“Mining is really demanding. Emery miners are forced to inhale dynamite smoke in tunnels as deep as 500 meters beneath the surface. Most miners suffer from silicosis [an occupational lung disease], and, if they live long enough, are affected by arthritic and rheumatic conditions caused by the damp inside the mines,” noted Manolis Manolas, a seasoned miner with more knowledge than most on the mines in the mountains of Naxos who was quoted in the following recent Kathimerini article:
“Manolas grew up in a mining family. Conversations at home have typically revolved around the subject of emery, a dark granular rock comprising corundum, magnetite and other minerals, referred to as “smyrigli” on the island. It is used as an abrasive powder as well as a traction enhancer in asphalt and tarmac mixtures. Manolas knows all about the sector’s history, people, and even Greece’s legal framework concerning emery, which, according to the miner, includes more than 250 laws.
We met up at Koronos, a mountain village which for decades has been the main emery mining center in the region, and from there took the road leading to the mines.
“Emery village locals have an advantage. The mining jobs are reserved for those who live in or hail from these places,” Manolas explained. “Emery is a state monopoly, meaning that every year, the miners have to hand over everything they mine to the Greek state, which then does the selling, as it holds the exclusive trading rights,” he continued. Roughly 8,000 tons of emery is supplied to the Greek state each year.
Approximately 300 people are employed at the emery mines, well under the 3,000 who worked there in the 1940s. This comparison highlights the sector’s weakened standing and drastically reduced benefits provided to workers today. Nowadays, the job essentially ensures social security fund coverage for health and pensions, according to the miners. Many of the island’s miners are based elsewhere and return to Naxos at the end of summer, when mining activity recommences for about three to four months.”
Read full article here.
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Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Navin75 License: CC-BY-SA
Source: ekathimerini.com
