Investigation into Metals in the Age of Transition
A new and unprecedented mining rush has begun. In the name of fighting global warming, it is necessary to produce as many metals in twenty years as have been extracted throughout the entire history of humanity. From the copper rush in Andalusia to cobalt extraction in Morocco and the resource war in Ukraine, this investigation of mining sites worldwide reveals the deadlock and hypocrisy of this extractivist transition.
By analyzing the new mining geopolitics, Celia Izoard uncovers another issue: meeting the colossal metal needs of digital, aerospace, and military industries in a world where Western industries compete with the resource superpowers of China and Russia. Under the banner of « civilization » and « development, » mining has played a structuring role in the expansion of capitalism. In the age of « transition, » how can we move beyond this mining regime that elites have tied our destiny to?
Celia Izoard is a journalist and philosopher specializing in the social and ecological impacts of new technologies. She is the author of Merci de changer de métier. Lettre aux humains qui robotisent le monde (2021) and co-author of La machine est ton seigneur et ton maître (2022). She translated 1984 by George Orwell (2019) and Le livre de la jungle insurgée by Alpa Shah (2022). All these books are published by Éditions de la rue Dorion.
This book is the result of collaboration with Éditions du Seuil and is published in France in the « Écocène » collection.
Source: Les éditions de la rue Dorion
