[johnny53169]

> Slaves sent to mines were basically sentenced to death.

It's less bad now, but being a miner is not much better nowadays, even more so since most of the mines are in poor countries with little care for the workers and rich countries would prefer not to think too hard where the iron for their eco-conscious steel bottle is coming from.

[LilBytes]

This is region specific. Miners in Australia are all managed by unions and are some of the best paid professionals in the Country. (1)

And with that said due to the level of influence from the unions, also have great safety ratings compared to other regions. Though admitedly still quite dangerous, but less so than cinsteuction, agriculture and warehouse work (3).

(1) https://www.minerals.org.au/news/australian-mining-provides-...

(2) https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/industry_business/minin...

(3) https://www.finder.com.au/most-dangerous-jobs-australia

[johnny53169]

That's nice to hear, and to correct my previous comment, Australia is the biggest producer of iron:

> In 2019, the country was the 2nd largest world producer of gold;[1] 8th largest world producer of silver;[2] 6th largest world producer of copper;[3] the world's largest producer of iron ore;[4] the world's largest producer of bauxite;[5] the 2nd largest world producer of manganese;[6] 2nd largest world producer of lead;[7] 3rd largest world producer of zinc;[8] 3rd largest world producer of cobalt;[9] 3rd largest producer of uranium;[10] 6th largest producer of nickel;[11] 8th largest world producer of tin;[12] 14th largest world producer of phosphate;[13] 15th largest world producer of sulfur;[14] in addition to being the 5th largest world producer of salt.[15]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining_in_Australia

[inglor_cz]

I grew up in a mining city (Ostrava, black coal). Now the mines are closed, but when I was a kid, they were in full operation.

Disasters happened infrequently, but when they did, they were ugly. A spark at a wrong time in a wrong place, and sixty fathers would never come back home again.

Mining is freaking dangerous. The forces of nature involved are enormous, and human is but a small ant facing them.

[iso1210]

Not just dangerous for the miners too. Aberfan had a major effect on the UK. A slag heap near the village collapsed, burying a school and killing 144, almost all of them schoolchildren

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster

[sologoub]

A bit off-topic, but how did the city cope with the mine closure and loss of so many jobs?

[PebblesRox]

"Hey, Coal Miner" is a poignant glimpse into life in the mines. The whole song is great but this verse in particular always gets to me:

"Into the truck, Then into the bath, Ground to dust And then in a flash, Turns into fire That turns into ash, Hey, coal miner."

https://youtu.be/0LQZWvEMWIA?t=01m07s

[germinalphrase]

It’s beside the point, but historically a lot of the iron ore used in US steel manufacturing has come from northern Minnesota.

[vondur]

My grandfather was a coal miner back in the 50s in rural Oklahoma. He died of black lung in his early 50s. I’m hoping today it’s not nearly as dangerous.

[secondcoming]

Still, it's probably safer than farming

[Ichthypresbyter]

Possibly true now, but not in Roman times- cave-ins are more dangerous than angry draft animals.

[arein3]

>being a miner is not much better nowadays

it's allright there are rough aspects but in the end it's worth it, especially since bitcoin is doing well