Mine experience!

I truly believe in luck. I believe everything is governed by the laws of luck in this world :-)
I never expected to be where I am at this point of my life. I never expected some of the good things that happened and bad things too. But everything has to be taken with a pinch of salt. I never complain about my bad luck, but I surely enjoy my good luck. Somehow I was lucky to be in TAS and lucky enough to do an International stint with General Chemicals. Till date all my experiences have been fabulous and I expect them to continue for another month after which I leave them for pursuing next assignment in India.
I never expected to see an underground mine in my life. But I was lucky to reach General Chemicals and they were kind enough to arrange a visit for me here in the high arid desert of Wyoming. So once again I was lucky on the good side of it.
I was briefed about the safety requirements inside the mine on a short video before I started to get ready for the one time experience of my life. And believe me when they mean security it better be a good one. I haven't even heard of such structured security measures for everyone in any company till date. Gas masks, lights, auto alarms in case of Methane leakage, Exit direction indicators and 5 shafts to exit in case of emergency when only one is needed for entry.
So here I was after being briefed about the security and ready to don the gear to enter the mine. Safety glasses, Light, Breathing apparatus, Bell, metal top shoes etc.
I was accompanied by a miner called Steve. We made a gate entry at the mine entrance. I asked why then the answer was that if I didn't get back after a maximum of 8 hours they will identify who is missing and stop operations and start rescue. That would send shivers through anyone :-)
We then entered through a mine shaft and went below ground 1600ft or 538m after a 8 minute ride on the elevator. Below the mine it was pitch dark. W/o the light I couldn't see my hand in front of my face :-O . However at the entry there were adequate lighting. From there we had to drive in a Jeep underground to where mining was taking place. Mind you this jeep is assembled completely below the mine as ths shaft is capable of handling only 2000 pounds. So its taken in parts and assembled below. This jeep runs under Interstate Highway 80 which connects east coast to the west coast. We drove 6 miles in pitch dark and reached the mine. Mind you they spray water to control dust in the mine and our two wheel drive jeep skid many a times. But Steve was good at controlling things underground.
I saw a bore miner machine which was doing the mining at a rate of 2000 tons per hour. It is controlled by 6 computers up on the surface. It kind of moves like a snake and has lot of flexibility.The miners sure have a tough job. 8 hours in that darkness would surely make my days sad.
After that I saw the loading area where the ore is collected from 4-5 mining locations where simultaneous mining happens. After the mine is drilled, the surface is pierced with 20mm iron drills to support the ceiling from not falling due to pressure from ground above. This all was a exciting process and very fast too!
After about 2 hours below the ground we decided to come up. After exchanging pleasantries with the miners below, I came up 1600 feet to finish my first experience in a mine. It was truly Mine experience ;-)