Hidden Riches: A Celebration of the Mining Institute of Scotland by R. Crockett, C. Durham, G. Smith 2014. Mining Institute of Scotland, UK. 120 pp. ISBN 978-0-9929058-0-4, £9.99 (paperback).
As an advocate of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for professional geologists and engineers, I felt privileged to be asked to review this particular book. It is written by like-minded authors, all three having served their professions in the minerals and extractive industries and as former presidents of the Mining Institute of Scotland (MIS).
The book, interspersed with some fascinating archive images, is structured around four central chapters covering three main extractive industry themes or sectors: Scottish coal (separate chapters for industry and technology aspects); metalliferous and allied minerals; and oil and gas. This core is framed at the front by an introductory chapter about the professional development of the MIS and at the rear by a closing chapter devoted to the various engineering, geological and scientific roles typically found in the featured industries, each one exemplified by accounts of individual professionals past and present.
Although it is made clear early on that the book is not a social history, it does touch on the scale and impact of the timeline of significant changes in the Scottish mining industry on economics and employment. However, its main thrust is the importance of MIS on education, health and safety and operating standards in industry and the complementary growth and influence of professional geologists and engineers within it. The relevance cannot be emphasized enough that it is such people who are regularly brought to the fore throughout each chapter of the book. Moreover, the frequent references to evolution within the Scottish extractive industries and within its various professions represented by the MIS should appeal to a wider readership.
The introduction not only covers the birth and development of the MIS but also rightly reminds the reader about the economic and financial responsibilities of the engineer/geologist – qualities that have too often been overlooked in industry board rooms. It also outlines how coal, for example, spawned other industries such as iron ore and oil shale extraction. This is a good way of demonstrating the (sometimes misunderstood or ignored) interdependencies of the various extractive industries. The other important point brought out is one of adaptation; the skills and abilities of industries, people and indeed the MIS to do this through industrial decline, war, civil unrest and regeneration. This first chapter sets the scene very well in this regard. It concludes with a very interesting review of the transition from a fragmented set of somewhat insular professional institutions to their consolidation and merger, for example the coming together of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (IMM) and the Institution of Mining Engineers (IMinE). The real significance of this lies in the revitalization of the MIS by having access to a diversified and multinational membership base, ultimately resulting in its transition to limited company status driven by key individuals, some of whom are featured.
The thematic chapters fittingly commence with coal, including a useful map of the three main productive coalfields, located in Scotland’s Midland Valley. There is an account of palaeogeography and its relevance to coal occurrence, quality and subsequent mining methods. The authors describe the impact of a growth in stratigraphic and structural geology knowledge on mine planning, design and mechanization, thereby nicely connecting with the emergence of MIS and professional standards and the resulting improvements in safety and engineering practices, such as longwall mining. The roles and experiences of MIS members in underground operations are summarized before a shift in emphasis is made towards the decline of deep mines and MIS membership from the onset and subsequent dominance of opencast mining.
A separate coal chapter elaborates on the positive effects of mechanization and electrification, introduced by manufacturing industries as both innovators and suppliers, on the Scottish mining industry output and safety record in challenging geological settings. It also outlines the growth of MIS membership from these disciplines as both a driver and consequence of change. The later part of the chapter reflects at some length on the leading companies and personalities (including MIS presidents) and the ultimate consolidation of the mine manufacturing sector.
The next chapter is a complete contrast in that it covers an extractive sector of historically smaller scale in Scotland to date but with strong possibilities for the future, namely metalliferous and allied minerals. It is also a reminder about the diversity of Scottish geology and mineralization. With a sparsity of operational record, however, the focus is on the success of exploration (such as the Mineral Reconnaissance Programme) in identifying prospects such as gold at Cononish and barite at Aberfeldy, which has served the North Sea oil and gas operations from Foss mine. The growing influences of regional geochemical and gravimetric studies are discussed, together with the renewed interest in the search for low-grade, high tonnage deposits by overseas exploration companies.
The fourth thematic chapter describes a classic case of what goes around, comes around. It resurrects the memory (to the uninitiated) of the historic rise of Carboniferous oil shale production from deep mines in West Lothian and other areas at a time when little petroleum had been discovered, let alone realized as the global asset it has become today. The refining works were, ironically, fired by coal and the chapter outlines the demise of both resources at the hands of hydrocarbons. None the less, the authors go on to acknowledge how this sector provided another renaissance for MIS at member and officer levels. A brief review is given of the people who have influenced the publicity and growth of oil and gas membership within IOM3, the MIS parent body. It closes by leaving the reader to ponder whether present and future MIS members will be able to innovate their skills (in the same way that members past were able to do from coal) come the day that North Sea oil runs out.
The final chapter, ‘Mining and Engineering Voices’, is a small catalogue of the major technical disciplines found in mining industry, academia and consulting, each one personified by fairly detailed biographies of individual professionals from notable backgrounds in mine management, engineering, processing, metallurgy and geology. These accounts amplify the attributes and achievements mentioned earlier in this review, but on a more personal and easily identifiable level. The chapter is a source of inspiration for anyone, let alone those deciding their futures in the extractive industries.
To conclude this book review, I suggest that Hidden Riches also reveals hidden messages. For any extractive industry engineer or geologist doubtful about the value of their professional affiliation or subscription fee, let them take a lead from the characters in this book who have not only served MIS office and innovated in employment, but combined their energies to promote professionalism and ensure that their representative body has remained in existence. Without such personal devotion and achievement the MIS might not have been able to reinvent itself at times of technical and economic change in the extractive industries, throughout its history of over 130 years. Perhaps these hidden messages were at the core of the authors’ thinking behind the subtitle of Hidden Riches: ‘a celebration of the MIS’. To this end the book is a success and a worthwhile, interesting read for all prospective or current applied geology and engineering students and professionals.
Colin Comberbach
Independent Minerals Professional