Ampere Mining Company
The Oldest Company in Azendale
Ampere Mining Co. was incorporated early in the establishment of Azendale under the name Ampere Brothers Resource Company. AMC has grown due to a stroke of luck regarding the mine for which they gained their initial contract, which has returned much more value than anticipated by geomancy companies or the Grenzberg Amt government. The Ampere Mining Co.
is currently the largest employer outside of Caledun and Meerhaven, exerting significant influence over the governance of the lesser Amter.Controversies
Over the past 2 Azenfrist, many of the original miners for the AMC have fallen ill inexplicably, which is treatable, but not curable by the healers that have attempted it. Furthermore, the AMC has been under the scrutiny of the Council of Ash within the past Azenfrist for suspected bribery, unfair negotiation practices, and improper military conduct.
Illness
In 402 AC (37Ai), the first report of a case of what is increasingly known as "Miners' Blood" was made in Seachtin, on the 17th day according to the filing at the Asclendaigh in Bergsfare. Since then, another 700 cases have been reported in Bergsfare and have, within the past monar, begun to come from other locations in the Principality, with the bulk of the new cases in the Ardeberg region, also located on the Wandebirge mountain range. Of those 700 from Bergsfare, only around 200 are still living as of the last third of 38 Ai, nearly two-thirds of whom are hospitalized in Asclendaighs and Elsendaighs around the Principality.
Bribery & Negotation
There have been 3 accusations throughout the last 2 Azenfrist against the AMC by other companies, the most prominent of which was the Vonnan Company in 405 AC, which alleged that the Company had engaged in giving nearly 15,000 Halvmane in 'gifts' (of which the Ampere Brothers themselves are said to have directly given 5,000 Halvmane), including land and coin to the lords on the sub-council which presided over the grant of the Bunder Mine in eastern Ardeberg. These bribes are alleged to have turned the negotiation in the favour of the AMC to the immense detriment of the Vonnan Company who were to be given preference for the contract. The matter is still under investigation and no public announcements regarding its progress have been made in the past monar, though in late 405, the Enforcement Sub-council estimated that it would hold a hearing by the end of 408. Ampere has strongly disputed these claims, repeatedly stating that, as a result of leaner financial practices and wise investment, they overcame the preference barrier for Bunder Mine, as they have been known to do with mines that they take an interest in. Ampere insists that the lords of the Amtknod simply made the best choice for their amt. The Ardents of Ardeberg released a statement in Åttand of 405 indicating that they had not received any gifts from any source during their deliberation on the Bunder Mine grant and have declined further comment since.
Improper Military Conduct
Ampere Mining Co. also purchased the Anrel Civil Military Group on the 39th of Cuiggan in 377 AC after a spate of banditry in the forests along the path between their charter in Ardeberg and Bergsfare, which cost the company an estimated 96.6Ħ thousand. AMC acquired Anrel CMG for an undisclosed sum (thought to be well over 100 thousand Halvmane) with the approval of the War Sub-council and the Trade Sub-council. Ampere has since used Anrel to clear some of its mines of their monstrous inhabitants and flush bandits out of forests before traversing them.
Anrel's flushing method for forests near thoroughfares includes the coverage of the forest by a large force, as well as establishing sightlines via clearing trees or flooding of lowlands or valleys too near the planned route. Elshenan activists have argued that the damage to the forests is unlawful, while lawyers for the AMC have pointed to the judgement by the Council of Ash over the right of companies to defend their production capabilities, arguing that proactive defence is covered under this definition.
Ampere Mining Co. has also been accused of illegal impression by village heads in several locations along roads that the AMC owns. The total number of allegations of impression add up to 20 people over 4 villages, supposedly during times when the Anrel CMG is under significant pressure to expand the safe zone for Ampere's operation coming off the tail of a significant forest clearing. The potential damages for illegal impression include a fine of up to 1.2Ħ million for the number of alleged cases, as well as a two-year suspension of operational privileges for Anrel CMG, subject to review, a penaalty that would be potentially devastating to Ampere's ability to both undercut competitors as well as expand the bounds of their operation.
Assets
Mines: Quelle Mine (Undisclosed)1, Bunder Mine (~18.9Ħ million), Fizbald Mine (10.8Ħ million), Stetter Mine (300Ħ thousand), Verdor Mine (50.4Ħ thousand), Zattur Mine (34.77Ħ thousand) Nyzar Mine (12.3 thousand), Grimfire Mine (~-223.5Ħ thousand)2
Companies: Randall Geomancy Company (~10.2Ħ million), Anrel CMG (~74.2Ħ thousand)
Equipment: an estimated 5.3M Ħ of mining, rail building, defence and geomancy equipment
Establishments: AMC Headquarters (20,744Ħ est.), AMC Distribution West (12,396Ħ est.), AMC Meerhaven-Seaside Warehouse (31,770Ħ est.), AMC Calindine (38,406Ħ est.), Anrel guardsposts, various (403.8Ħ thousand est.), Geomancy Research Centre (762.3Ħ thousand est.)
History
Ampere Brothers' Resource Company was founded in 320 AC (9 Ai) by the Ampere brothers, acting under a charter from the government for a newly discovered mine in the Wandebirge mountains a few miles West of Bergsfare. The Ampere Brothers contracted labour from the Amtknoden of Grenzberg, who drew mostly from the South of their amt due to its relative economic disadvantage at the time.
The original mine, now known as the Quelle Mine, turned out more productive than was originally estimated by geomancy, and is still active nearly a century later, even as mining technology has advanced and the AMC (f.k.a. ABRC) has stayed on the cutting edge. The extent of valuable resources in the Quelle mine allowed the Ampere brothers to expand beginning within the first 2 Azenfrist of the start of extraction. The brothers gained enough wealth to compete for even preferential charters to other companies, all while delivering lower prices on the coal and metals that came from their mines, and the peak of the company's popularity came in the 30s on the tail of their acquisition of the Randall Geomancy Group, when AMC became the first mining company to find the veins of material that they wanted.
1: The Quelle Mine was Ampere's original mine contract, with an initial geomancy-estimated worth of approximately 100Ħ thousand. It is known to have far surpassed the total initial valuation, though the exact value or amount is unknown except to those at AMC and the Randall Geomancy Company.
2: The Grimfire mine is the first mine AMC has taken on which is contemporarily believed to have negative value, in that the effort to clear the mine and gain the contract would take a more significant investment than the mine itself will yield. Given the location relative to Calindine, the clearing effort will be significant, and the yield of the mine must be low. The secondhand purchase of the contract for the mine by AMC suggests a different evaluation by the RGC than by other geomancy companies.
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