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Why Miners Risk Limbs To Carve Mountains Of Limestone In Egypt | Big Business | Business Insider - YouTube
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this isn't snow
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it's limestone
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and miners risk their lives to carve it
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out of the white quarries of egypt
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the valuable rock is at the center of a
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huge industry
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and it's used to make everything from
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cement and glass to plastic and tiles
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it's even what the great pyramids were
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made out of
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but digging up and cutting these
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precious blocks is really dangerous
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miners face clouds of dust that can
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cause diseases and they work with sharp
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blades under the brutal sun with
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temperatures reaching beyond 110 degrees
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fahrenheit
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and all they have to protect them is a
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cloth
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has been working here since he was just
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14 years old
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just about six dollars a day
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but in this area it's one of the only
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available jobs
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the government has tried to crack down
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on mines after a slew of deaths
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but many are still operating even
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illegally
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we head to egypt to see just how bad
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mine conditions are
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and learn why miners take the risk
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anyway
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about 160 miles south of cairo sits one
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of the largest limestone deposits in the
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world
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this is almenia egypt and hundreds of
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mines dot the landscape
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tens of thousands of freelance miners
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chip away at this land
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for these guys each day starts in nina
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city at dawn
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and this is where the danger begins
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these trucks aren't meant for passengers
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workers have gotten injured from falls
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along the winding journey
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the workers first share a meal while the
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sun rises
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then it's time to get suited up
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since these miners are freelancers they
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have to buy their own protective gear
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often homemade cloth masks gloves and
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sunglasses are all miners have to shield
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them
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they grab their tools and descend into
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the pit
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the most important one is the round saw
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and that's also the most dangerous
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first miners have to set up these two
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rails
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two separate machines roll along the
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tracks
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they slice the stone into perfect
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cuboids beneath
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the machines move quickly they're really
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heavy and they're loud
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workers shouted each other to warn the
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machines are nearby
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because the real hazard is those saws
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a quick step is all that separates
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miners from razor sharp blade
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miners are responsible for fixing the
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machines when they break
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and sharpening the blades by hand that's
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also risky work
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on
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the cutting machines used to have
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coverings but they fell off years ago
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now the blades are exposed
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while the mine owner says he makes sure
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the electrical wires are covered
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many are unprotected
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as the machines cut stone they kick up
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rocks and a haunting white cloud of
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limestone powder if there's no wind
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miners disappear in it like ghosts
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it's easy to inhale the fine dust
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and if they breathe it long enough it
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can cause a lung condition called
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silicosis
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is
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injuries sickness and death in these
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minds are widely reported but there
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aren't any official numbers at one point
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the life expectancy here was just 45
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years old
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foreign
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once the stone is safely cut workers
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turn the blocks and the machine doesn't
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break them as it goes by again
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at the start of a new quarry the stones
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don't come out perfect
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those chunks head to a separate factory
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to be ground into powder
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perfectly cut stones that haven't been
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sold yet get stacked
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but these blocks have already been
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purchased so miners throw them straight
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into the truck
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and they have perfect aim
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if they're lucky they might get a three
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dollar stipend for food and tea on top
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of their six dollar daily wage
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foreign
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the bricks are sent to cairo which has
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around 80 of egypt's limestone
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processing capacity
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the limestone is made into cement and
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tiles and used in paper making plastic
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production agricultural products and
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even medicine
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globally the limestone market hit an
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estimated 73 billion in 2020
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today egypt is the largest exporter of
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limestone in africa producing more than
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a hundred and fifty thousand metric tons
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the stone is so lucrative that menia's
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economy depends on it that's why many
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miners do this work their six dollar
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wage is more than they'll make farming
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or working in construction
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fashion
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and more people from students to farmers
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flock to the mines when unemployment
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spikes
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but human exploitation for mining
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limestone in this area is not new
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in fact its history is ancient
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through the years egyptians used the
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stone in pyramids temples and tombs
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dark limestone made up the core of the
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great pyramids of giza
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and blinding white limestone once
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covered the outside symbolizing purity
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and sacredness
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then in 1303 an earthquake loosened the
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outer stones of the great pyramid the
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white layer was stripped off to be used
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in the construction of mosques
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today by one estimate more than half the
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limestone quarries in menia are
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unlicensed
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the government has cracked down on some
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closing 400 by 2019 after reports of
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injuries
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but many illegal mines are still
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operating with deadly conditions and no
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oversight
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so workers have had to take matters into
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their own hands
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they negotiated a pay raise and created
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a fund for injured workers and their
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families
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but they faced pushback from mine owners
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high
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the mine we filmed is licensed it's
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called uncle walids
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but the owner told business insider the
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miners still have to provide their own
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gear
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atif relaxes with a cup of tea and a
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meal with his friends
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the eerily beautiful mind stretches in
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front of them
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it's a beauty they hope will get the
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world's attention enough to send some
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help
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next night
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in
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[Music]
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[Music]
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