Every shift is eight hours. The machinery I work with includes the pumping machines, steam controlled shovels, as well as several other pieces of equipment. The machines are of international standard, though there may be some slight differences. Wood logs are used as props to support the roof. The blasting is done with dynamite.
Mining is full of hazards.
As I said, the air after blasting is so poisonous that an encounter with it would result in an instant death. When the air is not fully treated, one breath of it would result in tuberculosis. I have heard that about half of the mining workers have developed tuberculosis. There have been instances where the roof has collapsed on workers, killing some of them and causing severe injuries to the rest. The machines also may fall on workers in the course of their operation, and sever some of their limbs, rendering them disabled.