DESIGNCOLLECTOR

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For What It's Worth

Mining has always been a balance of give and take. On the one hand, precious materials useful for humans are extracted from the ground, and on the other, gigantic scars are left on the landscape. In his latest series, For What It’s Worth (part II), photographer Dillon Marsh visualises the quantity of copper and diamonds unearthed at mines around his home of South Africa. Using computer generated spheres to represent the material, he is given us a strikingly clear picture of sacrifice and gain. via

The CGI objects represent a scale model of the materials removed from each mine,” explains Marsh, “a solid mass occupying a scene showing the ground from which it was extracted. By doing so, the intention is to create a kind of visualisation of the merits and shortfalls of mining in South Africa, an industry that has shaped the history and economy of the country so radically

Cooper

Tweefontein Mine, Concordia 1887 -1904 Over 100m deep, 38,747.7 tonnes of copper extracted

Jubilee Mine, Concordia 1971 to 1973 Over 100m deep, 6,500 tonnes of copper extracted

Blue Mine, Springbok 1852 to 1912  3,535 tonnes of copper extracted

West O’okiep Mine, Okiep 1862 to the early 1970s Over 500m deep, 284,000 tonnes of copper extracted

Nababeep South Mine, Nababeep 1882 to 2000 Over 500m deep, 302,791.65 tonnes of copper extracted

Diamonds

Kimberley Mine (1871 - 1914) 14.5 million carats of diamonds extracted

Kimberley Mine (1871 - 1914) 14.5 million carats of diamonds extracted

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Koffiefontein Mine (1870 - 2014) 7.6 million carats of diamonds extracted

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Jagersfontein Mine (1871 - 1969) 9.52 million carats of diamonds extracted