A shaft's sinking !

Before the miners or materials can be brought underground, the shafts have to be prepared. How this is done will be explained here in a few words:

Shafts are sunk vertically into the earth. It is begun by - as it can be seen in the picture - digging a round hole into the surface having the diameter of the future shaft. At the beginning this work can be done by cranes etc., lateron a tower for the sinking has to be built. This is a kind of a predecessor of a winding tower with nearly the same functions. This tower is used for the hoisting of the tubs in which the rocks that are loosened during the process of sinking are brought to the surface (two of these tubs can be seen in the picture above the shaft's hole). Additionally these tubs are used for transporting the miners to their working place during the sinking process, because at this time there are no pit cages in the shaft, yet.

For shafts that do not reach the surface - the so called staple shafts - the process is similar. It is just more difficult, because the cranes etc. cannot just be put up underground, so that special hollow spaces have to be prepared for storing these machines during the sinking process.

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