Mining Journal - the timeline
1835 Mining Journal was born at a time when the eyes of the
world were focused on Britain. The Industrial Revolution was dramatically
changing the pattern of working life. In the mines, however, the new machines
were still no substitute for hard manual labour carried out in miserable,
hazardous conditions by men, women and children. Miners continued to risk their
lives in treacherous underground toil and for poverty-line wages. Mining
Journal, under the leadership of its first editor, Henry English, was
determined to see the mining industry undergo a long-overdue industrial
revolution of its own.
1837 Queen Victoria came to the throne on June 30, beginning a
reign of 63 years during an era of radical change in political, industrial and
social walks of life.
1844 Horrifying fatal accidents continued to cast a shadow of
tragedy over mining communities. Henry English estimated that deaths in British
mines were running at a sickening rate of 2,500 a year. At the end of September
came one of the worst tragedies of all, when 95 miners at Durham's Haswell
Colliery were killed in an underground explosion. This time, English decided to
petition Queen Victoria herself, imploring her, as a wife and mother, to help
effect an end to the causes of disasters such as Haswell. His petition ended
with the plea: 'Let me then implore your Majesty, on behalf of the collier and
the miner, that you will use your royal prerogative and order a Commission of
Inquiry, or institute such other measures as your Majesty may deem fit, whereby
protection may be afforded to the humble collier and his family.' English's
personal pleas succeeded where official pleas had failed. Orders went out from
Buckingham Palace and within days the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, wrote to
the Mining Journal to assure English that evidence was being prepared to submit
to both houses of Parliament. The foundations were laid for the legal
enforcement of a set of regulations that were to earn British mines the
reputation of being amongst the safest in the world, and Mining Journal
deserved much of the credit.
1849 Armed with shovels and gold pans, gold hungry men headed
for the hills and streams in search of El Dorado in the great California Gold
Rush.
1859 On the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, Henry T.P.
Comstock gave his name to the Comstock Lode, containing an estimated 400
million dollars worth of precious metal, mostly silver.
1886 Down-and-out prospector, George Harrison, stumbled on a
gold-bearing outcrop that was to become the Main Reef of South Africa's great
Witwatersrand Geological Basin.
1890 Mining Journal promoted the world's first international
exhibition of mining and metallurgy at London's Crystal Palace.
1892 The Institution of Mining and Metallurgy was formed -
with Mining Journal's editor, George Ferguson, as its first Secretary.
1901 Edward Balliol Scott took over the running of Mining
Journal. He was to remain editor for 53 years and through two world wars. He
continued in the Henry English tradition of crusading journalism by campaigning
for a better, safer and more productive industry.
1909 A group of influential British and American mining
engineers in London, led by Herbert Hoover, formed Mining Publications Ltd to
produce the new international monthly, Mining Magazine.
1935 Mining Journal's Centenary issue was published - the
forerunner of today's Mining Annual Review.
1962/63 The Mining Communications Ltd purchased Mining
Magazine and launched the 'Combined Subscription', with Mining Journal being
sent out everywhere by airmail. The two other parts of the Combined
Subscription, Mining Magazine and Mining Annual Review continued to be sent by
surface mail.
1965 Michael West took over as managing director of Mining
Journal Ltd - a position he was to hold for 25 years.
1974 The International Gold Mining Newspaper was launched to
complement the Quarterly Review of South African Gold Shares. These two
publications were the forerunners of today's World Gold and World Gold Analyst.
1988 To give the company a broader range of activity without
moving away from its core competency, Mining Communications Ltd launched World
Tunnelling. The magazine was started as a quarterly, but over the next four
years publication was increased to ten issues per year, plus a number of
special supplements.
1990 Lawrence Williams succeeded Michael West as managing
director. The company launched No-Dig International as a spin-off from World
Tunnelling.
1993 The company launched GeoDrilling International and Mining
Environmental Management, two more publications in allied fields to the
company's core business.
1996-7 The company's first electronic product - Worldwide
Mining on CD-Rom - was produced. This incorporated the full text from Mining
Journal, Mining Magazine and Mining Annual Review since January 1981. The
company also launched its website: www.mining-journal.com, incorporating a
considerable amount of free information. This site now attracts large numbers
of information seekers from all around the world.
1998 Mining Journal became available to all subscribers via
e-mail, enabling readers to receive the weekly mining news on the day of
publication.
1999 The company introduced an information-based website,
www.mininginformation.com. This included news, details of mining projects,
equipment reviews, buyers guides, events diaries, jobs and links to mining
companies, manufacturers, service companies, government and academia. Mining
Journal launched its 'Mining Centres of the World' series with a supplement on
London.
2000 Mining Annual Review was published in electronic format
for the first time, being distributed to subscribers on CD-Rom.
2001 Improvements were made to the design of World Gold and
World Gold Analyst, and to the despatch of Mining Journal by e-mail. Mining
Journal's 'Mining Centres of the World' series reached seven, with publication
of a supplement on Melbourne. The Mining Communications Ltd entered the
conference business with its Metals Outlook Summit and Global Iron Ore
conferences, both in London. A number of books are published, including a
series sponsored by the World Bank and Metal Mining Agency of Japan.
2002 World Gold and World Gold Analyst are sold as part of a
corporate restructuring. The book 'From Mine to Mistress' is published that
details the diamond industry. Significant improvements to the company's website
are implemented.
2003 Mining Communications Ltd (MCL) was formed and
hosted the first of what was to become an annual event, Mines and Money,
a conference designed to bring the global mining and finance communities
together.
The new MCL management team , including Chris Innis, chairman, Rob Barrowman,
managing director and Chris Hinde, editorial director relaunched all the titles
with an emphasis on better design, even better editorial and events.
2004 The 20:20 Investor Series was launched. These events
promote better investment decisions by inviting companies to present their
activities to an audience of fund managers and investors.
2005 GeoDrilling 2005 was launched. This premier underground
construction exhibition is designed to showcase the main industry players in
drilling, piling and trenchless construction. It was intended to be held
bi-annually, but the success of the first event has encouraged Mining
Communications to hold the 2nd show in 2006.
The company also launches World Mining Stocks, aimed at investors who want to
know more about potential exploration and mining companies.
2006 The best source of online mining intelligence is expanded
and enhanced in the newwww.mining-journal.com.
A new CEO joins the team in the shape of David Nizol .