The legacies of copper mining in Namaqualand
| dc.contributor.advisor | Benson. Koni | |
| dc.contributor.author | Cloete, Romario Fabiano | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-05-20T11:55:41Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-05-20T11:55:41Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024 | |
| dc.description.abstract | In the 1850s, Namaqualand experienced a copper mining boom, the first of its kind in South Africa. Copper mining became the economic heartbeat of Namaqualand and people flocked to the Northern Cape to work in the copper mines. This mining mania did not last, and in the early 2000s the copper mines eventually closed. This mini-thesis investigates the economic, social, and environmental legacies of copper mining and its afterlives on local communities in Namaqualand both before and after the copper boom, with a particular focus on the experiences of mining workers and their descendants who contributed to the success of the mines. This study documents and amplifies these narratives to counteract hegemonic historical perspectives that continue to privilege the experiences of mining companies and overlook the voices of miners and marginalised community members. In seeking to understand how mining pasts have been assembled and exhibited to the public, the research highlights the legacies of copper mining in Namaqualand, the resilience of the Namaqua people, the values and counter-representations held in naming practices, landscape, and in language and memory, and the importance of inclusive heritage preservation and public history. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10566/20419 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of the Western Cape | |
| dc.subject | Copper mining | |
| dc.subject | Namaqualand | |
| dc.subject | Legacy | |
| dc.subject | Mining museums | |
| dc.subject | Autoethnography | |
| dc.title | The legacies of copper mining in Namaqualand | |
| dc.type | Thesis |