Courtesy Park City Historical Society and Park City Mountain Resort

  The hard hat was worn to protect a miner's head from falling 
  rock. There was a lamp in front to help the miner see his way under ground
  The mines under Park City are very wet and the yellow slicker kept
  a miner dry while he worked.

The early prospector chipped off rock with his pick, 
removed the dust with his tongue and peered at the 
sample with his magnifying glass. He was an expert at
identifying the presence of minerals, but an assay was and still is
necessary to determine their value.
When geologists entered the mining picture, core sampling
became a common practice. Diamond-tipped drills with hollow
barrels brought up samples of strata showing exactly 
where the minerals lay.

Courtesy Park City Historical Society and David Hampshire

Courtesy Park City Historical Society

The mine quadricycle was used by the foreman or "mine boss"
to travel from one work station to another. 

In the early days of hard rock mining, dynamite holes
were drilled by a lone miner using a chisel and swinging
a four pound hammer. This was called single-jacking. 
Two miners working together, one holding the chisel and the 
other swinging an eight pound hammer, was called double-
jacking. Both methods were slow, difficult and expensive.
   As early as 1861, engineers experimented with steam-
operated drills. But these were not efficient and were 
unreliable. Engineers then turned to compressed air which
made the drills both fast and efficient. Park City mines
began using the new drills in 1904 and almost immediately
miners began to die by the scores. The pressurized air 
churned up huge amounts of razor sharp silica dust which cut
into the miners' lungs causing a hard cough and eventual death.
The drills became known as "widowmakers." The illness was
silicosis.
   This hazard was eliminated by an invention that injected water
through a hollow port in the drill. The water mixed with
the silica dust and carried it away. This method is still used
today.

Courtesy Park City Historical Society

Courtesy Park City Historical Society and Bea Kummer

Candles were the primary source of light for miners until the calcium 
carbide lamp was invented in 1897. Besides light, both gave early 
warning of bad air by changing color, flickering or going out. Miners
preferred candles because a candle went out when the oxygen content
dipped below 18%, giving a miner, who needed oxygen at 15% a 3% 
safety margin. Carbide lamps needed only 12% oxygen and could 
outlast their owners. Both were replaced by battery-powered
lamps.