
A miner is a person who extracts
ore,
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
,
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
,
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
, or other
mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...
s from the earth through
mining
Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock
face; cutting, blasting, or otherwise working and removing the rock.
In a broader sense, a "miner" is anyone working within a mine, not just a worker at the rock face.
Renowned as one of the most dangerous jobs in the world - and for good reason.
Cave-ins,
explosions,
toxic air, and extreme temperatures are some of the most perilous
hazards observed to take place in underground mining, as well as the
overall long-term health effects of underground mining conditions. In some countries, miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance.
In regions with a long mining tradition, many communities have developed cultural traditions and aspects specific to the various regions, in the forms of particular equipment, symbolism, music, and the like.
Roles
Different functions of the individual miner. Many of the roles are specific to a type of mining, such as coal mining.
Roles considered to be "miners" in the narrower sense have included:
*
Hewer (also known as "cake" or "pickman"), whose job was to hew the rock.
**Collier, a hewer who hews coal with a
pick.
*Driller, who works a rock drill to bore holes for placing dynamite or other explosives.
Other roles within mines that did not involve breaking rock (and thus fit the broader definition) have included:
*Loader (also called a "bandsman"), who loads the mining carts with coal at the arm.
*Putter (also known as a "drags-man"), who works the carts around the mine.
*Barrow-man, who transported the broken coal from the face in wheelbarrows.
*
Hurrier, who transported coal carts from a mine to the surface.
*Timbers, who fashions and installs timber supports to support the walls and ceiling in an underground mine.
In addition to miners working in the seam, a
mine employs other workers in duties in the sea. In addition to the office staff of various sorts, these may include:
*Brakesman, who operate the
winding engine.
*
Breaker boy who removes impurities from coal.
*Emergency Structure Engineer, who makes sure that cave-ins are dealt with when called
Modern miners
Mining engineers use the principles of math and science to develop philosophical solutions to technical problems for miners.
In most cases, a bachelor's degree in engineering, mining engineering or geological engineering is required. Because technology is constantly changing, miners and mining engineers need to continue their education.
The basics of mining engineering includes finding, extracting, and preparing minerals, metals and coal. These mined products are used for
electric power
Electric power is the rate of transfer of electrical energy within a electric circuit, circuit. Its SI unit is the watt, the general unit of power (physics), power, defined as one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with oth ...
generation and manufacturing industries. Mining engineers also supervise the construction of underground mine operations and create ways to transport the extracted minerals to processing plants.
Gallery
File:Keilhaue Bergmann Hammer VEB - BKW - GLÜCKAUF -Träger des Vaterländischen VO in Gold - Betrieb im VE BKK Senftenberg - Lupus in Saxonia Bild 00017.jpg, Ceremony hammer of a miner VEB Kombinat Senftenberg ( GDR) - with honorary uniform
File:Limestone mine 1950 (JOKAMT2Teo60-3).tif, A group of miners at the limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
mine in Sipoo
Sipoo (; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
. The administrative center of the municipality i ...
, Finland, 1950
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-16800-0004, Bergmann mit Spitzhacke.jpg, A brown coal miner with a pickaxe
A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for Leverage (mechanics), prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly ...
. West Germany, 1952
File:Miner in a gallery Potosi (pixinn.net).jpg, Miner in a mine of the "Cerro Rico" at Potosí
Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...
, Bolivia, 2006
File:Coal miner spraying rock dust.jpg, Miner spraying rockdust in a mine in West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
, 2009
File:Mursko Središće, Trg bana J. Jelačića - spomenik rudaru.jpg, Coal Miner's Memorial in Mursko Središće, Croatia
File:Sunshine Mine Disaster.jpg, Sunshine Miners Memorial in Silver Valley, Idaho
File:Mine crew from London Mine standing in a group for a photograph in 1896 - DPLA - f62e038b1cc944e2a09ebad5474adeec (cropped).jpg, London Mine members posing for a group photograph in Park County, Colorado
Park County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,390. The county seat and largest incorporated town is Fairplay, Colorado, Fairplay, while the unincorporated ...
in 1896
See also
*
Amateur geology
*
Mineral collecting
*
Miner's apron
*
Miner's cap
The miner's cap () is part of the traditional Berghabit, miner's costume. It consists of a white material (linen) and served in the Middle Ages to protect the miner when descending below ground (''unter Tage''). Later it was replaced by the miner's ...
*
Miner's habit
*
Mining helmet
*
Prospecting
Prospecting is the first stage of the geological analysis (followed by Mining engineering#Pre-mining, exploration) of a territory. It is the search for minerals, fossils, precious metals, or mineral specimens. It is also known as fossicking.
...
*
Salt mining
Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite Formation (geology), formations.
History
Before the advent of the moder ...
*
Underground mining (hard rock)
Distinguish from
*
Minor (disambiguation)
References
{{Authority control
+
Resource extraction occupations