VietNamNet Bridge – Miners work in three shifts a day in darkness, wetness and toxic gas in underground mines to explore coal.

These photos were taken at a coal mine in Cam Pha town, Quang Ninh province, which is ran
by the Dong Bac Corporation under the Ministry of Defense.






Coal is explored by two ways: outdoor and in mines. In this picture are hydraulic poles in a mine.
Wherever coal is mined, poles are propped up.






The hardest task of miners is carrying hydraulic poles in darkness and slippery roads.






A miner is preparing explosive to explore a new area. Mining technology in Vietnam has
not changed much in years.






Coal is still explored manually.





The working environment in mines is very poor.






Pham Van Hien, 25, who has worked at coal mines for two years, said he doesn’t know whether
 he can do this job for how long, though he likes this job very much.






“Whenever seeing the flow of coal running down, I’m very proud and happy!” Hien said.






A train carrying coal from a mine. A miner earns VND7-8 million ($340-400) per month. Some
workers even earn up to VND20 million ($1,000) a month.






The income for miners is high in comparison with the average income, but many workers still quit job.






A worker gets out of mine after his shift.






They have to take a bath after work.

VNE