Coal Mining Industry Analysis

The coal mining industry in the late 1800s, especially in Colorado, was a rapidly growing industry. As fossil fuel technologies expanded, life became increasingly dependent on fossil fuels, and as a result, people became more reliant on coal as an energy source. However, without the introduction of the railroad, coal would have remained just a minor industry (Andrews 2008, 54). These railways made it possible to connect the coal production areas with the markets, and thus possible to bring coal as an energy source to silver miners to drill, cities to brighten their streets, and farmers to run their combines (Andrews 2008, 51). Needless to say, fossil fuels such as coal had a dramatic impact on life as we know it today. However, as coal became …show more content…
One of the unfortunate truths of the mining industry in those days was that colliers often began to learn the trade even before they hit puberty. They were exposed to the harsh elements of the mine before their bodies were fully developed (Andrews 2008, 163). Andrews describes the experience in a mine as, “… our everyday realities and thrust into dark, claustrophobic, utterly alien environment, we would soon have confronted the limitations of sensory organs to decode the radically different surroundings.” (Andrews 2008,126) This quote depicts clearly how dark and enclosed these underground mines were, and how the colliers were forced to rely on their sensory organs rather their vision. It is true that colliers in the late 1800s had become a master of their craft, and when they would have new men join their crew they would have to teach them the techniques they used to mine. The daily practices of miners gives even more insight into the conditions they were forced to work in. In order to know where to place powder charges they had to rely on workspace signs, to test the soundness of the roof overhead they had to rely on the tapping of their pick to hear the sound it made, and also the effects on the flame of their lamps was their only way of sensing dangerous gases nearby (Andrews 2008, 164). The primitive techniques colliers had to use in order to seek out danger was much less than ideal, and is an example of the lack of technology in underground mines to keep the miners themselves safe. Fatality or injury was a very real concern when working in the mines. Methane gas would seep into the mines and occasionally build enough pressure to collapse rock and coal onto the miners. The dust created by picking would linger in the air causing minors to breathe in toxins, causing both chronic and acute health effects.