Dean Carson is a human geographer with an interest in settlement patterns and demography in sparsely populated areas. Recent relevant work includes exploring demographic and economic consequences of mine closures, and tracing the Indigenous demographic history of small villages near mining sites in outback Australia and the southern Lapland region of Sweden. Dean is interested in how relationships between Indigenous people and mining ventures change over the duration of the ‘mining life cycle’, and particularly at the end of a mining project or when there is a substantial change in mining operations.