Rat-hole mining explained

Rat-hole mining or Rat mining is a process of digging employed in North East India to extract coal, where a narrow hole is manually dug by extraction workers. The practice is banned by the National Green Tribunal;^[1] however, the techniques are still employed by artisanal mining operations in several parts of India, especially in Meghalaya.^[2]

Technique

Rat-Hole Mining technique is a procedure of digging manually^{[3] [4]} wherein the worker involved in extraction can hardly crawl in and out, as a narrow tunnel is dug 3 to 4 feet in depth.^{[5] [6]} This technique is basically of two types:

• Side cutting method which is generally followed on slopes of hills by navigating through coal seams deposited on the rock layers and visible on the outer surface of rock and generally in darkish brown or black banded.
• box cutting method which involves digging a round shape or square shape pit with a width of 5 square metre and depth of 400 feet. The method is followed in North Eastern India to extract coal.^{[7] [8]}

Bans

As Rat-Hole Mining involves working in dangerous conditions, causing environmental damage, and causes many accidents involving death and injuries, the technique is criticised and banned in many countries.^[9] Rat-Hole Mining is banned in India by National Green Tribunal.^[10]

Notable incidents

2021 incident near Rymbai

On 21 January 2021 six miners died in an incident in a mineshaft in an area of rat-hole mines in the East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya.^[11]

Uttarakhand rescue

See main article: 2023 Uttarakhand tunnel rescue. In late 2023 rat-hole miners were instrumental in the rescue of 41 workers who were trapped for 17 days after the road tunnel in Uttarakhand that they were digging collapsed.^{[12] [13] [14]}

See also

• Mining

Notes and References

1. News: Sharma . Shweta . What are ‘rat-hole’ miners? Controversial specialists brought in for final stretch of India tunnel rescue . Independent UK . 2023-12-03.
2. News: Karmakar . Rahul . 2023-11-29 . Understanding rat-hole mining . en-IN . The Hindu . 2023-12-03 . 0971-751X.
3. News: Explained: From rat-hole mining to vertical drilling — methods used at Uttarkashi tunnel . 1 December 2023 . Hindustan Times . 28 November 2023 . en.
4. News: Uttarkashi tunnel rescue: How the 12 'rat miners' reached the 41 trapped men . 1 December 2023 . The Economic Times . 28 November 2023.
5. News: Karmakar . Rahul . Understanding rat-hole mining . 1 December 2023 . The Hindu . 29 November 2023 . en-IN.
6. News: What is rat-hole mining, being done to rescue trapped Uttarkashi tunnel workers . 1 December 2023 . The Indian Express . 27 November 2023 . en.
7. News: What is rat-hole mining and how it saved trapped Uttarakhand workers? . 1 December 2023 . WION . 28 November 2023 . en-us.
8. News: Kaushik . Riddhi . Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: What is rat-hole mining & how does it work? . 1 December 2023 . Deccan Herald . 28 November 2023 . en.
9. News: Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: How did 'banned' rat miners end ordeal of 41 workers . 1 December 2023 . mint . 28 November 2023 . en.
10. News: Kala . Rishi Ranjan . Rat hole mining: banned practice saves 41 lives from the collapsed Uttarakhand tunnel . 1 December 2023 . BusinessLine . 28 November 2023 . en.
11. News: Another year, another mining tragedy — why Meghalaya’s ‘rat holes’ won’t stop killing . Two years after 15 miners were killed at an illegal coal mine in Meghalaya, six others lost their lives in another accident at another mine in January. . Karishma . Hasnat . 2 February 2021 . 3 December 2023.
12. News: How India's 'rat-hole' miners freed 41 tunnel workers . 1 December 2023 . bbc.com . 29 November 2023.
13. News: 'If 1 dies to save 40 people...': Rat-hole miner on Uttarkashi rescue operation . 1 December 2023 . 29 November 2023 . India Today . en.
14. News: Mishra . Ishita . On all fours in ‘rat holes’, the heroes of Silkyara scrape by on the margins . 1 December 2023 . The Hindu . 29 November 2023 . en-IN.