A Miner Question [Archive] - Wizards Community

A Miner Question [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
nicholcm
03-20-06, 02:09 PM Hi All

I have a question. I am currently designing a mine for my campaign, however, it appears too small for the number of miners. There are approximately 150 miners working in it. How large do you think the mine should be? The mine has been used for about 50 years so far.

Thanks

Ian
TheChilliGod
03-20-06, 02:27 PM 150 miners... Unless they're working under slave conditions (meaning tightly packed), then the mine would be rather large.

Lets assume a miner needs a 100 square ft. (10/10 ft, allowing for coal-cart tracks) to work in. Since not every miner is working at the same time, we'll say 90 miners are in the mine at any one time, which means that the mine would have to be 9000 square ft. overall; you could spread that over different floors and long tunnels. For example, one single tunnel 20 ft. wide would have to cover 450 ft.

After that, you can then extend tunnels further, marking the areas that have already been mined out 50 years ago. I'd say triple the original area and mark the resulting area for that purpose. So therefore, you have a total of 36000 square feet; in a tunnel 20 ft. wide, it'll be 1800 ft long, just over a third of a mile.

That's looking at it from a logical perspective, at least.
Chobemaster
03-20-06, 03:10 PM 3 8 hour shifts would probably only put 50 miners in at a time.

that said, I think Chili God's estimates of the old areas is probably very low. Even if each miner only "advances" 1' per day and works 300 days a year, then you'd still have 426 miles of tunnel. 1' per day is on a 10' x 10' cross section of tunnel, so maybe that's even 4 times too much... but you're still at 106 miles. keep in mind that large galleries (to exploit vertical faces of material) will use up alot of this "capacity" though.
Some_call_me_Tim
03-20-06, 05:38 PM Lets assume a miner needs a 100 square ft. (10/10 ft, allowing for coal-cart tracks) to work in. Since not every miner is working at the same time, we'll say 90 miners are in the mine at any one time, which means that the mine would have to be 9000 square ft. overall; you could spread that over different floors and long tunnels. For example, one single tunnel 20 ft. wide would have to cover 450 ft.

After that, you can then extend tunnels further, marking the areas that have already been mined out 50 years ago. I'd say triple the original area and mark the resulting area for that purpose. So therefore, you have a total of 36000 square feet; in a tunnel 20 ft. wide, it'll be 1800 ft long, just over a third of a mile.I would say these numbers are at least an order of magnitude off when you look at 50 years of mining. Here in Arizona old mine towns are honey-combed with hundreds of miles of old mine tunnels. Even with the pace being a mere 1 foot per day (365*50) you get 18250 feet of tunnel. If you figure on 2 feet per shift running full time you get over twenty miles of tunnel.

Now, here where you got to make the choice between realism and practicality. It would be really boring having to map and describe twenty miles of tunnels. Personally I would tell the explorer's they come across a lot of passages filled with rubble (either intentionally or by cave-in) as one the ore is gone there is little reason to maintain it. So, your answer is basically how big do you want it?
PenderGrass
03-20-06, 08:11 PM If you can find a 1st edition DMG there is a whole section on mining rates based on racial types, solidity of area being mined (hard, loose rubble, etc.) and work conditions (some races, essentially, require a slave-type environment).

If you want, PM me and I will get you the stats.

Sometimes, its good to be a veteran.

:dragon:
****
Cantankerous
03-21-06, 02:11 AM Most silver mines in the west were worked by between 20 and 30 miners and some were even miles in total length, depth, because of natural cave formations being tunneled into.

A mine worked by even 50 persons for a few years will be HUGE, unless it is very easy to access whatever the miners are after. A coal mine can be a single short shaft even after some years, while a mine for amber might be thirty times the length to get even a small proportion weight wise of the element being mined for.

Isshia

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
nicholcm 03-20-06, 02:09 PM	Hi All I have a question. I am currently designing a mine for my campaign, however, it appears too small for the number of miners. There are approximately 150 miners working in it. How large do you think the mine should be? The mine has been used for about 50 years so far. Thanks Ian
TheChilliGod 03-20-06, 02:27 PM	150 miners... Unless they're working under slave conditions (meaning tightly packed), then the mine would be rather large. Lets assume a miner needs a 100 square ft. (10/10 ft, allowing for coal-cart tracks) to work in. Since not every miner is working at the same time, we'll say 90 miners are in the mine at any one time, which means that the mine would have to be 9000 square ft. overall; you could spread that over different floors and long tunnels. For example, one single tunnel 20 ft. wide would have to cover 450 ft. After that, you can then extend tunnels further, marking the areas that have already been mined out 50 years ago. I'd say triple the original area and mark the resulting area for that purpose. So therefore, you have a total of 36000 square feet; in a tunnel 20 ft. wide, it'll be 1800 ft long, just over a third of a mile. That's looking at it from a logical perspective, at least.
Chobemaster 03-20-06, 03:10 PM	3 8 hour shifts would probably only put 50 miners in at a time. that said, I think Chili God's estimates of the old areas is probably very low. Even if each miner only "advances" 1' per day and works 300 days a year, then you'd still have 426 miles of tunnel. 1' per day is on a 10' x 10' cross section of tunnel, so maybe that's even 4 times too much... but you're still at 106 miles. keep in mind that large galleries (to exploit vertical faces of material) will use up alot of this "capacity" though.
Some_call_me_Tim 03-20-06, 05:38 PM	Lets assume a miner needs a 100 square ft. (10/10 ft, allowing for coal-cart tracks) to work in. Since not every miner is working at the same time, we'll say 90 miners are in the mine at any one time, which means that the mine would have to be 9000 square ft. overall; you could spread that over different floors and long tunnels. For example, one single tunnel 20 ft. wide would have to cover 450 ft. After that, you can then extend tunnels further, marking the areas that have already been mined out 50 years ago. I'd say triple the original area and mark the resulting area for that purpose. So therefore, you have a total of 36000 square feet; in a tunnel 20 ft. wide, it'll be 1800 ft long, just over a third of a mile.I would say these numbers are at least an order of magnitude off when you look at 50 years of mining. Here in Arizona old mine towns are honey-combed with hundreds of miles of old mine tunnels. Even with the pace being a mere 1 foot per day (365*50) you get 18250 feet of tunnel. If you figure on 2 feet per shift running full time you get over twenty miles of tunnel. Now, here where you got to make the choice between realism and practicality. It would be really boring having to map and describe twenty miles of tunnels. Personally I would tell the explorer's they come across a lot of passages filled with rubble (either intentionally or by cave-in) as one the ore is gone there is little reason to maintain it. So, your answer is basically how big do you want it?
PenderGrass 03-20-06, 08:11 PM	If you can find a 1st edition DMG there is a whole section on mining rates based on racial types, solidity of area being mined (hard, loose rubble, etc.) and work conditions (some races, essentially, require a slave-type environment). If you want, PM me and I will get you the stats. Sometimes, its good to be a veteran. :dragon: ****
Cantankerous 03-21-06, 02:11 AM	Most silver mines in the west were worked by between 20 and 30 miners and some were even miles in total length, depth, because of natural cave formations being tunneled into. A mine worked by even 50 persons for a few years will be HUGE, unless it is very easy to access whatever the miners are after. A coal mine can be a single short shaft even after some years, while a mine for amber might be thirty times the length to get even a small proportion weight wise of the element being mined for. Isshia