Emerald mining trip 2

Tuesday, Flew to Emerald.
Wednesday drove two and a half hours North to Carbora Downs Mine.

Stayed at "The Mac Village" at Coppabella
It is basically a hotel for mine workers.  You can not just rock up and get a room.

The big white roof is the cafeteria

I stayed in the bottom centre block with the green grass.

My room was down here on the left about half way

The place is huge.  Several swimming pools and gyms, sporting fields

And talk about food.  A huge buffet cafeteria.  On the first night we had steak with vegies and if you did not like that you could have pasta or salad or all three.  Followed up with sticky date pudding, custard, cream, jelly, ice cream.  On the second night it was pork spare ribs, roast pork.  All things pork.  Breakfast was bacon, sausages, spagetti, baked beans, mushrooms and eggs (fried, poached, scrabled) or if non of those suited, a little sign on the table said to ask the cook to do them anyway you like perhaps an omelette.  I guss if you have been staying there for a year you may want a special but for me the food as presented was great.

Inside the room was just like a motel room.  Split system ac,  bar fridge and a bottle (presumably for water) and a couple of glasses.

A TV with about 30 channels.  I surfed but unless you were into sport, there was nothing really to watch.  Behind the TV was the bath room which sported a toilet and a shower.

It was all impecably clean until I made the mistake of walking in in my boots.

This is me at the mine.  We were doing an upgrade on the Kubota control system.  This system monitors everything from methane gas levels, exhaust, water, engine temperatures, doors closed and so on and does not allow the vehicle to start or move unless it is safe to do so.

Safety was the word of the day (well after the F word).  We had to wear hard hats, safety glasses, steel capped boots and have gloves on our person.