Despite Advances in Technology, the Danger of an Accident at Work Still Exists

As far as I am concerned, I have always felt that there was something romantic about working in a mine.

My father worked in a gold mine, and his father worked in a coal mine before that. So it was no surprise that I ended up carrying on with the family business.

And while working in a mine generations ago was not only downright dangerous, it was backbreaking work. This is the reason why a lot of old songs about working in mines proliferated during this time; mining is one of those things that have turned in to a legend, just like working on the railroad was.

Today’s mines, while still dangerous, are not as physically demanding as the days of my grandfather. During his day, people would use shovels, pickaxes, and even hammers just to extract coal from deep within the earth.

In my father’s time, advances in chemistry had them working with toxic chemicals to make gold extraction much faster. And in addition to shovels and pickaxes, they carried around buckets of dangerous liquid with them.

Given the working conditions my father and grandfather went through, it is understandable why many of their miners succumbed to injuries due to an accident at work.

Looking back at what they had to go through, I am fortunate that technology has improved that heavy machinery has made life a lot easier for me. What my grandfather could do in a week with a pickaxe, I am now able to do in a day with my jackhammer. And what would take my father months to do with a shovel, I can do in hours with modern hydraulic diggers.

And while the productivity of my generation of miners has skyrocketed, the dangers we face are still the same. Cave-ins, noxious fumes, and even people being struck by vehicles still form part of the risks miners face today.

And just like my father and grandfather before me, the only way to avoid getting in to an accident at work is to keep you wits about you. Stay alert, never hesitate, and move fast when needed.

With this in mind, I hope to live just as long as they did, which is into their nineties and pass on what I have learned to the next generation of miners.