Another normal day of mining in Africa

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JubileeTrade · 2023-03-25T21:36:55+00:00

My uncle was a Welsh coal miner. He told me a story once where he'd been arguing with a guy all week. The guy got stuck in a cave in and my uncle made a super big effort to dig him out, he kept going after some others gave up. He didn't want people thinking he'd let a guy die over an argument.

timmy3am · 2023-03-25T20:13:59+00:00

RIP their lungs.

acqz · 2023-03-25T20:24:13+00:00

For most of us, we would call it quits after an experience like that. The unfortunate reality for them is that they have to go right back to work the next day.

ddav381 · 2023-03-25T21:32:59+00:00

Many of these caves are dug for cobalt and copper, pulled out in clumps called heterogenite. This video likely shows “artisanal miners”, aka miners not technically employed by a major mining corp, who use rebar and shovels to dig with virtually no safety equipment. These caves can be 60 meters deep, dug out by hand, and frequently collapse. These miners make anywhere from $.80 to $5 a day depending on the ore concentration and are commonly teenage boys.

Once mined, the cobalt (or other minerals) is mixed at “depots” with the same cobalt mined by professional mining corps, and usually shipped to china to be manufactured into rechargeable batteries for iPhones and EVs, among other things.

If anyone wants to learn more about what is going on here, read Cobalt Red. The author is a journalist who goes to the Congo and investigates Cobalt mining. It’s an astounding tale of human rights atrocities.

Edit: heterogenite, not homogenate

SaltPomegranate4 · 2023-03-25T20:11:27+00:00

Holy fuck

Staybackifarted · 2023-03-25T20:59:05+00:00

I'm glad he's save- oh, there is another one. I'm glad he's save- oh, there is another one. I'm glad he's save- oh, there is another one. I'm glad he's save- oh, there is another one....

Master-Instruction29 · 2023-03-25T20:09:56+00:00

The guy risking his face to keep the tunnel open is a badman!

carlitobrigantehf · 2023-03-25T22:16:55+00:00

That's not interesting as fuck. That's fucked up as fuck.

TheRealWatermelon420 · 2023-03-25T22:19:33+00:00

As a miner, this is actually insane. Like no PPE what's so ever, they are bare foot. they realistically have no idea who's down there and who's left. We have a tag board system where we have to tag in before you go underground and tag out so they know who's down there for emergencies. The ground they decided to do this drift is insane.

I might be 10 000 feet underground, but it looks a lot safer than this.

Echo71Niner · 2023-03-25T22:39:56+00:00

The guy risking his life facing boulders is to be reckoned with, what a fucking legend, never stopped helping.

backwardbuttplug · 2023-03-25T21:12:46+00:00

Great to hear them cheering for their coworkers getting out of there. But I really feel for these people being exploited under such dangerous conditions.

NoImportance8904 · 2023-03-25T20:08:31+00:00

I used to be homeless, begging on the street to survive.

I bet you doing that I made many times what they made mining.

No_Handle4085 · 2023-03-26T00:01:05+00:00

Dam, this thread is awful. That’s some one’s father or child trying to survive. Some of the comments here

autumn-knight · 2023-03-25T20:09:53+00:00

This made me feel claustrophobic as fuck. I hope they got everyone out. I’m probably part of the problem watching this on a mobile that has stuff in it these poor fellas are mining :(

Johnny_Lang_1962 · 2023-03-25T20:06:34+00:00

What the Hell are they mining, Thresher Maw Eggs!

DixonLyrax · 2023-03-26T03:58:04+00:00

I ended up at a Tanzanite mine in northern Tanzania some time back. Long story, I was there to retreive a 12 year old boy who had gone missing. The conditions were very much like that. I've never seen human beings more degraded. They were like the living dead, all struggling to get food. No shelter. There were plastic sheets to sleep under. It was a horrific experience. The boy was found and returned to his family. If anyone thinks that Tanzanite is pretty and you want to buy some... don't. It's a symbol of pure human pain and blood.

ThommyPanic · 2023-03-25T20:10:43+00:00

I should never complain about anything ever again.

twohedwlf · 2023-03-25T20:16:53+00:00

Wow that was quite a rich vein of africans they hit there.

moveoutmicdrop · 2023-03-26T00:17:46+00:00

Next time someone complains we’re over regulated

AdministrativeGood24 · 2023-03-25T19:55:26+00:00

Modern day slavery the rich countries refuse to believe exists

AmatuerCultist · 2023-03-25T20:43:07+00:00

We’ve got lab grown diamonds now but it’s the human suffering that makes the authentic ones special.

Chapungu · 2023-03-25T22:23:41+00:00

Africa is a continent of 54 countries

Starion81 · 2023-03-25T22:12:15+00:00

That is so so super sad

lannead · 2023-03-26T04:43:06+00:00

My sister-in-law married a Tanzanian who had worked in a mine. He worked in a vertical shaft that he spanned with his legs only as he passed up buckets of dirt. If anyone above him slipped everyone underneath him would go down with him. They received no money unless their group struck a vein and even then they only got the scraps. He worked there for months and it was only after he left that his group got anything. Much later he worked as a trader traveling to Africa and selling Tanzanite to the West, but stopped after he got poisoned and robbed of his merchandise and nearly died after he was lucky enough to get taken to hospital.

GlumSunshine · 2023-03-25T22:38:52+00:00

This is horrible:(

gala_apple_1 · 2023-03-25T21:27:53+00:00

Horrible, that guy who was digging them out is a hero!

jayadancer · 2023-03-25T22:13:13+00:00

This is a great article on zama-zamas and the industry if anyone is interested.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/27/the-dystopian-underworld-of-south-africas-illegal-gold-mines

ShakeTheEyesHands · 2023-03-26T13:17:03+00:00

Brave, strong men being taken advantage of by rich, careless, evil corporations.

A tale as old as time.

faustoheikkinen · 2023-03-26T21:44:11+00:00

What the fuck man this just doesn't look so good and I am really feeling very sad to see that some people have to suffer like that for some money there, so sad.

styme73 · 2023-03-27T00:47:25+00:00

I must say that this is not what we want in this world, hope this will stop man, that's just not a good thing that is happening to so many people these days.

Head-Tea4030 · 2023-03-25T20:51:46+00:00

Disappointed at how misinformed OP is. I'm from South Africa. These are illegal miners. Commonly called "Zama Zamas" here. Check how they are constantly looking up and as much as the video is fast tracked. They are moving fast because they'll get caught or maybe they are already caught. Hence the sand is also falling on the little tunnel they dug. Miners have better conditions then this video depicts.

IamShrapnel · 2023-03-26T00:14:17+00:00

And that's where our electronics comes from.

Dahsir777 · 2023-03-26T16:34:18+00:00

This is really depressing man, but yeah I am cool that they are doing it illegally and it's their choice that they are doing such things, can't complain much with it.


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