Terrifying depths of darkness where a dystopian world operates, full of underground roads, workshops, and people under kilometres of earth - a claustrophobic’s nightmare. On the surface, nature shows its devilish side - relentless weather, wind, rain and dust travel for miles just to inspect what you’re doing. The scorching hot sun kisses your skin, and wintery cold mornings make it impossibly difficult to wake up. The fatigue sets in as long days turn into long nights, and that shift change will have you in its grips. Weeks away from home, missing out on quality time, special events, milestones, pets, hobbies, dating. You start to question your choices, as the isolation creeps up on you, and it takes everything you have just to push through the emotional turmoil some days. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of flies to keep you company, and don’t forget the snakes under the car, frogs in the toilet, and lizards coming for a cuddle at night. Work in the field is dirty, hard, repetitive, laborious, repetitive, and you can never switch off. You always need to be on alert for hazards - falls from heights, chemical exposure, vehicle interaction, entanglement and crushing, uncontrolled release of energy… Give yourself a break, and force down the same old sandwich for the fifth shift in a row, with a cheap and gritty instant coffee, in a decades old crib hut with zero mobile phone coverage, and head back again for another 6 hours of work. Unfortunately, inappropriate comments and ingrained misogyny threaten your ability to keep your cool, because some day when you hear “oh come on, it’s just a joke” - are you going to stand for that? You wonder if it’s worth the money, and realise that nothing will ever be as bad as the industry losing another life… because good or bad, mining is dangerous work.