Common questions

What is a mine trapper?

What is a mine trapper?

The trapper was often the youngest member of the family working underground. Their job was simple: to open and close the wooden doors (trap doors) that allowed fresh air to flow through the mine. They would usually sit in total darkness for up to twelve hours at a time, waiting to let the coal tub through the door.

What did trappers do down mines?

Trappers were children who operated the air doors providing ventilation for the miners. By keeping the fresh air flowing they prevented the build up of dangerous gases. The children would sit in the draft of the doors, cold, damp and very frightened, with little or no light for 12 hours a day.

What was a Hurrier?

A hurrier, also sometimes called a coal drawer or coal thruster, was a child or woman employed by a collier to transport the coal that they had mined. They would often work 12-hour shifts, making several runs down to the coal face and back to the surface again.

What does a breaker boy do?

Breaker boys worked in the coal mines. Their main job was to separate chunks of coal by hand. As coal came down the conveyor belt, they would break up the coal into common sized pieces and also separate out any things like rocks, clay and soil.

How much did coal miners get paid?

Underground Coal Miner Salary

Annual Salary Weekly Pay
Top Earners $62,000 $1,192
75th Percentile $55,000 $1,057
Average $49,893 $959
25th Percentile $37,000 $711

How much did coal miners get paid in the 1800s?

His wages are a trifle over $10 a week for six full days. Before the strike of 1900 he was paid in this region $1.70 per day, or $10.20 a week.

How many hours did child miners work?

In the coal mines the average age of beginning work was 9. Children as young as 5 or 6 would work more than 12 hours a day for 6 days a week and the work was often very dangerous.

What is the most serious issue facing the mining industry?

Rising energy costs is one of the biggest financial threats to mining operations today. In 2017 in Australia, electricity accounted for 6 percent of the total cost of mining.

What happened breaker boys?

The practice of employing children in coal breakers largely ended by 1920 because of the efforts of the National Child Labor Committee, sociologist and photographer Lewis Hine, and the National Consumers League, all of whom educated the public about the practice and succeeded in obtaining passage of national child …

What is a breaker in a coal mine?

A coal breaker is a coal processing plant which breaks coal into various useful sizes. Coal breakers were always used (with or without a tipple) at anthracite mines.

Are coal miners well paid?

Average pay for a miner under a United Mine Workers of America contract comes out to at least $61,650 a year, and closer to $85,000 a year with overtime, said Phil Smith, a spokesman for the union. Instead, many coal miners now compete for temporary jobs, which pay by the hour and offer few benefits.

Do coal miners get paid well?

Do coal miners get paid well? The average starting salary for a coal mine worker is $60,000. “You can come right out of high school and make $70,000 a year,” said Missy Perdue, 22, a stay-at-home mother whose husband, Jeff Perdue, Jr., 22, is a miner.

Who are the owners of the Trapper mine?

The mine is partially owned by Tri-State G. Daily production is around 9,800 tons and the mining area is 12 square miles. Trapper employs 180 miners. Highlights Coal Operations Coal Marketing

How many tons of coal does the Trapper mine produce?

The Trapper Mine is a surface coal mine that produces nearly two million tons of coal per year. The development of the mine began in 1977. The mine is partially owned by Tri-State G. Daily production is around 9,800 tons and the mining area is 12 square miles. Trapper employs 180 miners. Highlights Coal Operations Coal Marketing Coal Trading

Is the Trapper mine too deep for surface mining?

Within the Project Area, the “R” seam is too deep for surface mining. Draglines were the primary earthmoving equipment used until October 8, 2006, when a 250-acre landslide occurred within the Project Area.

What kind of bedrock is in the Trapper mine?

The surface bedrock in the Trapper Mine Project Area is mainly the Upper Cretaceous Williams Fork Formation, which is part of the Mesaverde Group, a regional unit that contains a large coal resource in northwest Colorado (Brownfield and Johnson 2008).