BBC2 9pm tonight (19/08/12) part of a new series a UK miner travels to Mongolia to learn about the risks that gold miners take every day. Might be worth a look.

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Thanks 🙂 Sounds a lot better than the usual Sunday night fare 🙂

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It was a pretty good watch in the end, the culture shock for someone used to UK mine safety regs to see and take part in unregulated mining done by people who have no other means of making a living was quite something, and it was good to see how he thought up removeable method of shoring up the entrance shaft. On iPlayer here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01m7rnj/Toughest_Place_to_be_a..._Series_3_Miner/ 

It also occurred to me that the small free-for-all mining was probably not dissimilar from what I would have seen out of my front window circa 1580!

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Sobering stuff indeed.
I struck me that the bell pits on Parys Mountain might have looked similar ~ 3500 years ago?

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I would say that one of the toughest places to be a miner right now is that platinum mine in South Africa.
As a sob sob story the program was ok but in the context of modern times I can think of worse, the plight of the Bolivian tin miners for one.

Lozz.

I agree it was quite well done, these sorts of programs have to appeal to a mass market, not just people with an interest in the specific subject matter.

Out of interest does anybody know which UK mine was featured at the beginning?

I did find it quite telling how he got so driven to dig the shaft and find some gold for the family once the realisation that they didn't have the luxury of H&S or recourse to somebody if another miner nicked your shaft. Find the gold or make no money... And dig it he did.

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That would be Fauld gypsum mine I believe Simon. Not sure if it was mentioned which Mines Rescue center was featured. They kept talking about coal because the chap had been coal mining in the past but I think even the non coal pits up that way (Boulby, Winsford, etc) are run to NCB regs regarding ground support, gas protocol etc.

I remember watching a program about the amazon that featured the illegal gold mining, people just tunneling in to hills with little regards to there own lives.
The mass polution caused etc, it was actually quite a fascinating watch.
Will try and watch last nights program on iplayer.

Interesting to note that one of the Yurts had a big photovoltaic cell outside on a pole and a satellite dish on another pole. He must have been doing OK for himself.

I would say that one of the toughest places to be a miner right now is that platinum mine in South Africa.
As a sob sob story the program was ok but in the context of modern times I can think of worse, the plight of the Bolivian tin miners for one.

Lozz.

Your not wrong there.

[youtube]PRxCqPluDgI[/youtube]

[youtube]b8aWo26tbHQ&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

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Thanks for that carnkie, that was what I was meaning, in the later half of the 20th century I think the average life expectancy in the Bolivian mines was something like 38 years, utterly terrible, I think back then the mines were mainly US run or owned.
Although I sympathize fully with the Mongolian family in last nights BBC episode I found the whole program somewhat contrived, picking a health and saftey man to be in the film didn't seem to ring with me somehow, it's a pity it wasn't made when the Bolivian miners were going full bore at deep hardrock mining, or even 'Crofty in the seventies or someone working an 18" coal seam on their bellies, he would have had kittens.

Lozz.

TBH the whole thing was contrived, I mean taking a 21st mine rescue operative and bunging him in a developing post soviet economy was always going to be "good telly" for the average punter.

Personally I think the fellah was totally naive, thinking he was going into a modern mine in a backward country, If it were me I'd have done my background reading.

Having seen 3rd world gold mining operations in Peru, the setup they had was just as dogy, granted they did have P.V. cells, satalite tv and modern comms just goes to show that these emerging post soviet countries are going to be at odds with the traditional way of life.

These days its do what you can to survive, weather its here in the Uk or Mongolia.

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Personally I think the fellah was totally naive, thinking he was going into a modern mine in a backward country, If it were me I'd have done my background reading.

I dunno, there was a modern(ish) opencast down the road maybe thats what they told him he was going to see...
as you say, made to be 'good telly' for sure, holding UK mining standards, some of the highest anywhere up against artisanal mining.

the miners would do better to pool their resources and get some basic earthmoving stuff and a licence, the gold looked that shallow. aint gonna happen while they're nicking the gold out of each others holes though :thumbdown:

That would be Fauld gypsum mine I believe Simon. Not sure if it was mentioned which Mines Rescue center was featured.

Thanks for the info - I was watching it fielding comments like "that's very clean for a coal mine" 😉

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The mine featured at the start was Barrow Gypsum mine in Leicestershire, Faulds a Drill and Blast Mine, The Rescue Centre is on the site of the old Rawdon Coal Mine

The mine featured at the start was Barrow Gypsum mine in Leicestershire, Faulds a Drill and Blast Mine, The Rescue Centre is on the site of the old Rawdon Coal Mine

ah well I was close..not bad considering I dont often venture north of Somerset!

I enjoyed it, despite the contrivance, because if nothing else, it showed how the simplest and earliest mining has begun just about everywhere on earth - dig a hole, get in it, and then start digging some more. Support where necessary. Sell what you get out as quickly as possible, and don't let anyone else get in! Very similar to Britain not that long ago.

I did think he was being a bit blubby about the Health & Safety aspects, as it's pretty obvious that H&S observation in any project is directly proportional to the amount of investment and expected outcomes. And the less regulation, the less H&S applied. If you can dig a hole for free and then sell the gold you find in it, then naturally, you can also be buried alive in the same hole.

Free enterprise in the purest sense...;)

That would be Fauld gypsum mine I believe Simon. Not sure if it was mentioned which Mines Rescue center was featured. They kept talking about coal because the chap had been coal mining in the past but I think even the non coal pits up that way (Boulby, Winsford, etc) are run to NCB regs regarding ground support, gas protocol etc.

Ex Daw Mill.

This is the ad they posted on the Cornish Miners Association page a few months ago: -

"Hi There
Is there any one out there you might know that is interested taking part in this programme?

Kind regards
Mark

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From: Charlotte Linzell [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 08 May 2012 14:02
To: Kaczmarek Mark CC
Subject: BBC Toughest Place to be a miner

Dear Mark,

Following on from a conversation you had with my colleague Simon Davies, I am emailing with details about “Toughest Place to Be… ”, a current affairs series we are making for BBC2 primetime. In these popular programmes we take British workers to do their job in other countries around the world. For example, in past series we took a bus driver to Manila, a paramedic to Guatemala and a train driver to Peru.

We are currently making an episode where we take a UK miner to one of the most challenging mining environments in the world. They will spend roughly ten days living and working with their foreign counterpart and will also explore some of the key current affairs stories in their host country.

Toughest Place To Be … has been a great showcase for British companies and institutions. Across two series we have worked with Virgin Trains, Serco, the Royal College of Midwives, the Welsh Ambulance Service and Transdev buses. Our series regularly gets over 2.5 million viewers per show in Britain and is then shown in numerous other countries by BBC World.

We’d be very keen to work with you and for you to help us find the right miner to take part in this 60 minute documentary. If you need any more information please don’t hesitate to call me on 020 8008 5795. I have attached a flyer with this email which you can distribute to suitable staff members/ students/ former colleagues.

We are looking to film this episode later this month [May] so we would like to speak to, and even meet, interested people as soon as possible.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01bmtfq/episodes/guide#b01bmtfx 

Plus a links to the episodes available to watch on You Tube:

Toughest Place to be a Binman -

Toughest Place to be a Bus Driver -



Thanks for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.



Best wishes,

Charlotte









Charlotte Linzell

Assistant Producer

Toughest Place to Be

BBC Current Affairs

Room MC4 C1 Media Centre

201 Wood Lane

London

W12 7TQ

Tel: +44 (0) 208 008 5795

[email protected]

the miners would do better to pool their resources and get some basic earthmoving stuff and a licence, the gold looked that shallow. aint gonna happen while they're nicking the gold out of each others holes though :thumbdown:

I did see a backhoe parked outside the hosts compound, so presumably they do have access to that sort of kit.

Like I said before "made for the average man in the street".

I bet you a pound to a zloti that there's more to this than was shown on the box!

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7274977.html 

http://www.mine.mn/WPJ4_3_Gold_Rush_placer.htm 

http://www.mine.mn/WPJ4_4_Gold_Rush_hard_rock.htm 

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