It is Friday, October 12, 1906, at 6:05 am. Stanley “Stan” Still, superintendent for the Fungus Mining Corp. has just arrived at the mining complex in Mineral Valley. It was only a short buggy ride from his suite at the Shady Rest Hotel in Bedrock where he has lived since the passing of his wife Gertrude in 1903. He no longer needs his own home and best of all, the food at the Shady Rest is darn good.
The Frederick “Freddy” Fungus Mining Corp. owns the two largest of over 20 mines in Mineral Valley. Mineral Valley is located on the eastern slopes of Big Pine Mountain at the 6,127’ elevation. Being on the eastern side, the valley gets little precipitation and only a light dusting of snow during a normal winter. To the north of Mineral Valley lies the Town of Bedrock, named for the type of mining done in the area.
The two Fungus mines, each of which was named after one of Fungus’ daughters, operate differently. The Ophelia mine, the first, is a classic hard-rock with a long vertical shaft and numerous side tunnels. The unobtanium-bearing ore is extracted, brought to the surface, loaded into gondola cars, and transported by the Fungus & Mungus Railroad to Junction City where the unobtainium is extracted from the ore. The unobtainium is then sent to the steel mills in the east where it’s used as an alloy to strengthen steel.
In contrast, the Leonor mine uses a long horizontal shaft carved deep into the side of Big Pine Mountain. Here unobtainium, a rare bluish-gray mineral composed of unobtainium and sulfur, is extracted from the rock. This mineral, from which unobtainium is refined, is prized by the steel industry. Small amounts of unobtainium added to steel can significantly increase its toughness, heat resistance, hardness, strength, and resistance to corrosion.
The miners and other members of the crews will begin to arrive shortly. Their day will start at 7:00 am with the blowing of the steam whistle. Those working below ground in the mines will grab their chips from the board and descend into the mines to begin their long, hot day below ground.
Others will operate the hoists and boilers, open and close the chutes, manage the stores, and keep the above-ground operations running smoothly.
Unlike the workers at the Hugh Mungus Logging Camp, the Fungus Mine workers do not live in a camp but rather, if they are single, in Bedrock at either Mabel’s Boarding House for Miners or in the tent city just north of town, past the livery stables. Most married miners live in homes on the outskirts of Bedrock. The mine workers provide their own lunches, but fresh water is readily available from the water cars. At $2 per 10-hour day, the miners are well-paid. The miners work from 7 am to noon and 1 pm to 6 pm.
Working in teams of four, the miners will use one of Fungus’s three Ingersoll Rock Drills, far superior to the star drill and hammer method of the past, to drill holes 24” to 36” deep in the rock face at the end of each chute. When enough (12 – 20) holes are drilled, typically a two-day task, it will be time for the blasting.
Justin Case, the mine foreman, oversees all blasting operations. He will calculate the required amount of Dynamite, and order it sent down from the surface. He will supervise the placing of all charges. A stick or two of 60% Dynamite, 1-¼ inch in diameter and 8 inches long with a blasting cap composed of mercury fulminate will be gently prodded into each hole. The holes will be packed with clay. The wires will be connected to the blasting machine and after sounding the warning bells, Case will push the plunger, engaging the magneto and igniting the explosive charges.
The Dynamite that will be used is manufactured by DuPont (formerly Giant Powder Company of San Francisco, California). It is stored above ground, at the farthest point from the mill structures in the only stone building in the area.
All blasting is done just after 6:00 pm when the miners have completed their shifts below ground and returned to the surface. As each man returns, he replaces his chip on the board. At a quick glance, the foreman can check the chip board to ensure that all miners are accounted for and that none remain below ground.
The following morning the miners will begin the arduous task of breaking the rock debris from the explosions down into smaller, more manageable chunks. This is typically a four- to five-day process. But first, the newly excavated three feet of tunnel must be shored up. Using 8×8, 10×10 and 12×12 timbers from the Hugh Mungus Lumber Company, miners under the direction of the Chief Engineer Theodore “Ted” E. Baer will reinforce the newly exposed tunnel walls and ceiling.
The mineral-bearing ore will be separated from the tailings. The tailings will be tossed out one of the side tunnels or shafts and allowed to accumulate in the valley below, or moved and dumped into one of the no longer used shafts or tunnels. The mineral-rich ore will be brought to the surface where it will be dumped into one of the storage bins, where it will await loading into F.M.R.R. railcars for shipment to the refineries in Junction City.
After the debris is cleared, the tailings disposed of, the mineral-bearing rock moved to the surface, and the tunnel reinforced; the mine tracks will be extended another three feet to the rock face and the process will begin anew.
The work is not glamorous; working in the dimly lit mines is hard, hot work. Miners are at risk from cave-ins or collapsing tunnels. Despite the dangerous and tough working conditions, there is no shortage of workers willing to work for $2 per day. It is a good, living wage. A single worker pays $20 per month for room and board at Mabel’s. A married miner can easily support a family on this wage.