Readers will no doubt be puzzled by a supposed mining link connecting Cape Governor Simon Van der Stel (1639-1712) to US President Herbert Hoover (1874-1964). They not only lived in different centuries, but also on separate continents 12 700 kilometers apart. Well, read on and decide for yourself!
Our story starts with a book, not just any book, but the ‘De Re Metallica’, which collectors of rare books and Renaissance historians will recognise as the first printed book on mining and metallurgy. Written by Georgius Agricola (1494-1555) and published by Froben in Basel, Switzerland in 1556, shortly after the author’s death. This book was considered so important it went through three subsequent Latin editions between 1561 and 1657, three German editions between 1557 and 1621 and one Italian edition in 1563, at a time when the printing of such a specialised volume was no ordinary event.
The ‘De Re Metallica’ (On the Nature of Metals) was the first book on mining and metallurgy to be based on field research and observation, containing 273 woodcut drawings and comprising several hundred pages. Much of the technical information provided by Agricola was either new or had not been given previously in enough detail to enable miners or craftsmen to perform the mining and metallurgical processes without further guidance. Agricola acquired the knowledge detailed in his book from personal experience and observation and it took him more than twenty years to complete this book. For almost 200 years it remained the only authoritative work...
