Global Challenges for Innovation in Mining Industries : Cambridge University Press : 9781108842785 : 110884278X : 21 Apr 2022 : "People have been digging in the ground for useful minerals for thousands of years. Stone Age people dug for flints, Bronze Age people for copper. But the manner in which they have dug for minerals has changed out of all recognition. While early miners hacked small amounts of mineral from the ground with antler horns, some of today's mines employ 300 tonne trucks driven and scheduled by computers. Innovation lies at the heart of the story of mining. Mineral materials are the foundation of modern industrial society. They are used in vast quantities to construct the infrastructure of our lives, the roads, the power stations, the airports and our homes. They are used for the durable products which we employ within this infrastructure, the cars, the planes, the hospital equipment and the refrigerators, as well as in the machinery required to produce these things.