Hard Hat Mine

 We went down this mine yesterday. Yes, we needed to wear hard hats but it was actually named after a horse!

Mt isa Mines or MIM as is seen around the town a lot used to offer trips down the mine for tourists until some one broke their leg and OH & S gor involved and so it was closed to visitors.

A few years ago the Mayor thought that it would be good to have a mock up mine so that people could see what it is like to work down a mine and so they prepared a mock up. It cost several million and some time to prep.

We had to sign a waiver of liability, that's always a worry. Light clothes to be worn as overalls had to be worn over the top, rubber boots and a hard hat with a torch on it. Unfortunately no cameras were allowed.

We were fitted out for our Uniforms and boots, there was a mixture of throwaways or proper overalls, all orange and steel capped rubber boots, they were heavy.

Our guide Earl talked the long time, he was incredible telling personal stories about men who had been involved in the mine. All guides had either worked or still worked underground in the mines.

We went down in a cage and it was explained that although we were only going down 20 metres, the real mine cgae took them down 1680 metres or a mile and then for some there were tunnels to walk down to their particular work station.

The visitors mine had 1.6 kms of tunnels and several off shots will different things to learn about, every one could have a turn of the drill and we saw several huge pieces of machinery and one, Earl started up and drove up the tunnel near us, we had been given ear plugs and had been placed behind a barrier but it was still very loud and there was not much room on either side of the machine.

At the end we had Cornish pasties and corn beef sandwiches in the crib room and then were taken back to the surface by a light truck. It was a mild day probably about 20 degrees but pretty warm down there, miners make a lot of money but they do work for it. The mine used to employ 5000 men now its down to 3000 and on twelve hour shifts.