The emotional geography of a mine closure: a study of the Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia

Abstract

This paper engages with the literature on emotional geographies to report on a case study of the emotions surrounding the closure of a nickel mine in the shire of Ravensthorpe in the south-west of Western Australia in January 2009. Two themes from the affect-infused narratives of pre-and post-mine community members are outlined. The first, which challenges constructions of the closure as a purely industrial and economic concern, focuses on the intense feelings the shut-down invoked amongst participants. The second theme explores the way in which the owner of the mine, BHP Billiton, worked to suppress and regulate affective reactions to the closure and thus reveals the highly political nature of emotions.

Rural youth and emotional geographies: how photovoice and words-alone methods tell different stories of place

“…Recent work on the affective dimensions of rural places has focused on the emotional lives of people as emplaced and how a sense of place and feelings of belonging (and exclusion) reflect and reproduce local power relations (Bryant andPini 2011, Convery et al 2005;Little et al 2005;Panelli et al 2004;Pini et al 2010). Other work has focused on how imaginings of places (e.g., the countryside, farming communities, industrial towns) are emotionally charged (Panelli et al 2004, Pini et al 2010, Walkerdine 2010.…”

“…Other work has focused on how imaginings of places (e.g., the countryside, farming communities, industrial towns) are emotionally charged (Panelli et al 2004, Pini et al 2010, Walkerdine 2010. These imaginings construct rural places on the one hand as idyllic --safe, free, close to nature, peaceful, innocent and healthy communities (Valentine 1997) and on the other hand, as dull and regressive (Rye 2006), even empty and dying (Kenway et al 2006).…”

“…A small but emerging literature illustrates the salience of emotional geographies in times of environmental or industrial crisis (Convery et al 2005, Pini et al 2010, Walkerdine 2010. In their work in rural Cumbria, Convery et al (2005) document the emotional responses of farmers and non-farmers to the mass killing of non-human animals to contain the risk of spreading foot and mouth disease, and contrast these to the ways in which government and industry framed the crisis primarily in economic and sectoral terms.…”

Women and economy: complex inequality in a post-industrial landscape

“…Men in East Durham largely worked in the coal mining industry which, at its peak in 1913, employed more than 165,000 men in the Durham coalfield. Rhythms and patterns of local life were finely tuned to the demands of this industry (McDowell and Massey 1984; see also GibsonGraham 1996;Pini, Mayes, and McDonald 2010;Pini and Mayes 2011;Tallichet 2011 for further detailed discussion on class and gender relations in [former] [coal] mining communities and the impact of mine closures). East Durham is a predominantly rural landscape, punctuated by villages and small towns, many of which grew and expanded around collieries.…”

“…Carol is 1 of 31 women aged between 16 and 90 whose experiences of paid work are drawn upon to capture cross-and intergenerational experiences of paid work that expose the long-standing, yet dynamic, inequality that women's accounts of paid work collectively recount (Hopkins and Pain 2007). Although rooted in East Durham, a former coalfield, the women's experiences resonate with those living and working in other postindustrial places that grew out of a particular industry, suffered the trauma of industrial closure and job loss, and coping with a new economy shaped by low pay and insecurity (Linkon and Russo 2002;Pini, Mayes, and McDonald 2010;Walkerdine and Jimenez 2012;McDonald, Mayes, and Pini 2012).…”