The Western Mining in the Twentieth Century series of the Regional Oral History Office, documents contemporary events in the most historically important industry of the American West. The series comprises interviews with leaders in mining exploration, production and metallurgical treatment of ores, financing and development of mines, mineral engineering education, state and federal government organizations, and journals of the mineral industries.
Special industry challenges are discussed: mechanization and automation, mining at great depths, protecting the environment, radiation hazards, concern for health and safety. There are eyewitness accounts of the flooding of the Treadwell Mine, the Argonaut Mine fire, El Teniente Mine fire, and Japanese occupation of the Philippines. There are personal recollections of mines in Australia, India, Israel, Poland, Siberia, many regions of Africa, and nearly all of North and South America.
See also the Global Mining and Materials Research Project