Written on 28 December 2015
Its day 2 of our quest to the mine shafts. We are all set ready to go round the mountain sides where multiple mines await us there. We were told by the local the approximate travel time between 30-45mins to reach the ‘Forbidden mine’.
Waking up to a wondrous bird’s-eye view in the hotel that is 3800ft high, above sea level.
When we reach there, the owner of the mine happens to be a friend of our friend. It is very kind of him to allow us to visit his mine, it is one of the bigger operation there.
We set off from the hotel to the nearest ruby mine that is half an hour ride away reaching this mine that is dug 1000+ ft down! there are about 300 workers who take shifts in this mine that operates 24/7. Each shift consists of approximately 150 miners.
This is the other mine shaft entrance used by the miners. There are 5 levels in there to allow the workers to decompress as they go down. though we would like to join in to search for the treasure, but without any safety precaution, we decided it was too unsafe.
Examining a ruby rough that was just dug up, as you can see it comes with the marble ‘host’.
We then visited another mine where we really get to see the ‘action’. How they wash the gravels and separated the denser rock from the soil.
Many small roughs were dug up, but all too small to be used after cutting. Bigger, better quality roughs are hard to come by.
After dinner, our friend brought us to view some of the well-known pagoda and monastery.
After a long day in the mines, you can kick back and relax to go visit the 500 years old Pagoda which have a topaz at the top of the Stupa.
Looking forward to another successful day in Mogoke!