Editing Lang Hancock (section)

==Wittenoom Gorge==
As a child, Hancock showed a keen interest in mining and prospecting from his uncle John Hancock Jr , and discovered asbestos at [[Wittenoom Gorge]] at the age of ten.<ref name="mininghof">{{cite web|url=http://www.mininghall.com/minerals/people/database/details.htm?section=Entrepreneurs_and_Promoters&id=hancockl&sort=name&loc= |title=Lang Hancock, 1909–1992 |work=Mining Hall of Fame biography |accessdate=5 September 2005 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050701065957/http://mininghall.com/minerals/people/database/details.htm?section=Entrepreneurs_and_Promoters&id=hancockl&sort=name&loc= |archivedate=1 July 2005 }}</ref> He staked a claim at Wittenoom in 1934 and began mining [[Riebeckite|blue asbestos]] there in 1938 with the company [[Australian Blue Asbestos]].

The mine attracted the attention of national behemoths [[CSR Limited]], who purchased the claim in 1943.  Hancock retained a 49% share after the sale, but appears to have become quickly disillusioned about this arrangement, complaining that CSR viewed their 51% share as a licence to ignore his views.  He sold the remainder of his claim in 1948.  The mine would later become the source of much controversy, when hundreds of cases of [[Mesothelioma|asbestos-related diseases]] came to light.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asbestosdiseases.org.au/asbestosinfo/wittenoom_tragedies.htm |title=The Wittenoom Tragedy |work=Asbestos related information |publisher=Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia |year=2004 |accessdate=5 September 2005 }}</ref> He was aware of the dangers of asbestos prior to selling his stake in Australian Blue Asbestos (as recently discovered papers have shown) but never accepted any liability, nor have his companies since his death. Neither the Australian federal government nor the Western Australian state government have pursued his companies for damages as of 2017.