The main travel roads underground have lights and the entrance to the production sections are also lit up. There are substations and transformers underground which supply all the necessary power. But, in the old areas there are no road lights and it's quiet. You're far away from the mining machines and conveyor belts. Doing inspections can be quite surreal. The only light is provided by your cap lamp. Once you switch it off, it looks as follows:
It makes you feel quite insignificant when you realize you're hundreds of metres under solid earth and surrounded by rock and darkness.
I'm involved with a new shaft which is currently being constructed (i.e. shaft sinking). During the first 60 m of sinking, you climb down a rung ladder to inspect the rock layers which have been exposed. One late afternoon, I had to map the rock strata and check for any joints or faulting which can cause rock falls in the shaft. There were issues with the power and the stage in the shaft on which you walk around had no lights. Very creepy to know there's 20 m of open space below you to the shaft bottom and you only have a small circle of light to see with. The stage was filled with people waiting for the lights to come back on - they were sitting in total darkness with no cap lamps. My little light kept finding them and I had to keep myself from getting a fright each time I saw eyes looking back at me. Very creepy.
The darkness underground makes you appreciate a sunny day. But, when a power failure at home suddenly makes it pitch black, I get a twitch and an underground flashback :-).
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