Hope Realized

I work for a mining and engineering consulting firm. Most of my co-workers are mining engineers and geologists. I am not (proof that God has a sense of humor). The company I work for is a consulting firm. We are hired by mines, mining companies and banks from all around the world to produce reports on mines (mine plans, due diligence, feasibility studies, cost analyses, reclaimation plans, etc.). Some of my co-workers have worked at or in mines. I have never set foot in a mine.

Just a few hours ago all 33 miners who had been trapped in a Chilean mine for 70 days were rescued (http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/13/chile-second-half-rescues/?hpt=T1&iref=BN1). It's a great thing but it makes me think that the general public doesn't realize how much of an impact the mining industry has on our daily lives and the risks that miners take to do their jobs. I know mining can have a negative impact on the environment (and our company does usually address environmental issues and plans) but I think we take for granted what our life would be like without coal, without iron, without silver, without copper or nickle or talc.

The men who go down into the mines like the one in Chile do so knowing they are risking their lives. Their work environment is dangerous, something most people will never have to experience sitting in their offices and cubicles. And there are a lot of mines out there that are not safe. It costs money to make mines safe so the companies running the mines pay for the bare minimum and take the risks. Earlier this year a mine collapsed in West Virginia and those miners weren't as lucky as the ones in Chile. Of course, after a tragedy like this occurs it's reported that the mine had a bad safety record. The penaties mining companies pay for bad safety are less expensive that paying for the improvements. Thousands of miners die in mining accidents each year. By far the worst mining safety record belongs to China. Even today, hundreds (if not thousands—the secretive Chinese government does not reveal figures) die every year in Chinese mining accidents.

But now is a joyful time because the miners in Chile were rescued and reunited with their loved ones. But take a moment today to think of all the things you use on a daily basis that came from mining and about the men who's job it is to get it for us.