mining

Abraham Darby introduces coke to the Coalbrookdale blast furnace, leading to a major breakthrough for the production of iron.

English engineer Thomas Savery patents a steam engine for removing water from mine shafts; with subsequent improvements, the device would later drive the Industrial Revolution.

The first manual on mining sciences combines the areas of humanism and technology.

One of the first guilds in Europe is founded by silver miners in Germany’s Harz Mountains.

The discovery of the Kimberley diamond field in South Africa has fueled exploitation and conflict.

In Sylvicultura Oeconomica, written in response to the widespread scarcity of wood throughout Europe, Hans Carl von Carlowitz summarizes extant forestry knowledge and supplements it with his own observations.

Mining for uranium begins in Australia, which holds 23% of the world’s proven estimated uranium reserves (1.2 million tons).

The process caused environmental destruction in large areas of Tasmania.