The mining industry is in charge of extracting minerals, metals and other resources from the earth. It has been around for years, so of course, there are plenty of interesting facts about it. In fact, I bet there are a lot of amazing things that you didn’t know at all. Mining affects all of our lives, so I think it’s good to know a bit about it. Want to learn more about this vast, valuable industry? Read on to learn how it has affected us and the money we spend, the cutlery we eat with, and the mobile phones we use:
- Gold and copper were the first metals discovered by man in 5000 BC.
- Copper drain pipes were found by archaeologists and dated back to 3500 BC. They were still in good condition!
- AU is the chemical symbol for gold, which comes from the word ‘aurum’, meaning ‘Shining Dawn’ in Latin.
- More than 6000 things we use every day are made from petroleum. This includes footballs, golf bags, dentures, and crayons.
- Ever heard the saying, ‘the luck of the Irish’? This came from the gold and silver rush in the second half of the 19th century. It’s an old mining phrase!
- Once gold has been mined, most of it is used in jewellery. However, 21% is used in coins, 15% is used for things like electronics, and 1% is used in dental practices.
- The majority of modern electronic devices contain more than 35 minerals.
- An elderly lady once lived nearby a mine in Cornwall. One night, she committed suicide by throwing herself down the mine. Her body was found and buried, but people thought that her spirit haunted the mine since. In fact, one day a miner was called away from the mine by a mysterious voice. Soon after, a massive rock fell and landed on the place he had been standing.
- The average infant will need a lifetime supply of lead, zinc, copper, aluminium, iron, clay salt, stone, sand, and cement.
- In the Victorian times, some children would start work in the mines at 2 o’clock in the morning and work for 18 hours straight. The state of the mining supplier industry was very different then to now!
- Policemen are often referred to as ‘cops’ or ‘coppers’. This is because they used to have copper buttons on their uniforms.
- Something described as ‘pure gold’ will never really be pure. Even 24 karat gold! This is because of the very small amount of copper present in it. Real pure gold feels soft and can be moulded into shapes with the hands!
- A famous dead sea scroll that was once found is made of copper. It didn’t include any religious writing; just clues as to where you would find hidden gold and silver!
Haven’t we learned a lot today? Who knew that pure gold was really soft, and that they used high quality copper pipes all the way back in 3,500 BC? Now you can go and impress your friends with these facts on the mining industry. Have fun!
