Metalliferous mining was of major importance to the Australian\udeconomy throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The\udindustry depended heavily on technology transfer for efficient and\udeconomical operations. The country’s isolated mining fields tended\udto rely on adaptation rather than on invention, with toughness, portability\udand ease of repair and use being the prime criteria for the\udadoption of new machinery. This article argues that both the internationalism\udof the mining industry and the nature of its technology\udtransfer blur the lines between invention, innovation and adaptation.\udMining machinery, techniques and people were all highly mobile.\udHence, attributing national origins to mining technology often seems\udirrelevant.
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