ABSTRACT
In our days of industrialization, permanent mining communities are commonly characterized as isolated and self-contained (e.g. Godoy 1985), although their constant need for supplies, information and transportation requires outside interaction (Hardesty 1988). These communities are seen to contain a large and highly specialized workforce of men who work full-time and for wages on ore extraction. Various processes to win metal from the ore are usually conducted elsewhere by other specialists. Women are often present in the communities but are rarely involved in mining or seen as instrumental to its success. Finally, the miners are recruited labor paid by investors far removed from their immediate communities (see also the chapters by Sheridan and Hardesty, this volume, Chapters 11 and 5 respectively).
