Merritt Mine

Last week, Thom and I went to Merritt Mine. Part of my assignment was to take photos of the mine and ask questions. Phil Kozushko, an alumni and adjunct professor with Tech, took us on the excursion down to the mine.

Kozushko is a valuable resource for information and gave us a detailed histories surrounding the mine. There is so much information, I wish I had time to hear it all again. Thom took the job of interviewing him after the tour, while both Thom and I took pictures of the mine and the area around it.

Lets just say, I actually learned more about mining history, mining safety, and mining conditions while on the tour. Under claustrophobic conditions, a low ceiling, and no light, it was quite an impressive experience.

This time, we went on the tour to gather more information, ask questions, and elicit important facts from Kozushko to get the story. The intended reason why we went is to get a story out for him for promoting the mine. The silver mine was built in 1866 and closed in1895. It wasn't that profitable, but we learned about the history of the land behind New Mexico Tech campus.

His goal is to have it open up for alumni and anyone interested to view the mine. He also has a lot of artifacts from other mines in the area and is an expert on mine history--which is quite amazing.

In the end, I managed to survive a mine. There are many ways people can get hurt or killed because of the uncovered shafts and unsupported mine openings. That is how people who are adventurous or daring get themselves in serious trouble because they don't practice mine safety. Kozushko practices mine safety and is trying to maintain Merritt Mine and increase the safety for these tours.