Controversies in Mining

This was intended to be a bead work blog it is true.   This blog is also an embellishment to Persephone's Place website and by nature of the subject matter it is becoming clear to me that Hades "owns" this blog as his own.  The mythical history of the underworld cannot be contemplated without a corresponding investigation into the history of mining the world over.  Mining as we all know is our primary source for gemstones and minerals of many kinds, not to mention energy sources such as coal.   The history is both fascinating and mysterious as well as harrowing due to the industry's capacity for it's global and human rights abuses.    A fitting parallel for the mythology of Hades where the Paradise of Elysium stands side by side with the tortures of Purgatory.

I have published another article at the Underworld Diaries blog called "The Discovery Of The Underworld" which the reader here may take an interest in looking at.  Mining is of particular interest to me, not only because of the mythical associations to the underworld, but because the town I grew up in, Grass Valley, sits on top of approximately 300 miles of underground gold mining shafts.  The history of the Gold Rush here in our small town, is what draws the majority of tourism to our area.  As stated in the article cited above, for about three dollars the local visitor can learn a great deal about our local history at the Empire Mine State Park.  As well our area has suffered from ecological damage and water contamination in certain localized areas, which were a result of the Gold Rush mining days and which still linger to haunt the area.

There is also the concern regarding the mining for minerals such as Uranium and Plutonium which are used in nuclear weapons technology and research.  The contaminating by products of these mining practices have produced huge health risks in places such as the Southwest (on Navajo lands) and other areas.  These issues are of huge global concern for many reasons spanning from personal to political.

In this blog I will probably be posting articles of various kinds when time allows, involving the history of mining in different parts of the world, both ancient and modern and addressing many of it's varying issues. 

For anyone who works with stones and jewels I think these issues are very important.  For anyone who is a collector of precious stones, metals and jewels I think these issues are also important because some of the ethical issues that surrounds the acquisition of these items are controversial at best and deserving of a great deal of inward contemplation as to one's personal relationship to the issues on the present ecological and ethical table; regarding mining, pollution, contamination, drug trafficking, political dictatorships, human rights abuses, workers conditions and wages; and on the upside, the new movement toward an ethical and ecological system of mining that is now becoming an important movement in our global evolution.  So stay tuned and please check in or follow my blog if you are interested in these topics.