Extras · 1 of 4

A typical shift

You arrive an hour before the shift, check the board and take the mantrip in, which can be a 30 minute ride. Ten hours underground with no daylight: running a machine, moving cable, shoveling the belt, watching the roof and the gas readings. You eat lunch sitting on a piece of equipment. Then the ride out, a shower at the bathhouse, and home. Many miners drive an hour each way on top of that.