What Makes A Man Become A Miner

THE BIG BANG

Well, here I am back at the Belmont Mine. I'm a little older now, 15 years old. Dad said, “We're going to extend the tunnel. I want you to drill out the rounds, and set all the charges.” I started to drill out the 16 holes in the proper places. When I finished drilling dad said, “Let's go get some dynamite”. We went outside to the dynamite house, got some dynamite and went back inside. “You've seen me do this many times,” dad said, “now it's your turn.” I was scared and shaking like a leaf as I filled all the holes with dynamite. I was using a wooden stick to carefully push them in. We used cap and fuse to set off the dynamite. The fuses were usually about 3 ft long. The last stick of dynamite had the cap inserted in it. Then the fuses were lit in order, and then we walked carefully and quickly out of the Mine When we got outside dad said, “Count your explosions. You can miss up to seven but if you miss more than seven you're not coming back to the mine.” I was secretly hoping I would miss more than seven, and then I wouldn't have to come back to the mine. Well would you believe it, all 16 went off. Dad put out his hand and said, “You've become a miner today, congratulations!” Now I know how to set off dynamite!

IN THE ROAD

Back in 1992, I wss working for the Sierra County Department of Public Works.I was flagging one day on the Allegheny Ridge Road. Something bright and shiny caught my eye in the ditch. I went over to investigate sure enough it was a 2 oz chunk of gold. I searched for more that day but never did find any more gold.

THE BASKETBALL

The largest chunk of gold I ever found was in The Ruby Mine. In 1996 I was working in The Ruby Mine, Sierra County, known for its large quantities of both placer and hard rock gold. Placer mining is collecting gold nuggets from ancient river gravels. And hard rock mining is where you blast it out of the quartz and grind it up.

At that time Brush Creek Mining and Development Company owned The Ruby Mine. They were out of Grass Valley. After blasting a quartz vein I found a basketball size chunk of quartz that was half gold. It was beautiful and would make good cut rock slabs. The company rewarded me with a pay raise that day.

MINE SAFETY

I became an instructor for MSHA. MSHA stands for Mine Safety and Health Administration, which is under the US Department of Labor. I teach surface and underground safety to miners. I love ever y t h ing about mining. Mining is so important to society; if it wasn't for a miner we couldn't live. It takes minerals to live. I will give you some examples. There's the fertilizers for the food we eat, the medicines we take, the lights in our home, the cars we drive, the computers we use, the cell phones we use, and the iPads we use. These are just a few things minerals have given us. Give thanks to the miners who bring all this to you.

Minerals make up the entire Universe. We ourselves are made up of minerals. The word mineral comes from Latin Mineralis, meaning something mined. So take your vitamins and minerals, and enjoy you TV, computer, and cell phone. Just remember the miner who dug it all up for you.