Mehr News Agency has an excellent photo essay on the coal miners working at the Tabas coal mine in central Iran. 
The miners work at a depth of 300 meters in two shifts of 6 hours per day and are hired on a contract basis.
Pay is 400,000 tomans (about $200) per month and conditions in the mine appear to be fairly rudimentary.
As Western sanctions continue to bite Iran has been ramping up domestic coal production.
The country is targeting hard-coal production of 5 million tonnes this year from less than half that three years ago.
Click here for the complete set of photos by Yunes Khani for Mehr.
4 Comments
Azizollah Borhani
I was very impressed
Hadi Shahmirzae
Sanctions made Iran getting more independent.
The Tabas Coal mines, located in central Iran desert, is the only thermal coal reserve of the country in production.
Fannymaycartwright
It’s all very provocative saying that the miners make $200 per month; to a consumer economy it sounds horrible, eh? But it doesn’t say what the purchasing power of $200 is in Iran. You want to gen up a sense of disapprobation at life in the country give the piece some kind of perspective.
Amir
weel, I just came back from there. meat $10 per kilo. That money doesnt even pay for the rent.