SCARCITY / SCAR CITY [WIP]

SCARCITY

SCAR CITY

A Manual for Re-Embedding Value in Excavated Land

ABSTRACT

The mining site is of notable interest in its role as an access point to multiple ecologies, histories, and futures. It is a place where the eons of sedimentation of nature meet the determination of humankind on the industrial quest for their future.

Some of humanity’s major milestones have come from developing the technologies to harness the elements of Earth. The Industrial Revolution marks an important transition to harvesting minerals from the Earth. Manipulating and combining these azoic elements creates fuels and components that generate more tools of progress. This process of converting eons-old rocks into usable resources is known as mining. The mining site has been operated upon by humans to extract its embedded value.

The geologic formation of the earth occurred over the past 4.5 billion years. As the strata of minerals were deposited in layers, they were also eroded, tilted, distorted, and even inverted. The resultant landscape beneath our feet is a complex puzzle of interlocking deposits. Any core sample will contain only a partial ratio of the composition that occurs in the netherworld of rocks and minerals.

Embedded in these mineral deposits is a timeline of the formation of the earth. This extractable knowledge gives us a picture of the history of the planet. Traces can be found of its evolving biological and geologic characters.

The formation of the universe occurred over the past 13.82 billion years. The extraction of observable knowledge in the night sky is similar to an archaeological pursuit into the past. Because of the great distances of outer space, any information garnered from it has traveled hundreds, or even tens of thousands, of years to reach us. Therefore, this data is already history.

CATALOG Mining is an activity predicated on speculation informed by synthesized data. There is no way of knowing exactly the amount of desired minerals and their location of subsurface veins of ore. Core Core sampling integrates with scientifically and historically compiled information about geologic strata offer slivers of “proof of concept” of mineral locations. The understanding of stratified compositions can help approximate where the desired age of mineral lies There are over 500,000 abandoned mining sites in geographically and the depth relative to the surface the United States alone. These mining sites include horizon. coal, gold, silver, rare earth elements, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, and uranium. There is no nationalized The igneous carbonate rocks are the deposits that or over-arching program for mining site reclamation. contain the desired rare earth elements. They can be Several authorities, departments, and agencies extracted and processed to distill the desired minerals address abandoned mining sites as part of broader from the excess parts of the carbonatites. Carbonate programs. Funding for remediation projects is spread era deposits are igneous plugs or patches occurring among separate appropriations for participating from lava from volcanic eruptions. These occur departments and agencies.

Federal and state within alkalic veins, but are isolated into patches agencies are doing more than ever to display their because the carbonatite lava flows are unstable and spatial data and exchange information. Data from quickly react to the atmosphere. the former U.S. Bureau of Mining sites and the U.S. Geological Survey provide the foundation of most mining site inventories. There is a “polluter pays” principle that requires the Federal government, where possible, to compel responsible parties to clean up their sites or help cover the costs. Reclamation priorities focus on water quality and sites involving potential release of hazardous substances.

Throughout the life cycle of a mining site, many factors are at play. Politics, economics, infrastructure, geology, and environment all are separate ecologies that can effect the projected productivity of a mining site. Due to the complexities arising from the combination of these factors, most mining operations do not successfully reach a final stage of “reclamation.”

MINERALS

The mining site is a crucial part of a network of exchange. It generates many everyday technological stylings that we rely on. The precious ores are extracted from the Earth’s crust and deeper lithosphere. They then undergo a process of transmutation to make them into viable consumer objects. These minerals become everything from jewelry to elements of construction in outer space.

PATCH DYNAMICS In ecology, patch dynamics is a theoretical approach based posited that the structure, function, and dynamics of an ecological system can be understood and predicted from an analysis of its smaller interactive spatial components (patches).

MINING TECHNIQUES

MINING STAGES

GENEALOGIES FRONTIER SPECULATION EXCESS NIMIETY LIFE SPAN ENTROPY RISK REWARD

TRADITIONAL MINING

SPECULATION

The commodification of the mining site’s elements is valued by a market influenced by supply, demand, politics, and logistics. The dollar sale return is only one of aspects of speculation on the site. All mining sites are developed based off the interpretation of geological mappings and samplings, or vibrational assessments that estimate the potential concentration of elements in a specific area and the viability of the development of a mining site.

Several factors are at play: 1. The approximate accessible concentrations of these elements in the earth’s crust.

2. The global total of production occurring at mining sites around the world.

3. The market demand for these Elements dictated by their material use. This chart shows some modern utilization of these elements in consumer and The examination and determination of mineral industrial products. deposits will only ever reveal an approximation or sliver of the true subsurface condition. Therefore, the development of a site for mining practice is predicated upon speculation. The composite calculation is an approximation and all the funding that goes to construct and operate a mining site will be dictated from this approximation at its onset. The endgame of the mining site, which is to provide an economic return through commodity sales, is also largely a game of speculation. There is no market rate control for the pricing of the various rare earth elements.

FRONTIER The frontier is classically defined as a political or geological area near a border or boundary. The frontier in the American context usually identifies the area just outside the edge of a settlement. Those who stride bravely into this previously uncharted territory are known as the pioneers. The pioneer treads in a foreign territory, where unknown elements, creatures, and people have the “home field” advantage. Pioneers are the first to break new ground, often in the name of planting seeds for the future. Some plants are even known as pioneer species as they are the most resilient varieties and will be the first to colonize a disrupted ecosystem.

Another instance is the pursuit of the technoindustrial future. New tools have been developed for the mining site at an ever-increasing scale. The propagation of mined minerals allow themselves to be incorporated into newly developing technologies, advancing humanity as a whole.

At the mining site there are several embodiments of the definition of frontier. One is based on the value system of economics, operating to inform and shape the currency translation of mineral elements to financial calculations.

Because of the lawlessness of the frontier, it becomes an ideal location for pirates, theives, grifters, and predators. It can also be a place of refuge for the persecuted, the “other,” the inventors, and the debtors.

In the history of the American West, the idea of frontier plays a strong role. The unconquered frontier comes also with a new opportunity for many. Because it is outside of the present societal rules, pioneers can reap great profits that would not be possible in the settled lands.

EXCESS The process of mining generates a mass of excess. Often, the excess accounts for as much as 95% of the material being moved at a mining site. In the industry, this excess is referred to as the “overburden.�

PRE-PRODUCTION

YEAR 1

YEAR 2

NIMIETY Rare earth elements are going by an antiquated name. In fact, they are not rare at all, being more common in the Earth’s crust than lead or nitrogen. Cerium is the most abundant, falling at number 25 out of 76 common crust elements. Extractable deposits of the minerals containing rare earth elements are less common. Bastnäsite rock deposits constitute the world’s largest concentrations of rare earth element resources, followed by monazite deposits.

YEAR 10

YEAR 14

LIFE SPAN

Each mining site has a planned life cycle. Due to financial, environmental, and political hazards, many operations do not make it to their planned closure.

These circumstances, combined with a history of lax regulation, has made the United States home to over 500,000 abandoned mining sites. Even properly closed mining sites typically reach a limited definition of reclamation, utilizing topsoil and saplings as a Bandaid over the scarred earth.

ENTROPY

Entropy is directly linked to the thermodynamic properties of a system. Entropy accounts for the amount of energy that is unavailable to be put into mechanical energy. It is the constitution of the chaos or disorder of a system. Entropy can be seen put to work by Robert Smithson in his earthwork Spiral Jetty. Here, the piece sits in the Great Salt Lake, Utah. Its disappearing and reappearing for long periods of time is due to the fluctuation of the elevation of the lake that cannot be predicted or fully accounted for within its environment. Entropic action is seen in other realms, like in the information erosion in Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49. The track of history is discontinuous and untraceable as the characters try to discover long-lost links to the truth about the systems around them.

Not all entropic action is bad, however. The thermodynamic chaos of mycorrhizal fungi added to abandoned mining sites can provide an activation of a closed system. The root system of the mycorrhizae can multiply the absorptive surface of the mining site pit one hundred times.

This allows the former pit to become fertile ground to support plant and animal life.

There are many elements of risk that play out through the life cycle of a mining site.

One, associated with the business of market speculation, is the economic viability. Finding capital for construction and expansion can be tricky.

An ever-changing market value means not knowing if the costs of operations will outweigh the value of the minerals.

It may be risky to operate a mining site for many social reasons. There are neighbors and residents of lands who may disagree with the land use and employees that may become unsatisfied.

Another arena of risk lies in the physical toxicity of the substances being handled . The desired minerals or their surroundings may be radioactive, asbestos-like, or churn up metallic dust. During the extraction a danger is the containment and disposal of waste. Tailings, which hold the toxic residues of mining processes, are susceptible to the environmental elements.

These waste contents could be introduced into the surrounding ecology through wind, rain, or other erosion if not properly contained.

Erosion of Tailings Piles t Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co.’s Mine, Keyes, Cornelius M. Environmental Protection Agency, 1972. License: Public Domain

RISK

Reward can be defined only through the eyes of those receiving it. A reward at the mining site is anything that is deemed a valuable outcome of the operation. Progress of industry is valuable to some. The financial returns from sales of the minerals may be valuable. The integration of these mineral alloys into new technologies can be valuable to a diversity of industries.

Ownership can be its own reward, especially in America where it is viewed as a status symbol.

In the new frontier, like historical American West, there is a lot to be had for very little. Land claims were popular, and many remain on the books today.

The system of value that operates on mining sites dictates that the chunks of property that are extractable and commodifiable are what drives the worth of the entire process. By applying a different quantifier for value, the same site can be given a second life in a new arena or industry.

Bauxite tailings near Stade, Germany Ra Boe / Wikipedia, Lizenz: CC by-sa 3.0

REWARD

SCENARIOS MODERN

MINING

Mining operates within the realms of speculation, scarcity, risk, reward, frontier, excess, nimiety, life cycles, and entropy.

Even as mining changes from its Industrial era iteration, it retains these qualities.

Two new versions of mining have entered into our twenty-first century pursuits.

One is the digitally-driven Bitcoin mining and, the other, the speculative future of asteroid mining. Both are speculations of possibility that have value systems defined by scarcity.

still from Life Inside a Secret Chinese Bitcoin Mine

BITCOIN MINING The digital frontier lies expansive, ethereal, and sometimes hard to picture. Bitcoin is a digital asset and payment system, effectively a new currency.

It has no tangible presence, but can convert to modern currencies and is readily accepted at a growing number of retailers. Bitcoin’s algorithm has an ever-increasing difficulty that will ultimately generate only 21 million Bitcoin. The built-in scarcity of the system provides for a basis of value. The physical infrastructure must still exist even for a currency so intangible. Massive warehouses hold networks of processors that will mine for Bitcoin solutions. Like any currency the value fluctuates, but recently was as high as 1 Bitcoin = $415.15 U.S. dollars at the time of publishing.

from Bloomberg News

BITCOIN MINING SITE Topography of the Tool Bitcoin mining requires hardware that will house the processors to run the algorithmic calculations.

PROCESS The SHA-256 algorithm used for mining is pretty simple and can be done by hand. Of course, this is not even a fraction of the speed of hardware mining.

ECOLOGIES GEOLOGY HAZARDS ECOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE ECONOMY

ASTEROID MINING Asteroid mining is an active field of research and development. It is driven by the limit of rare earth elements on Earth and the future technologies of space travel. Asteroids, comets, and other nearEarth objects contain high amounts of both rare earth elements and traditionally valuable elements such as gold. An active asteroid mining industry could devalue all the gold and mining exploits on Earth. Presently, there are proposals both to mine in-situ and to pull the objects into Earth’s orbit for harvesting. Both scenarios involve technological development and risk management that are still far from resolution.

from Futurama, Season 6, Episode 26 “Reincarnation�

ASTEROID SITE

MINING

This is a visual-only grayscale version of the original HAMO DTM. The Dawn mission is equipped with a framingcamera (FC) which was the prime instrument during the HAMO (High Altitude Mapping Orbit) phase.DAWN orbited Vesta during HAMO in 21 cycles between December 2011 and end of April 2012. Dawn orbited Vestaduring HAMO in 6 cycles between end of September end early November 2011. The framing camera took about 2,500 clear filter images with a resolution of about 70 m/ pixel during these cycles. This digital terrain model (DTM)was created from 5439 HAMO stereo FC clear filter images at ~92 meters per pixel (48 pixels per degree).The value are in radii given in meters with an +-8 meter mean intersection error.

Reference: Frank Preusker, Frank Scholten, Klaus-Dieter Matz, Frank, Thomas Roatsch, Elke Kersten, C.A. Raymond,C.T. Russell, (2014), Global Shape of Vesta from Dawn FC stereo images. Lunar Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, USA. http:// www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/vesta2014/pdf/2027.pdf Reference: Russell, C.T. and Raymond, C.A., Space Sci. Review, 163, DOI 10.1007/s11214-011-9836-2.

RISKS The elemental composition of Vesta’s surface was determined from data acquired by Dawn’s Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND)in a low altitude mapping orbit. GRaND measures the spectrum of gamma rays and neutrons produced by the interaction ofgalactic cosmic rays with surface materials. Gamma rays are also made by the decay of natural radioelements (K, Th, and U).The emitted radiation can be analyzed to determine surface composition.

Measurements are representative of Vesta’sbulk regolith composition to depths of a few decimeters. Maps have a spatial resolution of about 300 km.

This map displays the variation of high-energy gamma-ray (HEGR) count rate across the surface of Vesta. HEGRs are sensitive to the bulk elemental composition of the near surface material, particularly its heavy major-element content.

Reference: Peplowski P. N., Lawrence D. J., Prettyman T. H., Yamashita N., Bazell D., Feldman W. C., and Reedy R. C.(2013).

Compositional variability on the surface of 4 Vesta revealed through GRaND measurements of high- energy gamma rays.Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 48: 2252-2270. doi:10.1111/maps.12176.

SPECULATION This preliminary global geologic map of Vesta, based on data from the Dawn spacecraft’s HighAltitude Mapping Orbit(HAMO) and informed by Low-Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO) data. This map is part of an iterative mapping effort; thegeologic map has been refined with each improvement in resolution. Vesta has a heavilycratered surface, with largecraters evident in numerous locations.

The south pole is dominated by an impact structure identified before Dawn’s arrival.Two large impact structures have been resolved: the younger, larger Rheasilvia structure, and the older, more degraded Veneneiastructure. The surface is also characterized by a system of deep, globe-girdling equatorial troughs and ridges, as well asan older system of troughs and ridges to the north. Troughs and ridges are also evident cutting across, and spiraling arcuatelyfrom, the Rheasilvia central mound. However, no volcanic features have been unequivocally identified.

Reference: Blewett, D.T. and Thomas, P.T. (editors), 2014, Special Issue: The Geology of Vesta, Icarus, Volume 244, Pages 1-166,http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0019-1035(14)00587-9

MATERIAL STUDIES This is acrylic model representing layered strata and embdedded pockets of matter. This image shows the traces of the pieces of matter as they are extracted through tunneling.

EMBEDDEDNESS The quality of being firmly and deeply ingrained or fixed in place: the cultural embeddedness of economic and political practices The seventeen elements referred to as Rare Earth Elements are actually quite commonly occurring in the earth’s crust. However, for the purposes of extraction, high concentrations are needed.

Worldwide, these only occur in the 300 carbonatite localities that were formed at least 1380 million years old. The embeddedness of the desired elements is so extreme and their consistency so unstable that extraction can take hundreds of steps to produce a final powder oxide to be turned into metal alloys.

These models are plaster casts of milled site topography with walls to create reservoirs. These basins are filled with various concentrations of matter that become bonded and embedded. The aftermath of attempted extraction of from the site can be seen in the photographs in the right column.

REFLEXIVITY (Of a relation) always holding between a term and itself This model is a silicone cast of a milled model of the an open-pit mine. The ability to invert and deform the existing form allows us to study possibilities for fluid transformations of existing geometries.

MINERALS We studied the growth of various minerals found at the Mojave Desert site. These are grown in a silicate solution. This gave insight into the inherent structural logic of the minerals that make up the land.

METALS

These metal casts are created by allowing the molten metal to find pathways through a secondary material. Each cast is a solidified moment of flow. The metal hardens, embedding some of the surrounding material as it does.

ALUMINUM + COPPER

SALT CRYSTALS

ALUMINUM

ALUMINUM

ALUMINUM

SITE : MOJAVE DESERT

SITE : MOUNTAIN PASS, CALIFORNIA Situated between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, the mining site is nestled into the Mountain Pass of the Clark Mountains along Interstate 15. The frontier history of American West contains strong cultural ideals driven by dreams and desire.

Many individual and collective value systems have shaped the modern understanding of this landscape. Mining site claims speckle the desert, driven by dreams of wealth and prosperity. New solar farms glimmer in the sand, driven by dreams of self-sufficiency. Pilgrimages to both cities are undertaken driven by dreams of fame and hedonism. It is a site shaped by physical actions to achieve speculative futures.

The Clark Mountains separate the Ivanpah Dry Lake (East side) and the Mojave Desert (West side.)

This is the only rare earth elements mining site in the United States. Before it’s 2015 bankruptcy, it is responsible for 7% of the world’s Rare Earth Elements on the market last year (as opposed to China’s 90%.)

• Cerium 50.0% • Lanthanum 34.0% • Neodymium 11.0% • Praseodymium 4.0% • Samarium 0.5% • Gadolinium 0.2% • Europium 0.1% • Others 0.2%

ST-INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE

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WALK THROUGH A N EARTHEN PALIMPSEST AT THE

SCAR CITY ARCHIVE

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BIBLIOGRAPHY The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye. 2012. Directed by Marie Losier. New Yorker Video, 2012. DVD. Berger, Alan. 2002. Reclaiming the American West. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

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DVD. Motherboard. 2015. “Life Inside a Secret Chinese Bitcoin Mining site.” Editor-in-chief Derek Mead. Translators Claire Xu and Dylan O’Connor. Vice. https://youtu.be/K8kua5B5K3I Nakamoto, Satoshi. 2008. “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

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