- Jun 2, 2018
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The pitfalls of being a miner!
An exposé on a profitable job with risky consequences
Date: 21/6/2018
Hard work pays off. This is an unassailable maxim. However, when first entering the work-force, applicants are faced with limited options. We all know the grueling work that is street sweeping, the woes of delivering pizzas to shady neighborhoods to bump up that paycheck. But arguably, one of the best paying jobs for the newly-employable is that of the miner.
The numbers don't lie: According to global statistics, Mining is a 500 billion dollar industry. In Los Santos alone, each mined ore nets a worker anything from 70 to 120 dollars. Considering the speed and efficiency at which this job can be done if taken seriously, it is an American Dream come true: Joey can finally save up that 35.000 to settle down with Stacey. Mark can make the 15.000 thousand needed to fund his startup to teach Ethiopian kids to code in JavaScript. If it's a reasonable goal, mining provides a stable income towards realizing it.
But if it was all sunshine, rainbows and WASP-work-ethic, this is where our article would end. Sadly, it does not.
For years, the only mining facility open within the Los Santos proper is located in the heart of the metropolitan area: Lodged right between the Paintball arena and All Saints General Hospital, this part of the city is a notorious hot-spot for gang and criminal activity, frequently considered a ''no-go zone'' for the police and the wealthier citizens of this town. Consequently, the mining facility is frequently raided by psychopaths, degenerates and other riffraff, seeking to exploit the sweat-drenched labor of the honest working miner...
Remember: This chaotic scene is happening one block away from where your sons might be working!
(Photo: John Strickland)
Seeking to learn more from the real folk, I visited the mining site to hear more from its employees. This is where I met Ardom Septim. A good, honest man. Fleeing his war-torn country, he only wishes to secure a stable income for his family, some of who are still stuck overseas or in migrant detention centers. He says it's good pay, and he only wishes he could work for longer hours if labor laws allowed him. With little hesitation and an honest, straightforward attitude, we talk about his life, his past, his family, and current events of Los Santos. All the while, Ardom diligently carries rocks to the processing plant. "Another day, another dollar" he says, smiling as he grabs a particularly large boulder.
A hard and honest worker with little choice
(Photo: John Strickland)
However, as the conversation turns towards the acts of violence that occur nearby or on-site, Ardom tenses up a little. As if he would rather deliver a positive message to the public than speak a harsh truth. When I press for his experiences on the matter, his answer is convoluted. "It's been 5 days since someone tried to attack me. It used to be much worse, though. Plus, I've found a secret location to hide if I notice something now. It's not as bad as you'd think, really."
As time goes by, I notice his answers become shorter and more terse. Understandably, he wants to get back to his work. Just as we exchange a firm handshake and wish each other the best of luck, his cautiously optimistic talk is shut down by reality. A hoodlum disguised as a miner himself runs up from behind and punches Ardom, demanding something called ''gibsmedat''.
Caught on camera: A wolf in sheep's clothing, attacking a helpless miner.
(Photo: John Stickland)
Fortunately, the intervention of the camera crew and a few concerned citizens led to the apprehension and arrest of the perpetrator that day. However, this reporter asks: How long till the Industry responds to this influx of violence and barbarism on their premises? Perhaps it is time to move, some say: Los Santos is rich in minerals and ores, and there are many untapped locations where a new plant could be placed, away from the chaos and disorder of downtown. But it appears that the industry is interested in profits, not people: There will not be another mining site till the last ore is exhumed from the current location.
The only problem is, by keeping with the old, we risk interring our future. Mining is a backbone of this city, and the loss of workers is ultimately the loss of economic output, that the fat cats cherish so much. And the loss of economic output is the death knell of an industrialized city.
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