The Mines
The Hapsburg Mines are really a natural caverns system. Over the years narrow passage ways have been
widened and small openings between different caverns and levels have been
expanded. In many cases flights of steps
have been cut into the rock making it easier
to move between the different levels.
Initially the upper caverns were worked, but over the years miners have gained
access to more and more caverns, now the best ores and gem stones are found in
the deeper levels and galleries.
Miners organise themselves into gangs, and once a seam has been found different
teams from the same gang work the seam around the clock, to protect it from
claim jumping from other groups. There
is no ‘right of ownership’ to a seam - if it is left un attended it is fair game for another gang to
move in and claim possession.
Gangs normally consist of ‘Miners’ who actually dig the ore, ‘Totes’ who carry
the ore back to the surface and ‘Prospectors’, who spend time searching for the
next seam to mine. Some gangs are large
enough that they mine two or three seams at a time, swapping labour around
between the different seams as they expand or contract. Some gangs hire watchmen as well – smaller gangs
may hire a watchmen to guard ‘their’ seam overnight, others may hire someone to
escort their prospector into the deeper parts of the mines.
The mine rules are straightforward; anyone working in the mine needs a mining
licence which costs 1cp per month from the Mines Office, attached to the
smelting house. All ore collected must
be sold to the Laird’s Smelting house via the Mines Office – and while the
miners grumble about this, the protests aren’t too loud because the Laird pays
a fair rate for the ore.
Miners find gem stones, such as malachite, azurite and turquoise amongst the
ores they are mining. These gemstones
are not subject to the same restrictions as normal copper ore and can be
disposed of however the mining gangs decide.
Most are sold locally for 2 or 3gp, to be polished, perhaps mounted in
simple jewellery, and then either exported or sold on locally. The money made from these finds is generally
split between gang members - although that is a matter for the gangs
themselves.
The galleries closer to the surface are considered safe, with only a few bats
or rats to disturb the workers, lower down other cave denizens, such as Giant
Ants and Fire Beetles, might cause problems for the miners.
An average gang might consist of one prospector, eight or nine miners to dig
the ore and three or four totes to carry it back to the surface. Some gangs, however, might be twice that
size.