Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Cobalt: The Making of a Mining Superpower
Cobalt: The Making of a Mining Superpower
Cobalt: The Making of a Mining Superpower
Ebook337 pages5 hours

Cobalt: The Making of a Mining Superpower

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Finalist for the 2023 Trillium Book Award

The world is desperate for cobalt. It drives the proliferation of digital and clean technologies. But this “demon metal” has a horrific present and a troubled history.

The modern search for cobalt has brought investors back to a small town in Northern Canada, a place called Cobalt. Like the demon metal, this town has a dark and turbulent history. 

The tale of the early-twentieth-century mining rush at Cobalt has been told as a settler’s adventure, but Indigenous people had already been trading in metals from the region for two thousand years. And the events that happened here — the theft of Indigenous lands, the exploitation of a multicultural workforce, and the destruction of the natural environment — established a template for resource extraction that has been exported around the world. 

Charlie Angus reframes the complex and intersectional history of Cobalt within a broader international frame — from the conquistadores to the Western gold rush to the struggles in the Democratic Republic of Congo today. He demonstrates how Cobalt set Canada on its path to become the world’s dominant mining superpower.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 1, 2022
ISBN9781487009502
Cobalt: The Making of a Mining Superpower
Author

Charlie Angus

Charlie Angus has served as the NDP Member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay since 2004. In 1985 he formed the Juno-nominated alt-country band Grievous Angels. He became involved in politics through his organizing efforts to stop the Adams Mine garbage proposal and numerous plans to import PCBs to Northern Ontario. He is author/co-author of five books on Northern Ontario life and culture including We Lived a Life and Then Some and Mirrors of Stone.

Read more from Charlie Angus

Related to Cobalt

Related ebooks

History For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Cobalt

Rating: 4.250000125 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

4 ratings1 review

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Author Charlie Angus is a long-time Member of Parliament whose riding includes the northern Ontario town of Cobalt. Today, the world desperately needs the mineral cobalt for digital and green technologies. So, Mr. Angus takes us on a historic look at the troubled history of resource extraction in Canada, notably the theft and destruction of Aboriginal lands. He looks at the role of government in allowing mining companies operating freedom and low taxation rates, leading to Canada's rise as a mining superpower. He looks at the role of women, of immigrant workers and the early union movement. In these ways, he provides a more well-rounded picture of history.In the last part of the book, he looks at how the world of mining would have to change in order to make a comeback that supports environmental and human interests in addition to economic ones. The book is highly readable and thought provoking.

Book preview

Cobalt - Charlie Angus

kdbook_preview_excerpt.html|MH_I4˪W il+9l?4ښLH 23Dvdal.ꦃ.+:'KGU\ٞt! @ ??aO_Uڵ#Oi}7ոշ}];!;^r>U>Vv.WWvuox8 2U!\>\\}OWo^Sozamh^5?odv럯3~J~}}o~~q8.w1nN_=ڶ7ڻ4P9ڍܱZ{ܼOj!jL Krf_;;Vo}=؇:_~v p#8/+ = cLnEjɏ)[Vq}a ۅa!$v" IMK^4Mzú>CyU6"x{?b/{wu7Gf.Ǯ XTX9{Qhx߱fAΩݺ:L?aa<=\W`=& N ~GX r"}K~M0V?aN<OaůN(ڂQYz&2oO7a ye &z\=V_T U~ɥ,*;L{vc)?->ϾOG#Σ3籞Gc(Σ{|!nƚn?^g3fw_э}3Qi?ѥ ?|hyJ}w]*n;3yoZ+$:%T՗OC'O~=zO1\S&%mCb8W]M7K5WLm oxh}ƝEZ.x؅zW0͍KE=adŘ{8лs>xqUbw#n꽿ގg!;#zl'ӎ+{fغ]4PDqGFc" ?N~klYĩZݓc8t 4=.D+hk. QAk[N5%bQ LL|(Z&   j&"_=ރX f>*TK ;m=avTOQEۏq=^=/@R:$-4U6D|l@J –ƉG3W|d-/Y n% "H0$*[xk/;hzLū2 ֩1wIb-$bpzq{R5 VrG存~QyZX|+w7ȾA@c; PFq 5p I9iR|*,O^ʐa$edb{mBvܻ #'0ȋz5 uX T)mN,xCVqۚH&qu/i.C &(LJ~VbBKpYN{-J#5k4O4 Hi iĿHouE/o`OK~'{vfL>gR@QXSE 2B|J\>_ k".Q[x[7;7H Q Ch͜q^ 5WGR/6@M:#"$nGA936Sԩz`qWVxht%w-`f{/5DxUw@[iuI`Qos%zz\Ы1iZ\y?C-`D:qBDH!/XEz{pkm){5[Gjh,$c( Q8ǝ *4_/cI= }G!Y_ m`8,`bwjs?=<[HZ-N<trEb}$BԔS@p۝cts;);C}n i$x]qePb^b%`B^VI&0`` bwEu{!|Vxcsdf ?̞w/!UBѶc|I5eevChՋA2Z9BH"]-2as߷D؉=%3˥kO%V~c&y 6@x>1=1 aB\D S#*- ؝oKCFM*9K3CLnz{sƠd^k ,) T ZIhG0d4~4 ^kn(R_ȭ_r^ NP(Aȫ5$#cN.Dy8ɞ { #%O54?\GXYdaDa h|,71AWf {cf7D*L aqlץ/$x>[P3V] u@EML=w|FX"xzUP|\h,_-ph2z@AaRivyHy8yL}Nkxnu>`'in5A"j-Oy z ^fUw8X$w`~ITQ{Z29l3='¢ԇc_jC 9P2XFhHgx)![g<}&XN+J=T!dR-AIw g gFtN` ʖZw*|ޞ {y!AVdkb$/~h[O~0 dEBfePsJɭx:rgb16#K}: 9gBm`%WR(%g  r2=(Ifi*؞MV܁A~nvFMTsmE"{w\ULTŊ_BxD3ݓoi$l N;I&heq1WFlJUҢ''HRꋇhTU0h%мԙ"pDvAV2J3(BgWdA{E5NwHv|Luʞ!02gB'K ~2NeV2*W~w I,] k"`L;,ܸ@4'.KƜnZK٫wk@u8KͽQIٹ59zoS%Jz3ҽtdJr.FsO XH L(T.;u—ҍZn0>('lljjWԮiO=-4g#YHVmW} iHc`3%):s(CUZf!ȴВ/!@vSo`İJ+y+ ^ T*9c:4}.׍ 9sR)TY%ēz" BReZjI4?a1BӋ~`6Q5[fw g̷4i Aw6hu#ώwu>c\gP={HMZoj b QrI[~c=BkBwqh?@H.b Zp RJU1ILL,ͭ7ƽqˆȵ/VM4CLe$Fɬ  3=~fkKj o,LOWzK"ROU]`/\ MӔYa^RtY MS˒V¨r,̿m NACYkyy{YJ3IB/b$oLȥ BH;aK #9eO⤐NAeϞjl)h (ɛ) ¤XB}$:e†Jv6Ӆ,2Tb_k7}VvsodLwȄd_sDRtY}ح#[5%8-[^'B,$P?t]ۣ8*h.;-sI7MڙH;E<_b{P6EMH *w#-ep?#dl $ I0q$OVΛC򵑄z1&KO̬H>Xͼ($( 1 jDPM̉-,,B&LqD0yz?}1'd i,@_ kY_}:-^.-Zbچ]I@ǒ<[k& Qy }u=bGNGx9LcΎ>3V٩F_9rW9{x6G/Q)) 6ΠϊawaJwͼb5uYKzD`m,̇YU!xfZK` %Lp܆Ϩ+K+!oc;jq#h]agr_o}g 3@ͣM:Z [Nt#rbM6Ziœ4ԑ ݖ0Yݹ,92ffɏn/9&hoJVȒ.݌E:\HFBJ2#%IX̱HJɭ,in`")iL|wMȃlq=S  S1t 5J! W;wo1Z򬌋w `G*v#1쌐`򵀊̄TtlN̦v0cC:90o`Xi[K~-3V+ngҐPE!U^d:}HvNӀE0IY`qlRUlԏâeM2o'7 i,z]Shuj7cK l~QtϜ2Svӆ/`HEm35Cdזu{FFCKj%ZrxV49+v*Log-Z h'*_xͶ`Axkrzvpl"<2[9Iuf"-;s°xVp cqL$UD)f`âr#=dr!&rD}r dԑL*rnL'7Q։7藮1i,Aɟ@.xӓ ?8?~%SdR\>rW9hJϯv;Of ,Rȱ^_!WuNYJ[dCJH1Fc" 7蚆oA q܍a|&{{}ԏXVZ_1S5u&lX3Qȁ+Wz$z]d$t`N\A3vzKi G!pÓUى,LE2ɴ p\cIq> akֻhפ'' Lʣ',R"x..'Ő[$N| SX[2뉍 vӖ@&&zXL''S–n$CB=))+'8̫fK5nk-d֘&map s3ȼy5q. Ii{4%8jpOI\Wx` R(ڢoz-D]]>ח'}ƅ"r1S%ۇ\rqֹXflNelrk^ZL>eQf0w21_ȭk]ʾI=)VvRÃqi]T#_]>,ڌ%0}< htRKƣKk cju:pI.*旞e>QӍ&8207rU@\ڵ.!*:qDI_G$/҇-ēztR@M+*jpE[&я0 @w9(vsz Bi=tǢC2w۩$'XaQ) 05vkZw0.*,EuֲzO׻|eg5O VgIu䊥:^Jhi?iILx%0^y+8KS{Y!\mPz6䷞ؑMJǎѾ#:ZI OV /u-I"h-Y޻fjnGD$~V5s%_q 쫴I;~a/,v%7xShyp%ZUAB|RJρ(qXg7P6Eq!3z{܏s'+WҚ ;cJhI. ܉<]4H_"0d8&*dIIF 03/ S ŵ'vbQ6s0`-tjvjel/0\x\"A{OVX$ŎmOe? ´j9%Ѣ,buV#݀ҮidgLh pS\eQTf"h|4𮟻FmiaŃd#?#]DmwJ˦ſ-~CLLm.{ǟ಩K7}(gxj/Stȇ*| ډNYarvڕ jwɁIIq$PXK"aزLE]B, YotN숺Ϋ08gL73-բ}ǵk~x1J~w5Rٞ |!Q('= 8:l:rzGӏ ٓ3 MݬI`[I;gBbVw=V{=}ꍟ LwaB*_nUzf!}`".޲oa'u+W^(#G{I5N5ޗSvIBxN^
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1