The Dispatch. Remote Mining work

Abstract

This paper exposes the current changes that are taking place in mining both globally and locally to analyse the overlap between technological advances and labour relations. The aim is to study the case of "Veladero" metalliferous mining entrepreneurship exploited by the subsidiary company MAGSRL of Barrick Gold Corporation in the Andes mountain range, in the province of San Juan, Argentina. Through interviews, informal talks with company´s employees and observation of work relationships, we approach from an ethnographic perspective, the consequences of the corporation´s decision to move the entire work area to hundreds of kilometers from their everyday coworkers (other areas, such as Mine Operations, Maintenance and Processes). We intend to understand the social dilemmas that this physical absence with emphasis on remote work will present on workers.