When did children stop working down mines?
The Mines Act was passed by the Government in 1847 forbidding the employment of women and girls and all boys under the age of ten down mines.
Did children ever work in mines?
Although breaker boys were primarily children, elderly coal miners who could no longer work in the mines because of age, disease, or accident were also sometimes employed as breaker boys. The use of breaker boys began in the mid-1860s.
What are 2/3 environmental problems caused by open pit mining?
However, mining processes can cause various environmental problems, including deforestation, soil erosion, destruction of the natural landscape, landslides, water-level reduction and surface water depletion through dewatering, as well as water and soil pollution from mining waste and tailing dust [3–7].
Why was it dangerous for children to work in mines?
Working in slate mines was, like all mine work, extremely dangerous for children, and explosions and collapses were commonplace. It took time for the laws to change. Click here to find out more about Victorian jobs!
Why did children work in mines in the Victorian era?
Entire families would work at the mine, children often as young as four. The pay was very poor and so families tried to earn as much as they could by sending all their children to work too. Click here to find out more about Victorian jobs!
How did children move coal in coal mines?
• Not all children pulled carts – some pushed them using their heads (giving them bald patches) and other carried coal up ladders and along passageways in baskets on their backs. • Some coal mines used pit ponies to move the coal around the mines. A haulier would guide the horses from the coal face to the mine shaft.
How old were the children when they died in the mine?
A stream overflowed into the ventilation drift after violent thunderstorms causing the death of 26 children (11 girls aged from 8 to 16 and 15 boys between 9 and 12 years of age).