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Mining in Roshar


ajotatxe

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The economy in Roshar is based on gems. But there is no mention, as far I remember, to mining. Well, there are emeralds in chasmfiends, but I don't know where diamonds, rubies, etc can be found. And why are there so many gems that a beer costs a small diamond?

Moreover, if diamonds in Roshar are so cheap, there should be tons of coal, shouldn't it? Then, why is the expensive wood is used to make fire? Is all the steel made by soulcasting? If not, coal is known... Where are the mines? If yes, how do they know what steel is to start?

Is there a reason or it is just fantasy? What do you think?

Edited by ajotatxe
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They get most of the gemstones from creatures that have gemhearts:

Quote

Neuxue

Does Roshar have a magnetic field?  

Brandon Sanderson

Um, Roshar, magnetic field, yes, it does. Yes. Yeah it does  

Neuxue

You said at one point that it is all one plate--  

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Neuxue

--that there's no tectonic activity. What is the interior of the planet like?  

Brandon Sanderson

That’s a good question... You're not going to get an answer on that one. It's a weird planet, let's just say that. It's a pretty weird planet

Neuxue

Are the diamonds naturally occurring?  

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, but most are going to be-- They aren't-- all gemstones are naturally occurring, but most of, many or most of, the gems they are getting they are getting from creatures that grow them, not from the rock. Though there are mines on Roshar, you just have to-- most of them are on the leeward side of mountains, where the crem isn't being deposited.

Neuxue

So, diamond mines are about tectonics--

Brandon Sanderson

It was a created planet, keep that in mind.

Shadows of Self London UK signing (Oct. 19, 2015)

So to answer your question, they get the gemstones from other creatures that have gemhearts. Almost all of the animals on Roshar have gemhearts of one kind or another.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I also wonder where all the gems go.  If more are being created every day by many different kinds of fauna after a few thousand years they should litter the ground.  Perhaps they are washed to the sea.  I like to imagine vast greatshells proweling depths amongst unfathomable numbers of gemstones.  

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5 hours ago, ConfusedCow said:

I also wonder where all the gems go.  If more are being created every day by many different kinds of fauna after a few thousand years they should litter the ground.  Perhaps they are washed to the sea.  I like to imagine vast greatshells proweling depths amongst unfathomable numbers of gemstones.  

I mean, let's consider the size. The one's that come from chasmfiends are supposed to be huge and how big are they? I think they're like the size of a softball, but someone can correct me. If we then compare the size of chasmfiends to the size of most creatures on roshar their gemhearts must be tiny. Most are probably no bigger than a grain of sand.

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Quote

Neuxue

Are the diamonds naturally occurring?  

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, but most are going to be-- They aren't-- all gemstones are naturally occurring, but most of, many or most of, the gems they are getting they are getting from creatures that grow them, not from the rock. Though there are mines on Roshar, you just have to-- most of them are on the leeward side of mountains, where the crem isn't being deposited.

Neuxue

So, diamond mines are about tectonics--

Brandon Sanderson

It was a created planet, keep that in mind.

Shadows of Self London UK signing (Oct. 19, 2015)

Wait, did we know Roshar was created? Is Brandon implying Adonalsium created it? 

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1 hour ago, KSub said:

Wait, did we know Roshar was created? Is Brandon implying Adonalsium created it? 

Yes, Adonalsium created Roshar. When Honor and Cultivation moved in they sort of adopted the Investiture (and Highstorms) that were already present

On a separate yet interesting note, gemhearts form from a combination of crem and Investiture

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I suppose there could be some kind of Gemcycle.  Gemstones are somehow created by investiture and crem inside creatures native to Roshar.  Then broken apart or ground down, perhaps in the stomachs of large predators or by some geologic process.  Then mixed with mud, water and other minerals to form Crem.  Finally, being swept up by a highstorm and redeposited.   

I know that's not how gems are formed in real life, something about pressure and heat.  I imagine gemstones exist in all cremlings because they have comparable metamorphic life stages with transformations that seem to involve spren and highstorms.  The gemstones of smaller cremlings must be nearly microscopic if the size ratios of greatshells are preserved.  I wonder if there is a minimum size of gemstone a spren can inhabit?  Do plants have gemhearts too, if not why do they seem to absorb crem?  How do they interact as they clearly do with life spren and investiture?  I have so many questions about Rosharan Ecology.  Someday I hope Brandon has an assistant write up a book with all his notes on Rosharan ecology, preferably with some big beautiful illustrations.  

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On 1/4/2021 at 2:16 PM, ajotatxe said:

... there is no mention, as far I remember, to mining.

There is certainly mining on Roshar - Shallan's family made their wealth from mines.  Granted, it turned out that the mining was really just a cover story for the use of Soulcasting... but in order for it to be a useful cover story, people must know what mining is.  The easy availability of gemstones is not due to mining, however, but to harvesting gemhearts from animals.

On 1/4/2021 at 2:16 PM, ajotatxe said:

Is all the steel made by soulcasting? If not, coal is known... Where are the mines? If yes, how do they know what steel is to start?

That's really good question.  It's unlikely Roshar has coal deposits - as a recently created planet, it lacks the geologic history necessary for coal to be formed.  But you can make charcoal from wood, which then makes steel a reasonable discovery.  It's also possible that Roshar was created with coal present, but we have not seen it.

On 1/20/2021 at 8:23 PM, Nellac said:

I mean, let's consider the size. The one's that come from chasmfiends are supposed to be huge and how big are they? I think they're like the size of a softball, but someone can correct me. If we then compare the size of chasmfiends to the size of most creatures on roshar their gemhearts must be tiny. Most are probably no bigger than a grain of sand.

Honor's Drop is described as being the size of a human head, so considerably larger than a softball.  And that's a CUT gemstone - fashioned from one even larger.  I picture the chasmfiend gemhearts being at least as large as basketballs.  It is somewhat disappointing that we've never seen or heard much about how they are cut.

On 1/20/2021 at 11:31 PM, KSub said:

Wait, did we know Roshar was created? Is Brandon implying Adonalsium created it? 

I had the same reaction a few weeks ago  LOL  It's not anywhere in the text, but multiple WoBs confirm this.  He's not "implying" it, he has clearly stated it - the entire Rosharan system was created by Adonalsium.

On 1/21/2021 at 10:21 PM, ConfusedCow said:

I have so many questions about Rosharan Ecology.

I find myself asking many of the same questions... but I'm trying not to get my hopes up.  Of all the things Brandon is terrific at, biology isn't one of them.  Expecting things like ecology or evolution to make sense in the Cosmere in the same way they do on Earth, I think, has been shown to be unreasonable.  The fact that humans and singers - unrelated, different physiology, created at different times and on different planets - can mate and produce viable progeny is enough to show me that we can't expect Cosmere biology to be consistent with our own.

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6 hours ago, AquaRegia said:

I find myself asking many of the same questions... but I'm trying not to get my hopes up.  Of all the things Brandon is terrific at, biology isn't one of them.  Expecting things like ecology or evolution to make sense in the Cosmere in the same way they do on Earth, I think, has been shown to be unreasonable.  The fact that humans and singers - unrelated, different physiology, created at different times and on different planets - can mate and produce viable progeny is enough to show me that we can't expect Cosmere biology to be consistent with our own.

I think as long as the plot and character choices are consistent and the magic has a logic to it we have to accept that it's fantasy and suspend our disbelief a little. 

Plus everything was made by Adonalsium, so there's a reason.

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10 hours ago, AquaRegia said:

 

Honor's Drop is described as being the size of a human head, so considerably larger than a softball.  And that's a CUT gemstone - fashioned from one even larger.  I picture the chasmfiend gemhearts being at least as large as basketballs.  It is somewhat disappointing that we've never seen or heard much about how they are cut.

 

Yeah, but I thought that Honor's drop was noted as being much, much bigger than most other gemstones.

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20 minutes ago, Nellac said:

Yeah, but I thought that Honor's drop was noted as being much, much bigger than most other gemstones.

Quote

The size of a child's head, it glowed brightly.  The King's Drop.  Gemstones of its size weren't unheard of - most greatshells had gemhearts as big.

"They say it's a chunk off the Stone of Ten Dawns."

Oathbringer, Interlude 13

However, I'm sure you are correct that the easy-to-get gemhearts of "normal-sized" animals are fairly small.  That's why they put currency gemstones in glass spheres, right?

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24 minutes ago, AquaRegia said:

Oathbringer, Interlude 13

However, I'm sure you are correct that the easy-to-get gemhearts of "normal-sized" animals are fairly small.  That's why they put currency gemstones in glass spheres, right?

Ahh, thanks for the quote. I listen to the books on audio so finding a specific passage is a pain.

Yeah, I think the ones in currency are pretty small. I think it's noted that gemstones that are cracked by fabriels or soulcasters are cut into smaller pieces to be used in spheres. You can fit three gemstones on the back of the hand with a soulcaster, so I'd guess that makes them like grape-ish sized. If those are broken down, the ones in spheres are probably closer to the size found on most real world rings. 

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