gross domestic product (GDP), mineral production as percentage of, 2
Grossman, Zoltán, 329
Groulx, Henri, 276n41
ground subsidence, 82
groundwater: arsenic in, 296; in Colorado Front Range, 82, 90; in Grants Mineral Belt, 265, 269–270, 278n77. See also aquifers; water, inside mines; water pollution
GTAC. See Gogebic Taconite
Guachichil people, 24
Guanajuato (Mexico), 20, 22, 51, 403
Guggenheim family, 28
Guilfoil, John R., 142, 148, 152–153, 158n29, 159n42, 162n121
GYGML. See Giant Yellowknife Gold Mines, Ltd.
habitat disturbance, in tar sands mining, 345–347, 348–349
habitat fragmentation, in tar sands mining, 345
haciendas de beneficio, 23, 25
hair-sampling studies, of arsenic levels, 293–294, 309n57
Hakluyt, Richard, 404
Hale & Norcross mine (Nevada), 118–119
Ham Commission, 264
hand drills, 122
Hanna Mining Company, 322
Hansen, James, 355
Hanson, Ralph, 108
Harper, Stephen, 353, 359, 360, 361, 362n3
Harrington, Phillip, 117
Harrison, Benjamin, 93
Hayden, Ferdinand, 95–96
Health Canada, 350
health impacts: of arsenic, 181, 285–288; of asbestos, 369, 370, 376, 377–384; of coal mining, 399; of copper mining, 181; of gold mining, in Yellowknife, 287–288; of precious-metals mining, in colonial Mexico, 62–64, 66; of precious-metals mining, in Colorado Front Range, 90–91; of tar sands mining, 350–351; of uranium mills, in U.S., 236–243, 268; of uranium mining, in Canada, 260, 262–265; of uranium mining, in U.S., 231–235, 260, 266–267
Hearst, George, 111–112, 125, 176
heat exhaustion, at Comstock Lode, 116–117
heavy-metal contamination: from low-grade iron ore mining, in Lake Superior basin, 324–326; from precious-metals mining, in Colorado Front Range, 87–90; from precious-metals mining, in Mexico, 31–32, 35, 37. See also specific metals
Hedman, Susan, 334n1
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm, 167
helmets, self-contained breathing, 139, 141, 146
hematite iron: in Lake Superior basin, 317–318, 320, 321–322; in Lake Superior mining district, 196–198, 320
Hereford cattle, 172–173
Herrington, Fred, 145, 152–153
Hill, Nathaniel, 77–78, 85–86, 88–89
Hispanos, 162n118
Holaday, Duncan, 266
Holden Smelting Company, 86
Hollinger mine (Ontario), 302n1
Homestake Mining Company, 125
Hornborg, Alf, 168
horses: in Montana, impact of copper mining on, 183; in Yellowknife, impact of arsenic on, 288–289
hot springs, in Comstock Lode, 115–116
House of Representatives, U.S. See Congress, U.S.
housing, in Asbestos (Quebec), 375, 388–390
Hout, Marc, 356
Hovis, Logan, 204
Huffman, Thomas, 207
Hull-Rust-Mahoning mine (Minnesota), 195–196
Human Footprint, The (Penna), 3
human health. See health impacts
Humboldt, Alexander von, 26, 42n27, 51, 55, 59, 62–63
Hurley (Wisconsin), 317, 332–333
Husky Energy, 360
hydraulic mining, in California, 110, 193, 399–400
hydroelectric power: energy return on investment ratio for, 344; in Mexican mining, 27, 28, 30; in open-pit mining, 35
hydrosulfuric acid, 323
hysteresis, of landscapes, 47, 67n1
Iberian Peninsula, Reconquista in, 403
identities: cultural, and contamination, 326; local, Jeffrey mine in, 389, 391; national, collective memory in, 402
Illinois. See Chicago
imperialism: capital investment as modern form of, 407; in history of mining, 402–405; industrialization linked with, 405; mines as agent of, in Yellowknife region, 298, 302; Spanish, mining as motivation for, 22, 403–404
Imperial mine (Nevada), 116–117
Imperial Oil Limited, 342, 362n3
impinger (scrubber) method of pollution control, 289, 301, 307n34
INAC. See Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
indemnity payments. See financial compensation
Indian and Northern Health Services Division (Canada), 291
Indian Brotherhood of the Northwest Territories, 293
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), 281, 296
indigenous mining, vs. industrial mining, 2
indigenous peoples. See First Nations; Native Americans; specific groups
individualism, and uranium mining, 220, 228
industrial colonization, 282–283
Industrial Health Laboratory (Canada), 290
industrialization: changes to temporal scales in, 205; in history of mining, 405–408; imperialism linked with, 405; as theme in environmental history, 5, 7–10
industrial metabolism: definition of, 48; of Real de Catorce Mining District, 48, 57, 64–65
industrial metals. See copper; iron ore
industrial mining: of asbestos, at Jeffrey mine, 374–376, 387; of gold, in California, 399–400; vs. indigenous mining, impact and scale of, 2; of precious metals, in Colorado Front Range, rise of, 76–79, 97; of precious metals, in Mexico, ecology of, 22, 27–32
industrial revolution, in colonial Mexico, 50
industrial sublime, 198
inevitability, language of, 332–333
infectious diseases, at Comstock Lode, 117, 122–123. See also specific types
in situ extraction, 343–347
Institute for Environmental Studies, 294
intelligence, distributed, 174
Interior, U.S. Department of, 374
International Commission on Radiological Protection, 262
International Energy Agency, 408
International Joint Commission, 321
International Radiation Protection Committee, 260
iron cap, 52
Iron Ore Company of Canada, 322
iron ore mining: locations of, 6; in U.S., two eras of, 194; outside U.S. in 1940s and 1950s, 214n33, 321, 335n15. See also Lake Superior basin; Lake Superior Mesabi Range mining district
iron ore mining, high-grade: depletion of, in Lake Superior basin, 321–322; depletion of, in Lake Superior mining district, 194, 197–199, 202, 214n23, 321–322; vs. low-grade, 196–197, 317–318; processing of, in Lake Superior basin, 317–318, 320; processing of, in Lake Superior mining district, 196, 201, 320
iron ore mining, low-grade, types of, 196. See also taconite
Iron Range. See Lake Superior
iron sulfides, in low-grade iron ore mining, 323
Ironwood Formation, 318–319, 320, 323
Isenberg, Andrew C.: Mining California, 3, 170; Oxford Handbook of Environmental History, 4
Italians, in Colorado coal mine explosions, 150, 151, 163n126
Jackpile mine (New Mexico), 269
James, Ronald, 130n49
Janvier, Walter, 348
Japan, atomic bombs used in, 225
Japanese miners, in Colorado coal mine explosions, 150–151, 158n29, 163n128
jasper, in Lake Superior mining district, 196
JCAE. See Joint Committee on Atomic Energy
Jeffrey mine (Quebec), 369–391; bankruptcy in 1892 of, 371, 384; closure in 2012 of, 391; communication about risks at, 370, 378–381; community relations with and dependence on, 371–372, 384–390; establishment of, 369–370, 371; expansion of, 373–375, 385–390; geological characteristics of, 371; during Great Depression, 372–373, 386; health impacts on workers at, 377–384; industrialization of, 374–376, 387; labor strikes at, 381, 385, 386–388; landslides at, 373, 376; location of, 369–370; ownership of, 369–370, 371, 390; productivity of, 370, 374–376; respirators at, 382, 391; shift work at, 372, 374, 375; transportation at, 372, 374, 375–376; women workers at, 374, 378, 379, 383
Jervis, Robert, 294
JM. See Johns-Manville
Jobs, Growth, and Long Term Prosperity Act of 2012 (Canada), 360, 361
Johns-Manville (JM), 369–391; bankruptcy of, 384, 390; community relations with, 384–390; dates of ownership of Jeffrey mine, 369–370, 371, 390; during Great Depression, 372–373, 386; on health impacts of asbestos, 377–384; insurance company of, 378, 394n43; land bought by, 373, 375, 385–388; lawsuits against, 378–379, 384, 390. See also Jeffrey mine
Johnson, Bruce, 325
Joint Committee on Atomic Energy (JCAE), 226, 268
Jokerville coal mine explosion of 1882 (Colorado), 159n45
Jones, John D., 145, 159n59, 164n141
Jones, Owain, 168
Justice, U.S. Department of, 85, 328
Kakagon–Bad River Sloughs, 315–317
Kakela, Peter, 321–322
Kalamazoo River, 354
Kam Lake, 289
Kansas Pacific Railroad, 79
Kay, Kingsley, 290
Kennedy, John (miner), 108
Kerr-McGee uranium mill (New Mexico), 251n29, 267, 269, 271
Kershaw, Nellie, 377
Keweenaw Peninsula, 319
Keystone XL pipeline, 339, 351, 352, 353
Kidell, Juan, 62
Kilkenny, Helen, 289
Killing for Coal (Andrews), 3, 372
Kirkby, I.F., 287
Kirsch, Stuart, 299
Kitimat (British Columbia), 339, 352
Kitz, Richard, 113
Klaproth, Martin, 220–221
Klondike gold rush, 283
Knott’s Berry Farm, 401–402, 408
Koreans, in Colorado coal mine explosions, 136, 158n29
Kotin, Paul, 383–384
Ku Klux Klan, 329
Kyoto Protocol, 356
Labor, U.S. Department of, 234, 266
laborers. See forced labor; mine workers
labor strikes: at asbestos mines in Quebec, 381, 385, 386–388; at coal mines in Colorado, 134, 154, 155–156; at colonial Mexican mines, 50–51, 57
labor unions: in Canadian uranium mines, 264; in Colorado coal mines, 153–155; in Colorado Front Range mines, 93–94; at Comstock Lode, 119–120, 126; in Quebec asbestos mines, 380–381, 385–387; on Yellowknife arsenic poisoning, 294–295
Lac Courte Oreilles Band, 329
Lake Superior, water pollution in, 205–211, 322–329; acid mine drainage in, 323–326; asbestos in, 327–329; dispersal of, 191, 208; lawsuits on, 191–192, 205, 207–209, 327, 328; mercury in, 325–326, 334; permits for, 207, 208, 327–328; from Silver Bay taconite plant, 203, 208, 209, 316, 327; volume of, 191, 207, 211, 323, 327
Lake Superior basin copper mining, 319–320, 330–331
Lake Superior basin iron mining: dispersal of toxics from, 313; high-grade hematite in, 317–318, 320, 321–322; histories of, 317–320; location of, 6, 313, 314; origins of, 319–320; productivity of, 320; waste from, 320
Lake Superior basin iron mining, low-grade ore in, 12, 313–334; acid mine drainage from, 323–326; asbestos from, 327–329; on ceded territories, 313–319, 315, 329–333; dispersal of toxics from, 313; environmental impacts of, 320, 322–329; histories of, 317–320; location of, 6, 313, 314; mercury from, 325–326, 334; shift from high-grade ore to, 321–323
Lake Superior Mesabi Range mining district (Minnesota), 10, 194–212; abundance of ore in, 195–196; depletion of high-grade iron ore in, 194, 197–201, 202, 214n23, 321–322; deposits of, 195; development of towns in, 199–201; economic development in, 199–200, 207, 211–212; location of, 6, 195; mechanization of operations in, 197–198; open-pit mining in, 195–198; origins of production at, 196; population growth in, 199; processing of high-grade iron ore from, 196, 201, 320; productivity of, 197–199, 406; reclamation efforts in, 212; transportation of ore from, 406
Lake Superior Mesabi Range mining district (Minnesota), low-grade iron ore in, 10, 201–212; environmental costs of, 204, 205–211, 322; gaps in scholarship on, 193–195; origins and rise of, 193–194, 201–203; pelletizing of, 194–195, 197, 199, 203, 206; productivity of, 203; as technological fix, 193–194, 201–205; types of, 196; water pollution from (See Lake Superior, water pollution in)
Lake Superior Ojibwe, ceded territories of, 315
Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa. See Bad River Band
Lalonde, Marc, 293–295, 309n56
La Maroma (Mexico), 58–59
Lameman, Al, 348–349
landscapes, hysteresis of, 47, 67n1
landslides, at Jeffrey mine, 373, 376
La Paz agreement of 1983 (U.S.–Mexico), 303n4
La Pointe, Treaty of, 319–320
Larrea tridentata, 61
Las Animas County (Colorado), 6, 132–135, 155. See also Colorado coal mining, explosions in
Lasky’s Law, 34
Latham Island (Ndilo), arsenic on, 287–288, 292, 298–299, 301
Latour, Bruno, 168
La Valenciana (Mexico), 54
law(s). See legislation; specific laws
Law, John, 168
Lawson, John, 154
lawsuits: on asbestos, 378–379, 384, 390; in environmental case law, 209; on health effects of uranium mining, 234–235, 246, 251n26; on water pollution in Lake Superior, 191–192, 205, 207–209, 327, 328
lead: in colonial Mexico, 25, 403; in industrial Mexico, 31; in modern Mexico, 31, 44n50
LeCain, Timothy James, Mass Destruction, 3, 373
Leduc No. 1 oil well (Alberta), 341
legislation, global liberalization of mining, 33
legislation, Mexican, 27–28, 33, 50, 51
legislation, U.S. federal: on atomic energy, 225–226; early mining, 83; on forest protection, 93; Green Decade of, 268; on minerals in national security, 203. See also specific laws
legislation, U.S. state: on expansion of mining as state policy, 331; on forest protection, 93; on mine safety, 153–154; on wildlife protection, 90; on workers’ compensation, 162n123
Lemphers, Nathan, 356
leukemias, and tar sands mining, 350
Lewis, William, 150
Ley Minera of 1993 (Mexico), 33
Liberia, iron ore mining in, 335n15
Liffring, Nicholas A., 181
light sources, in Comstock Lode, 121
litigation. See lawsuits
livestock: in colonial Mexican mining, 65; in Montana, impact of arsenic on, 177; in Yellowknife, impact of arsenic on, 288–289. See also specific types
lode mining, in Colorado Front Range, 74, 79–80
London, Frank, 160n78
London Stock Exchange, 45n66
Longhorn cattle, Texas, 171–172. See also Montana Longhorn cattle
longwall coal mining, 335n9
López Portillo, Silvestre, 60, 61
low-grade ore mining: copper, 322; economic development through, 194–195, 211; iron, 196 (See also taconite); origins and rise of, 193–194
Lucky Dragon (boat), 267
Ludlow massacre of 1914, 155
lumber. See deforestation
lung cancer: from arsenic poisoning, in Yellowknife, 293, 295, 309n53; from asbestos, 377, 380, 382; from uranium mining, in Canada, 256, 265; from uranium mining, in U.S. West, 232–235
lung diseases. See respiratory diseases
lymphomas, and tar sands mining, 350
Lyon, Samuel P., 159
machine drills, at Comstock Lode, 122–124
Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, 297
Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, 294
Madagascar, tar sands in, 362n6
Mair, Charles, 401
Manhattan Project, 224–225
manufacturing: ubiquity of minerals in, 1–2; wages in, vs. mining, 120
Marsh, George Perkins, 93
Mason, Richard, 404
Mass Destruction (LeCain), 3, 373
mass-removal mining, origins and rise of, 193, 195, 204
Matehuala (Mexico), 57–58
materialism: history of, 167; recent developments in, 166–171
material power: of copper, 167, 170, 175–178, 185–186; of Longhorn cattle, 167, 171–175, 185–186; of minerals, 166; recent thinking on, 167–171; as source of social power, 9, 166, 167
matter, definition of, 166. See also materialism
Mauldin, Erin Stewart, Companion to Global Environmental History, 4
McConnell, Dr., 378
McDonald, J.C., 383
McGuinty, Dalton, 358
McNeil, Bertrand, 388
McNeill, J.R.: Companion to Global Environmental History, 4; Something New Under the Sun, 3
mechanics, at Comstock Lode, 120–121
mechanization: of Lake Superior mining operations, 197–198; and regulation in U.S. vs. Canada, 272. See also industrial mining
medicine: radium used in, 222–224; uranium used in, 222
memory: collective, 402, 408; and nostalgia, 401–402; sites of, 402
Mendoza, Antonio de, 26
mercury: in gold mining, in California, 399–400; health impacts of, 62–63, 88; in low-grade iron mining, in Lake Superior basin, 325–326, 334; in precious-metals mining, in colonial Mexico, 25–26, 41n22, 55, 62–63, 65, 403; in precious-metals mining, in Colorado Front Range, 87–88; in precious-metals mining, in Regency Mexico, 51; in tar sands mining, in Alberta, 350
Mesabi Range (Minnesota). See Lake Superior Mesabi Range
metabolism. See industrial metabolism
Metallurgy of Silver and Gold (Percy), 54
methane, in coal mine explosions, 133, 134, 152
methylmercury, 326
Metropolitan Life, 378, 394n43
Mexican(s): in Colorado coal mine explosions, 136, 148–151, 162n121; racial categorization of, 157n17; use and meaning of term, 157n20
Mexican Americans, racial categorization of, 157n17
Mexico: colonial, terminology for, 67n2; La Paz agreement with U.S., 303n4; location of mining sites in, 6; minerals in economy of, 2, 408; mining as motivation for imperialism in, 22, 403–404; oil production in, 406–407; Regency government of, 51. See also specific locations
Mexico, colonial precious-metals mining in, 22–27, 47–66; during Bourbon Reforms, 20, 23, 49–50; at Cerro de San Pedro, 23–27; decline of, 26–27; deforestation for, 20, 24–26, 42n27, 60, 403; ecology of, 22–27; expansion of, 20, 22–23, 403; families dominating, 49–50, 62; grades of ore in, 52–53; historical outline of, 48–52; during Independence era, 26, 51; labor strike in, 50–51; location of sites in, 6, 20, 22–23; national productivity in 1500s–1700s, 48–49, 404, 411n19; national productivity in 1800s, 23, 27, 53, 58; Native Americans in, 24, 403; origins of, 22; partido for workers at, 50, 67n13; protests on health and environmental effects of, 62–64, 66; slaves in, 403; structure of industry, 52–53; technical processes of, 53–56; terminology for owners and workers in, 67n3; waste from, 25–26, 28, 65; working conditions in, 50–51. See also Real de Catorce Mining District
Mexico, post-Independence precious-metals mining in, 5–7, 19–38; Canadian investment in, 33–34, 36; coal power in, 27, 28, 29–30, 43n44; contemporary open-pit, 22, 32–37; deforestation for, 30, 30; European investment in, 26, 45n63, 51–52; historical cycles of production in, 21–22, 32, 37–38; hydroelectric power in, 27, 28, 30; after Independence, 51; in industrial era, 22, 27–32; legislative reform of, 27–28, 33, 50, 51; location of sites in, 6, 20; “Mexicanization” of, 32; number of sites in, 20; as percentage of GDP, 2; productivity of, 28, 32; U.S. investment in, 27–28, 32, 43n41, 45n63; waste from, 30–32. See also Cerro de San Pedro
Michigan. See Lake Superior
Mier y Terán, Manuel, 65
Mikisew Cree First Nation, 350
military, U.S.: radium used in, 224; in wars with Native Americans, 405
Mills, Enos, 94
mills, precious-metals, in colonial Mexico: at Cerro de San Pedro, 24–25, 29; in haciendas de beneficio, 23; at Real de Catorce, 57–58
mills, precious-metals, in Colorado Front Range: industrialization of, 76–79; stamp, 76–78, 88, 102n32
mills, uranium, in Canada, environmental impacts of, 258–265
mills, uranium, in U.S. West: construction of, 228–229; early, 221; environmental impacts of, 235–245; in Grants Mineral Belt, 265–270; shortage of, 223
Mina del Padre Flores (Mexico), 53, 58
mine owners, use of term “miners” for, 67n3
mineral(s): agency and power of, 166; major categories of, 3; as percentage of GDP, 2; ubiquity of, 1–2. See also specific types
mineral depletion and exhaustion: in Colorado Front Range, early concerns about, 94–97; as cultural construct, 321; in Lake Superior mining district, 194, 197–199, 202, 214n23, 321–322; National Conservation Commission report on, 96, 198–199
miners, as term for mine owners, 67n3. See also mine workers
miner’s consumption, 91
Miner’s Magazine, 140
mine safety. See safety
mine workers, dangers facing: in Colorado Front Range, 90–91; at Comstock Lode, 115–119; in uranium mines of U.S. West, 230–235. See also health impacts; safety
mine workers, number of: at Cerro de San Pedro, 24, 29; at Comstock Lode, 119–120; in uranium mines of U.S. West, 230
mine workers, “operatives” as term for, 67n3
mine workers, unions of. See labor unions
Mining California (Isenberg), 3, 170
Mining Court (Mexico), 50
mining ecologies: of colonial regime in Mexico, 22–27; of current regime in Mexico, 22, 32–36; definition of, 21–22; of industrial regime in Mexico, 22, 27–32
mining histories, 398–409; collective memory of, 402, 408; environmental costs ignored in, 399–402, 407–408; imperialism in, 402–405; industrialization in, 405–408; museum exhibits on, 398–399, 402, 408; and nostalgia, 401–402; romantic understandings of, 401–402; social costs in, 408–409
mining waste. See waste
Ministerio de Fomento, 20
Minnesota, ghost towns in, 200–201. See also Lake Superior
Minnesota Department of Conservation, 207
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), 207, 324–325, 328
Missouri, Superfund sites in, 15n7
Mitchell, Timothy, 170
Mole Lake Sokaogon Band Reservation, 330, 332
Monongah coal mine explosion (West Virginia), 152
Montana copper mining, 9, 166–186; air pollution from, 166–167, 176–177, 179–185, 286; crops affected by, 177, 179–181; first livestock deaths from, 177; forms of copper in, 176; location of, 6; Longhorn cattle in conflict with, 167, 178–185; material power of, 167, 170, 175–178, 185–186; origins of, 176; productivity of, 176, 178; Smelter Smoke War over, 166, 185; as source of social power, 177–178, 186
Montana Longhorn cattle, 9, 166–186; arrival of, 171–172; copper mining in conflict with, 167, 178–185; effects of pollution on, 181–185; material power of, 167, 171–175, 185–186; as source of social power, 173–175, 186
Montana Stockgrowers Association, 173
Montana Valley and Foothill Grasslands ecoregion, 171
Montejano y Aguiñaga, Rafael, 58, 60
Montenegrins, in Colorado coal mine explosions, 150–151, 162n121, 163n127
Moors, 403
Mormons, 231
Morris, Peter, 240
Morse, Kathryn, The Nature of Gold, 3
Mouat, Jeremy, 204
mountaintop removal mining, 318
MPCA. See Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
muckers, at Comstock Lode, 121
Muir, John, 93, 94, 200, 400, 409
mules, in Colorado coal mine explosions, 148
Munich (Germany), Deutsches Museum in, 398
Munro, John, 293
Murray Smelter (Utah), 15n7
museum exhibits, on coal mining, 398–399, 402, 408
Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago), 398–399, 402, 408
Muskie, Edmund S., 238
NAFTA. See North American Free Trade Agreement
Nahl, Charles Christian, 401
Nash, Linda, 282
National Committee for Radiation Protection, 236
National Conservation Commission, U.S., 96–97, 198–199
National Energy Board Act (Canada), 360
National Energy Program (NEP), Canadian, 359
National Environmental Protection Act (U.S.), 244
National Forest Reserve, U.S., 93
National Guard, U.S., 135, 155
National Health and Welfare, Canadian Department of, 291, 292
national identities, collective memory in, 402
National Indian Brotherhood (NIB), 294, 295, 296, 306n24
national parks, U.S., establishment of, 94
National Radium Institute, 223
national security, U.S.: iron ore in, 202–203, 322; uranium in, 220, 225, 227, 245–246, 257
National Steel, 327
Native Americans, 11–13; activism by, 330–331; air quality standards of, 332; in colonial Mexico, 24, 403; copper mining by, in Lake Superior basin, 319; cultural significance of fish to, 326; as uranium miners, in U.S., 231, 233–235, 251n26, 256; on uranium mining, in Canada, 259; U.S. wars with, during mineral rushes, 405; water quality standards of, 330, 332; wild rice in diet of, 315–317, 324, 330. See also ceded territories; First Nations; specific groups
natural gas: energy return on investment ratio for, 344; pipelines for, 351; in tar sands mining, 344
nature: changes in U.S. public opinion on value of, 192, 210–211; in frontier thesis, 401; materialist ideas of, 167–168
Nature Conservancy, The (TNC), 335n8
Nature of Gold, The (Morse), 3
Navajos: agriculture of, 265; as uranium miners, 231, 233–235, 251n26, 256; water pollution on land of, 270
Ndilo. See Latham Island
neoliberal reforms, in Mexico, 22, 33
NEP. See National Energy Program
Nevada: Carlin Trend in, 32; ghost towns in, 200. See also Comstock Lode
Nevada Test Site, 251n27
New Gold mining corporation, 19, 36
New Jersey, asbestos lawsuits in, 379
new materialism, 166–170
New Materialisms, The (Coole and Frost), 169
New Mexico, Stag Cañon mine explosion in, 163n127
New Mexico, uranium mining in: productivity of, 258; safety standards for, 233; water pollution from, 251n29, 268–270, 278nn73, 77. See also Grants Mineral Belt
New Mexico Environmental Improvement Agency (NMEIA), 268–269
Newmount Mining Corporation, 32
News of the North (newspaper), 287–288, 306n24
New Spain, use of term, 67n2. See also Mexico
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), 45n66
New York Times (newspaper), 337n40
New York Tribune (newspaper), 84
NIB. See National Indian Brotherhood
nitroglycerine, at Comstock Lode, 123–124
NMEIA. See New Mexico Environmental Improvement Agency
Nobel, Alfred, 131n53
Nora, Pierre, 402
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 33
Northern Gateway pipeline, 339, 352–353, 358–360
Northern Health Service, 292
Northern Pacific Railroad, 406
Northwest Territories (NWT), Environmental Bill of Rights of, 296. See also Yellowknife
nostalgia, 401–402; atomic, 391
nuclear fuel cycle, stages of, 229. See also uranium
nuclear power, 220, 225–227, 263. See also uranium
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S., 244
nuclear weapons. See atomic bombs; uranium
NWT. See Northwest Territories
NYSE. See New York Stock Exchange
Obregon y Parrodi family, 50
O’Brien, Chris, 296
oil, crude: conventional vs. unconventional, 362n11; energy return on investment ratio for, 344; synthetic, 343
oil crises of 1970s, 263
oil production: in Canada, 341–342, 407, 408 (See also Alberta tar sands); in Mexico, 406–407, 408; transportation costs for, 342; in U.S., 406, 408
oil sands, use of term, 340, 362n11. See also Alberta tar sands
oil spills, 354
Omnibus Budget Bill of 2012 (Canada), 360, 361
Ontario. See Elliot Lake
Ontario Committee of Deputy Ministers, 262
Ontario Department of Health, 261–262
Ontario Department of Mines, 260, 264, 265
Ontario Water Resources Commission (OWRC), 262–263
open-pit mining: of asbestos, 371; of copper, expansion of, 193, 322; energy usage in, 34–35; of gold, in Mexico, 22, 32–37; hydraulic mining as predecessor of, 193; of iron, in Lake Superior mining district, 195–198; operating costs of, 32–34; of uranium, in U.S. West, 230; vast scale of, 73; water consumption in, 35, 36
operating costs. See costs, operating
operatives, colonial Mexican mine workers as, 67n3
Ophir mine (Nevada), 111–112, 114, 115, 120
O’Reilly, Kevin, 296
Osiris (journal), 282
overburden: of low-grade iron ore, 323; problems with term, 323; of tar sands, 345
OWRC. See Ontario Water Resources Commission
Oxford Handbook of Environmental History (Isenberg), 4
Pacheco, Carlos, 27
Pachuca (Mexico), 63
Pachuca River Concentrating Company, 28
Paguate mine (New Mexico), 269
PAHs. See polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Palin, Sarah, 410n11
Pamé people, 24
Parr, Joy, 282
partido (ore share), 50, 67n13
patio process, 52, 55, 57, 59, 62
Peace River, 6. See also Alberta tar sands
Peace River Delta, 348
Pearson, Lester, 259
Péligot, Eugène-Melchior, 247n3
pelletizing, of low-grade iron ore, 194–195, 197, 199, 203, 206
Peñasquito mine (Mexico), 34
Penna, Anthony, The Human Footprint, 3
Pennsylvania, air pollution in, 406
Penokee-Gogebic Range: history of mining in, 318–320; location of, 6, 318; use of term, 318. See also Lake Superior basin
Percy, John, Metallurgy of Silver and Gold, 54
permafrost, and underground disposal of arsenic, 281, 296
permits, for dumping tailings into Lake Superior, 207, 208, 327–328
Peru, silver mining in, 411n19
Phillips, Robert, 61
phosphate, 182
Pinchot, Gifford, 93
pipelines, for natural gas, 351
pipelines, for tar sands: alternatives to, 365n59; dilbit and diluent, 343–344, 352–354; expansion of system of, 342, 351–356; Flanagan South, 352–353; Keystone XL, 339, 351, 352, 353; Northern Gateway, 339, 352–353, 358–360; opposition to, 339, 358–361; spills from, 354
Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), 406
placer mining, in Colorado Front Range, 74, 79–80
plants. See vegetation
Plutopia (Brown), 3
pneumonia: in Colorado Front Range, 91; at Comstock Lode, 117, 122, 123
pneumonoconiosis, 399
Poitras, George, 350
political power, of Anaconda Copper Mining Company, 178
Polk, James, 404
pollution: history of weak regulation of, 192, 281–282; impact of environmental movement on, 191–193; technological fixes for, 281, 282. See also air pollution; waste; water pollution
Pollution Control Agency (Minnesota), 207
pollution control technology, in Yellowknife gold mining, 289–291, 301
Pollution Probe, 293
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 350
population growth: in Asbestos (Quebec), 385, 389; in Lake Superior mining district, 199
power. See specific types
precious-metals mining, locations of, 6. See also Colorado Front Range; Comstock Lode; Mexico; Yellowknife
precipitation, in soil erosion after deforestation, 24–25. See also snow
press coverage: of arsenic in Yellowknife, 293; of low-grade iron ore mining, 194, 203; of uranium mining, 268. See also specific publications
Primero mine explosions (Colorado), 132–133, 135–139; burial of bodies from, 136–138, 149, 158n33, 162n120; cause of, 139, 164n141; CF&I response to, 135–139; ethnicity of casualties in, 136, 158n29, 165n147; financial settlements after, 149, 163n126; number of casualties in, 132, 133, 136, 156n4; rescue and recovery efforts after, 135–139, 157nn13–16, 158nn37, 39
Pritchard, Sara, 205
processing haciendas, in Real de Catorce Mining District, 57
progress, narrative of, 401, 403
Progressive, The (magazine), 337n40
Progressive era: conservation movement in, 92, 198; radium industry in, 222–223
Pronto mine (Ontario), 260–261
protests: on copper mining, in Montana, 166–167, 180, 185; on iron ore mining, on ceded territories, 330–331; on precious-metals mining, in colonial Mexico, 62–64, 66; on uranium milling, in U.S. West, 238
provincial power, over resource development in Canada, 356–358
Prussian Academy of Science, 220–221
Pseudoroegneria spicata, 171
public, communication with: about arsenic in Yellowknife, 287–289, 306n24; about asbestos in Asbestos, 370, 378–381
public health: historically constructed nature of knowledge within, 282; regulation of working class through reforms in, 382
Public Health Service, U.S. See United States Public Health Service
public opinion: on tar sands development, 358; on value of nature, changes in, 192, 210–211
public trust, in safety of uranium mining in U.S., 229, 231, 242–243, 245–246
Pud Lake, 289
Pueblo Smelting and Refining Company, 86
pulmonary illnesses. See respiratory diseases
pyrites, 323–324
Quebec: Quiet Revolution in, 381–382; subsidies for asbestos in, 391. See also Asbestos (town)
quicksilver. See mercury
Quiet Revolution, 381–382
racial categorization: financial settlements after mine explosions based on, 150–151; of Mexicans and Mexican Americans, 157n17
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 (U.S.), 235, 251n27
Radiation Protection Service (Ontario), 262
radioactive contaminants: from uranium mills, in Canada, 258–262; from uranium mills, in U.S., 235–245; in uranium mines, in Canada, 260; in uranium mines, in U.S., 231–235, 267
radium, 222–225; abundance in U.S., 222; in Canada, 262; environmental effects of, 236–237; in Europe, 222–223; medical use of, 222–224; military use of, 224; prices of, 222–224
radon: from uranium mills, 239–242, 261; in uranium mines, 231–235
railroads: in asbestos mining, in Quebec, 372, 374, 375; coal use by, 86–87; in Colorado Front Range, 76, 79, 83–87; expansion of, in industrialization, 405–406; in Lake Superior mining district, 197; wood required for, 83–85
rain, in soil erosion after deforestation, 24–25. See also snow
Ramírez, Santiago, 52
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 315
ranchers, in Montana. See Montana Longhorn cattle
Randall, A., 320
Raymond, Rossiter: on Colorado Front Range mining, 77, 78, 88, 95–96, 99n8, 102n32; on Comstock Lode, 110–111, 126
Real de Catorce (town in Mexico), 57–59
Real de Catorce Mining District (Mexico), 47–66; colorados (red ores) in, 52, 53, 58; development of landscapes of, 56–61, 64–65; discovery of, 49; after Independence, abandonment of, 51; industrial metabolism of, 48, 57, 64–65; labor strike of 1778 at, 57; layout of, 56; location of, 6, 47, 56, 56–57; methodology for reconstructing history of, 47–48; number of mines in, 57; origins of mining at, 57; productivity of, 49, 57, 58; reduction processes used in, 52; vegetation history of, 60–61, 64–65; waste from, 65
Real Seminario de Minería. See School of Mines
Real Tribunal de Minería. See Mining Court
reclamation efforts: in Lake Superior mining district, 212; after tar sands mining, 346
Reconquista, 403
Redford, Alison, 358
reduction mills. See mills
reduction processes: in colonial Mexican silver mining, 52, 55; in Colorado Front Range precious-metals mining, 77–79. See also specific types
refining process, for silver in colonial Mexico, 54–55
Regency government of Mexico, 51
regulations. See legislation; safety regulations
remediation: of arsenic contamination, in Yellowknife, 281, 296–297; of uranium tailings pollution, 242–244
rendzina soils, 24
Report of the National Conservation Commission (1909), 96, 198–199
Republic Steel Corporation, 203, 215n43, 216n60, 327, 335n15
Reserve Mining Company: and asbestos, 209, 327–329; establishment of low-grade iron ore mills by, 203; ownership of, 203, 215n43, 216n60, 327; water pollution by, 191–192, 205–211, 316, 327–329
Reserve Mining Company v. United States of America, 191–192, 205
resources: as cultural construct, 333; early doubts about superabundance of, 8, 75, 97. See also specific types
respirators, at Jeffrey mine, 382, 391
respiratory diseases: from coal mining, 399; in Colorado Front Range, 91; at Comstock Lode, 117, 122–123, 130n49. See also lung cancer; silicosis
Reynolds, Glenn, 330
Rice, George S., 139, 152, 153
Richards, Charles, 124
Richards, John, The Unending Frontier, 3
Risser, Fred, 332
rock dusting, 153
Rockefeller family, 132, 178. See also Colorado Fuel & Iron
Rockwell, William, 96
Rocky Mountain National Park, 94
Rocky Mountain News (newspaper), 77–78, 134
Roman glass, uranium in, 221
romantic ideas of mining, 401–402
Roosevelt, Franklin, 224
Roosevelt, Theodore, 93, 96, 198
Rosenzweig, Roy, 108
Ross, Joan, 379
Rowe, R.C., 374
Royal Commission on the Health and Safety of Workers in Mines, 264
Royal Society of Canada, 346, 351
royalties, from tar sands development, 358
Rush, Erik, 410n11
Russell, Edmund, 170
Russia, tar sands in, 362n6
Ryan, Jerry, 183
Ryan, Patrick, 91
Sabourin, Yvan, 380
Sacramento River, 400
Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (U.S.), 269
safety, mine: Colorado coal mine explosions’ effects on, 139, 153–154; in uranium mines of Canada, 259–260, 262–265; in uranium mines of U.S. West, 232–235, 267. See also health impacts
safety regulations, U.S. federal, on uranium mining, 234–235
safety regulations, U.S. state: in Colorado, 153–154, 233; in New Mexico, 233; on uranium mining, 232–233, 266; in Utah, 233
Salazar, Guadalupe, 64
Sampson, James, 150
San Francisco Stock and Exchange Board of Trade, 110
Sanger, Aaron, 355
San Juan River, 251n29
San Luis Potosí (Mexico), 19, 36, 37, 403. See also Cerro de San Pedro; Real de Catorce
Santiago, Myrna, 22
Saranac Laboratory, 380
Sardaneta, José de, 53–54
Saskatchewan, tar sands in, 340
Savage Mining Company, 112–113
Save the Fraser Declaration, 359–360
Schepers, Gerrit W.H., 380
School of Mines (Mexico), 50
School of Mines, Colorado, 78–79
Schurz, Carl, 85
Science Newsletter, 322
SCO. See synthetic crude oil
scrubber (impinger) method of pollution control, 289, 301, 307n34
Secours-Direct, 372
Seikoff, Irving, 328
Sellers, Christopher, 123
Senate, U.S. See Congress, U.S.
Serbs, in Colorado coal mine explosions, 162n121
Serpent River First Nation. See Anishinaabe
Serpent River Watershed, 258, 263
settling ponds. See containment ponds
shafts: construction in colonial Mexico, 53–54; construction in Colorado Front Range, 83; dangers of abandoned, 91
sheep, bighorn, 90
Shell Canada Limited, 342
shift bosses, at Comstock Lode, 120
shift work: at Comstock Lode, 120; at Jeffrey mine, 372, 374, 375
Shorthorn cattle, 172–173
shovels: mechanized, at Jeffrey mine, 374, 387; steam, in Lake Superior mining district, 197–198
Siberia, tar sands in, 362n6
Sierra de Catorce (Mexico), vegetation history of, 60–61
Sierra Madre mining belt (Mexico), 20. See also Cerro de San Pedro
Sierra Nevada Company, 119
Sikyea, Michel, 292
silicosis: cause and symptoms of, 91, 123, 276n42; in Colorado Front Range, 91; at Comstock Lode, 122–123, 130n49; in Lake Superior basin, 327; in uranium mines of Canada, 264
Silver Bay (Minnesota) taconite plant, 203, 208, 209, 316, 327
silver mining, locations of, 6. See also Colorado Front Range; Comstock Lode; Mexico
Silver Plume mining region (Colorado), 82
silver prices: in colonial Mexico, 26; vs. gold, 127n4
skin conditions, from arsenic poisoning, 286, 288, 306n26
Skuce, Nikke, 360
slag, from industrial Mexico, 30–31
slaves, in colonial Mexican mines, 403
Slavs, in Colorado coal mine explosions, 165n147
slime, 235
smartphones, minerals in, 1, 2
Smelter Smoke in North America (Wirth), 3
smelting, in colonial Mexico: at Cerro de San Pedro, 29–32; fuel needed for, 26, 28, 29, 58; in haciendas de beneficio, 23; mass, 28; protests on health threats from, 63–64; at Real de Catorce, 53, 57–58, 65; waste production during, 25
smelting, in Colorado Front Range: fuel needed for, 83, 86–87; industrialization of, 76–79; number of smelters, 102n32
smelting, in Montana, pollution from, 166–167, 176–177, 179–185
Smith, H.H., 117
Smith, John, 404
Smith, Kenneth (doctor), 380
Smith, Kenneth (rancher), 183
Smith, L., 150
smoking, by asbestos miners, 380, 382, 383
snow, arsenic in, 281, 286, 287–288, 295, 299
social costs of mining, 408–409
social power: copper mining as source of, 177–178, 186; energy power as source of, 170; Longhorns as source of, 173–175, 186; material destruction as source of, 170; material power as source of, 9, 166, 167
soil contamination: in Colorado Front Range, 90; from industrial mining in Mexico, 31–32
soil erosion, in colonial Mexico, 24–25
soils, rendzina, 24
solid-fuel minerals. See coal; uranium
Something New Under the Sun (McNeill), 3
songbirds, 347
Southern Lights project, 352
Southern Pacific Railroad, 406
sovereign immunity, and uranium mining, 234
Soviet Union. See Cold War; Russia
Spanish empire: Bourbon Reforms by, 20, 23, 49–50; first mines in Mexico, 4, 19–20, 24; on health threats from metallurgic processes, 62; mine workers disciplined by, 26; mining as motivation for expansion of, 22, 403–404. See also Mexico, colonial
Species at Risk Act (Canada), 349, 360
Springfield (Mass.) Republican (newspaper), 91
square-sets, 112–113
Stag Cañon mine explosion (New Mexico), 163n127
stamp mills, in Colorado Front Range, 76–78, 88, 102n32
Standard Oil, 178
Stanrock mine (Ontario), 260, 262–263, 271
Stanton, O.L., 287
Starkville mine explosion (Colorado), 133, 140–146; burial of bodies from, 143–144, 149; cause of, 145–146, 152; CF&I response to, 140–145, 148–149, 152–153; financial settlements after, 149; inquest into, 145–146, 152–153; number of casualties in, 133, 140; rescue and recovery efforts after, 140–144, 148–149, 160n82, 161n86
State, U.S. Department of, 353
State Forest Commissioner, Office of the (Colorado), 93
state legislation. See legislation, U.S. state
steam engines, 83, 102n32, 174
steam shovels, 197–198
Steele, Michael, 410n11
steel industry, U.S.: consolidation in, 216n60, 327; economic crisis of 1980s in, 209; Lake Superior mining district’s role in, 196–197; transportation in, 197, 203, 406. See also iron ore
Steen, Charlie, 228
Stephens, William T., 179, 184
Stile, James, 118
St. Joe Minerals Corporation, 15n7
St. Lawrence Seaway, 322
St. Louis River, 324
stomata, 180
Strahorn, Robert, 80
Strategic and Critical Materials Stockpiling Act of 1946 (U.S.), 203
strikes. See labor strikes
St. Vrain Creek, 85
subsidies, for asbestos mining, 391
sulfates, in low-grade iron ore mining, 317, 324, 326, 334
sulfur dioxide: from coal mining, 399; from copper smelting, in Montana, 166, 177, 179–182; from gold mining, in Yellowknife, 296, 305n14; from tar sands refineries, 355
sulfuric acid, 258, 276n49, 324, 330–331
superabundance of resources, early doubts about, 8, 75, 97
Superfund National Priorities List, 2, 15n7, 90
superintendents, at Comstock Lode, 120
Supreme Court, U.S., 332
sustainability, early calls for, 95
sustainable development, Yellowknife gold mines as example of, 280
Sutter, Paul, 3
Swift, Anthony, 354
synthetic crude oil (SCO), 343
Szilard, Leo, 224
taconite (low-grade iron ore): approaches to processing of, 196–197, 323; composition of, 196, 201, 318; vs. high-grade iron ore, 196–197, 317–318; in Lake Superior region (See Lake Superior); in national security, 202–203, 322; origins and rise of, 193–194, 202–203; pollution from, 194
tahonas (mills), 57
tailing dams. See containment ponds
tailings: from iron ore mining, in Lake Superior (See Lake Superior, water pollution in); from precious-metals mining, in Colorado Front Range, 80–81, 82, 90; from precious-metals mining, in Mexico, 25, 28, 30–32, 65; from tar sands, in Alberta, 346, 364n35; from uranium mining (See uranium tailings)
tar sands mining, locations of, 6, 340, 362n6. See also Alberta tar sands mining
taxes: on silver production in Mexico, 51; on tar sands production in Alberta, 358
technological fixes: for arsenic pollution, 281, 282, 301; low-grade iron ore as, 193–194, 201–205
technology, materialist thinking on, 168
Teller County (Colorado), 80, 81
Temin, Peter, 197
temperature, inside Comstock Lode, 116–117
Territorial Enterprise (newspaper), 113, 117, 119
Texas, discovery of oil in, 406
Texas Longhorn cattle, 171–172
textiles, asbestos in, 372, 377, 378–379, 384
Thelen, David, 108
The Nature Conservancy (TNC), 335n8
thermodynamics, second law of, 174
thermosyphon technology, 296, 297
Thetford Mine (Quebec), 378, 385, 393n41
Thomas, Jackie, 339
Thomas-Muller, Clayton, 361
Thompkins, R.W., 259–260, 264, 267, 271
Three Mile Island, 270
threshold level values (TLVs), 281, 282
timber. See deforestation
timbermen, at Comstock Lode, 121
timber supports, in Comstock Lode, 111–114
Timmings (Ontario), 302n1
TLVs. See threshold level values
TNC. See The Nature Conservancy
Toronto Clarion (newspaper), 386
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), 33–34, 45n66
tort liability, 234, 246, 255n49
tourism, nostalgia, 391, 401–402
Towne, Robert S., 29, 30, 31, 37
toxicology, historically constructed nature of knowledge within, 282
Trailbreaker project, 353
TransCanada, 351
transportation: of asbestos, 372, 374, 375–376; of Canadian oil, 342; of Lake Superior iron ores, 197, 203, 406. See also pipelines; railroads
trees, effects of sulfur dioxide on, 180. See also deforestation
Trinidad Advertiser (newspaper), 159n58
Trinidad Chronicle-News (newspaper), 132, 147, 151, 163n131, 164n133
Trinidad Undertaking Company, 136
Triumph (sloop), 88
Truan, David, 381–382
Truett, Samuel, Fugitive Landscapes, 3
Truman, Harry, 202–203
TSX. See Toronto Stock Exchange
tuberculosis: in Colorado Front Range, 91; at Comstock Lode, 117, 122, 123
Turner, Frederick Jackson, 401, 402
Turning Points of Environmental History, The (Uekoetter), 3–4
typhoid fever, at Comstock Lode, 117
Uekoetter, Frank, The Turning Points of Environmental History, 3–4
Uhlich, Robert, 155
UMTRCA. See Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act
UMWA. See United Mine Workers of America
underground disposal, of arsenic, 281, 282, 296–297, 302
Unending Frontier, The (Richards), 3
Union mine (Nevada), 119
Union Minière du Haute Katanga, 224
Union Pacific Railroad, 79
unions. See labor unions
United Kingdom. See Britain
United Mexican Company, 51
United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), 154–155
United States: environmental movement in, 191–193, 208, 238, 268; frontier thesis on, 401–402; investment in Canadian mining from, 369–370, 407; investment in Mexican mining from, 27–28, 32, 43n41, 45n63, 407; La Paz agreement with Mexico, 303n4; location of mining sites in, 6; minerals in economy of, 2, 408; mining as motivation for imperialism of, 404–405; romantic ideas of mining in, 401–402. See also specific locations
United States Geological Survey (USGS): on coal mine explosions, 139, 152; on mercury in fish, 325; on pyrite in iron ore mining, 324; in uranium mining, 226; on water inside Comstock Lode, 114
United States Public Health Service (USPHS): on arsenic in drinking water, 291; on radiation hazards from uranium, 232–234, 236, 241, 251n29, 266
United Steelworkers, 264, 294, 295
University of Calgary, 362n3
University of Toronto: Institute for Environmental Studies at, 294; Pollution Probe of, 293
uraninite, 221
uranium: for atomic weapons, 224–225, 227; commercial use of, 221; discovery of, 221, 247n3; medical use of, 222; prices of, 227
Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) of 1978 (U.S.), 243–245, 270
uranium mining: in Africa, 224–225, 227; in Europe, 221, 224, 232; locations of, 6. See also Elliot Lake (Ontario); West, U.S.
uranium oxide. See yellowcake
uranium tailings, Canadian regulation of, 11, 256–273; in Elliot Lake, evolution of, 258–265; vs. U.S. regulation, 256–257, 270–273
uranium tailings, in U.S. West, 235–244; air pollution from, 230, 239–243, 266; as construction material, 240–243, 254n44; in Grants Mineral Belt, 265–270; remediation of, 242–244; volume of, 220, 268; water pollution from, 230, 235–240, 265, 269–270
uranium tailings, U.S. regulation of, 11, 256–273; vs. Canadian regulation, 256–257, 270–273; federal law in, 243–245; in Grants Mineral Belt, 258, 265–270; state agencies in, 237–244, 266. See also Atomic Energy Commission
Ureña, Francisco Bruno de, 61
USBM. See Bureau of Mines, U.S.
USGS. See United States Geological Survey
USPHS. See United States Public Health Service
U.S. Steel, 15, 196, 215n43, 318–319, 327, 335nn8
usufruct rights, 320
Utah: coal mining fatality rate in, 157n9; Superfund sites in, 15n7; uranium mining in, 233, 243
Valdez, José “Placita,” 150
vegetation, effects of sulfur dioxide on, 179–180
vegetation history: of Cerro de San Pedro, 20, 24–25; of Real de Catorce Mining District, 60–61, 64–65. See also deforestation
Venezuela: iron ore mining in, 335n15, 336n17; tar sands in, 340
ventilation: in Comstock Lode, 116–117; in uranium mills, 239; in uranium mines, 232, 233, 234, 260, 267
Viceroyalty of New Spain, use of term, 67n2. See also Mexico, colonial
Victor-American Coal and Coke Company, safety reforms at, 153. See also Delagua mine
Virgen, Leonardo, 135, 157nn17–18
Virginia City (Nevada). See Comstock Lode
Virginia Evening Chronicle (newspaper), 117–118
vital materialism, 169
Vizcaína mine (Mexico), 51
Voight Decision, 329
Voorhees, E.M., 379
wages: at Comstock Lode, 119–120; family wage ideologies on, 151, 163n130; at Jeffrey mine, 385, 386–387
Walker, Brett, 282
Walker, Scott, 337n40
Wallerstein, Immanuel, 168
wallpaper, arsenic in, 286
Walsh-Healy Act (U.S.), 234
Washington Post (newspaper), 268
Washoe smelter (Montana), 176–180; air pollution from, 166–167, 176–177, 179–185; construction of, 166–167, 176
waste: from coal mining, 399; from gold mining, in California, 399–400; from iron mining, in Lake Superior basin, 320; from precious-metals mining, in colonial Mexico, 25–26, 28, 65; from precious-metals mining, in Colorado Front Range, 80–82, 82, 90, 101n24; from precious-metals mining, in post-Independence Mexico, 30–32, 35, 36; from tar sands mining, in Alberta, 346, 364n35; from uranium mining, in Canada, 258–259; from uranium mining, in U.S. West, 230. See also tailings
water, drinking. See drinking water
water, inside mines: in colonial Mexican, 54; in Colorado, 134; in Comstock Lode, 114–116; in Lake Superior basin, 320
water consumption: in hydraulic gold mining, 400; in low-grade iron ore mining, 205–206, 207, 322; in open-pit mining, 35, 36; in tar sands mining, 345–346
water pollution: from gold mining, in Yellowknife, 280–281, 286–287, 296; in Lake Superior (See Lake Superior); from precious-metals mining, in Colorado Front Range, 82, 88, 90; from precious-metals mining, in Mexico, 19, 31, 32, 63; in settling ponds, 73; from uranium mining, in Canada, 258, 261–263, 274n19; from uranium mining, in U.S. West, 230, 235–240, 251n29, 265, 269–270, 278nn73, 77; U.S. Clean Water Act on, 334n1
water quality standards: arsenic in, 44n54, 286, 290–291; tribal, 330, 332; U.S. federal, 269, 335n9; U.S. state, 269, 330, 331, 338n41; WHO, 44n54
watersheds, changes to: in Cerro de San Pedro, 19, 24, 25; in Colorado Front Range, 82. See also aquifers; water pollution
Weatherbee, J., Jr., 96
Weitzel, H.H., 141–142, 143, 145, 160n66
Wells, Paul, 347
Wenderoth, August, 401
West, U.S., frontier thesis on, 401–402. See also specific sites
West, U.S., uranium mining in, 10–11, 219–246, 256–273; in Colorado Plateau, 220–229; environmental impacts of mills, 235–239; environmental impacts of mines, 229–230; first boom in, 220–224; government role in, 220, 225–226 (See also Atomic Energy Commission); in Grants Mineral Belt, 258, 265–270; health impacts of mills, 236–243, 268; health impacts of mines, 231–235, 266–267; locations of, 6, 220, 230; in national security, 220, 225, 227, 245–246, 257; number of miners and mines, 230; productivity of, 221, 228; public trust in safety of, 229, 231, 242–243, 245–246; second boom in, 224–229; tourism after end of, 391; waste from, 230 (See also uranium tailings)
Western Federation of Miners (WFM), 94, 134
West Virginia, coal mine explosions in, 152
wetlands, in Lake Superior basin, 315–316, 331, 338n41
Wet’suwet’en First Nation, 359
Weyler, Rex, 275n39
WFM. See Western Federation of Miners
White, Richard, 333
White Pine copper mine (Michigan), 330–331
WHO. See World Health Organization
wildlife: in Colorado Front Range, 90; impact of tar sands mining on, 347, 348–350, 364n35
Williams, S.A., 379
Wilson, Thomas, 116–117
Wirth, John, Smelter Smoke in North America, 3
Wisconsin: ceded territories in, 329–332; elections of 2012 in, 331, 337n40; iron mining laws in, 330, 331–332; water quality standards in, 330, 331, 338n41. See also Lake Superior
Wisconsin Act 171 of 1997, 330
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), 330, 338n41
Wisconsin Geological Survey, 324
Witt, John Fabian, 134, 156n7, 163n130
Wolf River, 330
women, at Jeffrey mine, 374, 378, 379, 383
wood. See deforestation
Woodward, P.E., 117
Woodward, Till, 147
workers. See mine workers
workers’ compensation, in Colorado, 162n123
working class: in coal mine explosions, 134, 162n118; regulation of, through health reform, 382
World Health Organization (WHO), 44n54
World System Theory, 168
World War I: asbestos in, 371; radium during, 223–224
World War II: asbestos in, 374; atomic bombs used in, 225; depletion of iron ore during, 202, 321
Wright, William (Dan De Quille), 111, 113, 121, 130n49
yellowcake (uranium oxide): in Canada, 258, 261; in U.S., 220, 228–229, 239, 266
Yellow Jacket mine (Nevada), 108, 113
Yellowknife (Northwest Territories) gold mining, 11–12, 280–302; as agent of colonialism, 298, 302; industrial scale of, 283; location of, 6, 283, 284; map of region, 284; origins of, 283; pollution control technology in, 289–291, 301; productivity of, 280, 302n1; roasting facilities in, 284–287, 305n14; as sustainable development, 280; water pollution from, 280–281, 286–287, 296; Yellowknives on historical impacts of, 281, 297–301, 302. See also arsenic
Yellowknives Dene Community History, 297
Yellowknives Dene First Nation: arsenic in drinking water of, 281, 287–289, 292, 295; casualties of arsenic among, 281, 287–288, 299, 306n21; domesticated animals of, 288–289, 300; on historical impacts of arsenic, 281, 297–301, 302; public health campaign in, 281, 287–289, 306n24; studies testing arsenic levels in, 293–295
Yellowknives Elders Advisory Council, 298, 299
Zacatecas (Mexico), 20, 22, 403
Zelko, Frank, 275n39
Zeller, Thomas, 205
Zhu, Liping, 163n127