slate05 The miners would work in groups of six, pay for their own gunpowder and fuses, and negotiate a price they would sell their slate for to the company. They would be "paid" on a monthly basis, but sometimes had to borrow to tide themselves over. With the dust from the boring and blasting, miners didn't have a life expectancy more than 45 years. Martin explained that even with such a miserable, retched existence, this was probably a better living than the miners could make than doing just about anything else.