dillon marsh places copper spheres in arid mining landscapes (above) west o’okiep mine, okiep 1862 to the early 1970s over 500m deep, 284,000 tonnes of copper extracted all images courtesy of dillon marsh

cape town-based artist dillon marsh combines photography and computer generated technologies in his series ‘for what it’s worth’, which visually embodies the resources of a copper mine situated within the landscapes of site specific locales. ‘whether they are active or long dormant, mines speak of a combination of sacrifice and gain.’ marsh describes ‘their features are crude, unsightly scars on the landscape – unlikely feats of hard labor and specialized engineering, constructed to extract value from the earth but also exacting a price.’

using CGI, marsh places a solid copper sphere within each arid scene, acting as a scale model that equates to the exact mass removed from the existing mine. the round object occupies the terrain, illustrating how much of the ground from which it was extracted. ‘by doing so, the intention is to create a kind of visualization of the merits and shortfalls of mining in south africa, an industry that has shaped the history and economy of the country so radically,’ marsh finishes.

nababeep south mine, nababeep 1882 to 2000 over 500m deep, 302,791.65 tonnes of copper extracted

marsh describes a detail of the mining industry: ‘the country’s first ever commercial mine, the blue mine in springbok, began operating in 1852. more mines opened soon after as copper deposits were discovered in the surrounding areas. this, in turn, boosted the development of small towns in a relatively remote area of the country, as workers settled nearby. by 2007, however, most of these mines had run their course and production had stopped almost completely. this presents an uncertain future for the towns and people of the region.’

blue mine, springbok 1852 to 1912 3,535 tonnes of copper extracted

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

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