I enjoyed reading the blend between science and history in this essay. I recently read a brief history of the largest gold mine in Alaska, Treadwell Gold, also a company town but perhaps not quite as exploitative. The mining was hard work too, but they had larger tunnels because they brought up all the rock to be stamped above ground, because of how the gold was embedded in the quartz. I thought the picture of the thick coal seam was fascinating, and interesting how it produces a different type of mining technique.
Yes, the ore vein dictates the mine structure. We once visited a tin mine in Cornwall, England, and it too tracked the ore veins through many miles of shafts and tunnels. Digging and blasting useless rock just to make a larger tunnel costs a lot of money. Mining generally seems to be tough work. In the gold mines on the Witwatersrand in South Africa, many of the mines are several kilometers deep and so hot that the miners can only work a few hours each, even with ventilation. Maybe panning for gold in a cold mountain stream is nice, but then again, it probably doesn't generate much income.
The placer gold that individuals could pan for was a challenge for sure. I was surprised to learn that the bigger prize in Alaska was actually the underground seams embedded in the quartz, which only a high capital investment was able to extract because of the equipment needed to purify it. The biggest mine at the time was in Treadwell, and I think there was another one in Juneau. Eventually, the Treadwell mine was so hollowed out at the higher levels that it was on the verge of collapse, but an exceptionally high tide ended up flooding the tunnels and rendering most of it too expensive to pursue further. Fascinating how these sorts of things can go boom and bust so quickly.
There's so much to think about in this essay. My emotions varied from amazement to dismay but ended with an appreciation for your ability to capture the complexity of it all.
I enjoyed reading the blend between science and history in this essay. I recently read a brief history of the largest gold mine in Alaska, Treadwell Gold, also a company town but perhaps not quite as exploitative. The mining was hard work too, but they had larger tunnels because they brought up all the rock to be stamped above ground, because of how the gold was embedded in the quartz. I thought the picture of the thick coal seam was fascinating, and interesting how it produces a different type of mining technique.
Yes, the ore vein dictates the mine structure. We once visited a tin mine in Cornwall, England, and it too tracked the ore veins through many miles of shafts and tunnels. Digging and blasting useless rock just to make a larger tunnel costs a lot of money. Mining generally seems to be tough work. In the gold mines on the Witwatersrand in South Africa, many of the mines are several kilometers deep and so hot that the miners can only work a few hours each, even with ventilation. Maybe panning for gold in a cold mountain stream is nice, but then again, it probably doesn't generate much income.
The placer gold that individuals could pan for was a challenge for sure. I was surprised to learn that the bigger prize in Alaska was actually the underground seams embedded in the quartz, which only a high capital investment was able to extract because of the equipment needed to purify it. The biggest mine at the time was in Treadwell, and I think there was another one in Juneau. Eventually, the Treadwell mine was so hollowed out at the higher levels that it was on the verge of collapse, but an exceptionally high tide ended up flooding the tunnels and rendering most of it too expensive to pursue further. Fascinating how these sorts of things can go boom and bust so quickly.
...and tens of millions of new stories are being written today in Ukraine
There's so much to think about in this essay. My emotions varied from amazement to dismay but ended with an appreciation for your ability to capture the complexity of it all.
Walter I really enjoyed reading this piece on Coal. It’s disheartening to me to read about all the hardship your father had to endure.
Thanks. My father's story is only one of millions. WW2 produced misery on an unimaginable scale.