José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva's contribution to History has been considered as remarkable. Mainly identified as the Brazilian Independence articulator and promoter, due to his characteristics as a representative and statesman, José Bonifácio, however, was not only an outstanding politician, but also a researcher in Natural Sciences. He participated in scientific field trips, was a member of European scientific societies, published several Natural History 'memories' and managed Portuguese governmental institutions related to mining and agriculture. One of such institutions was the Kingdom's General Mining and Metals Department. As the result of his activities in this area, he left his 'Memories', an important contribution to the field of mining. Some of them have been published; nevertheless, others are still scattered around different archives. Our main objective is to bring to attention two of his dissertations that are part of Arquivo do Museu Paulista Coleção José Bonifácio and that are related to practical activities in mining while he was at the Mining Department.
History of Science; Geo-sciences; Brazilian History; History of Natural Sciences; José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva