U
is for
Underground Mining
By Matt
(fifth grader, 1996/97)
Underground mining was the first mine done in Virginia. It was also the dangerous and most expensive kind of mining. It was the first kind of mining where they would go underground with carbide lights in a huge elevator and mine out a load of ore and take it up in the elevator. They got paid about $2.00 a day for a 10 hour day seven days a week.
After they found out that if you just dig out big hole(make a pit) with steam shovels where there is a vein of ore it is cheaper, less dangerous, and it goes faster. Open pit mining put underground mining out of business except for the big rich mines like tower Soudan were they have a big rich vein of ore.
Mining gave many people jobs, but then when open-pit mining put it out of business almost all the mines lost their job, but then most got hired for open pit mining because of their mining skills.
Some tools they would use were carbide lights to light their way, boots to keep your feet dry and clean, old clothes because they got dirty and wore out, hard hats with a carbide light holder to protect their heads and hold their carbide lights, and some other tools like picks, shovels, drills, dynamite, and lots of other things.
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MARCH 1997