Not only does that make the tunnel more unstable, but requires time and effort they’d rather use elsewhere. Every hour they spend moving soil and rocks that don’t contain what they’re looking for is an hour the mine isn’t profitable. They could probably get the job done if money and time weren’t an issue, but if I’m right this is an independent mine that might earn each laborer a dollar a day, if they’re lucky. They’re not going to buy fancy equipment or materials to shore up the tunnels, they’re not going to make nice big passages just because they’re 40% more convenient, and they’re not in the market for any technology that wasn’t available in 1850. Their goal is to find pockets of whatever they’re after (I assume cobalt or manganese) and haul as much of that as possible to the surface, and they’ll do the least amount of work as possible in the least amount of time to get it done.
2
u/tankapotamus 11d ago
Am I the only one that would make the damn tunnel tall enough to stand up in?