mining

"People seem to think that you just turn up and open the mine and revenue flows, but it’s not like that. You have to invest billions before the first dollar even flows."

"Country people tend to be proud of their forebears, too. It’s the same for me. I am very proud of my forebears."

"Small business have more to fear from government than big business."

"Mining is a uniquely political enterprise. It requires permits and capital, as well as legal and moral defenses strong enough to withstand inevitable litigation."

"Bad ventilation, deep excavation, defective supports, etc., etc., annually bring death to thousands of miners, but this system of operation saves expenses, therefore augments the gains, and gives the mine owners no occasion to be sorry. Neither does the factory-pasha care how many of "his" laborers are torn and rent apart by machinery, poisoned by chemicals, or slowly suffocated by dirt and dust. Profit is the main thing."

"All minerals are limited and especially limited at an affordable rate. Since a techno-industrial civilisation needs minerals, any such civilisation is bound to reach a point where it can’t continue."