Deep Gem Shaft (ETW building)
| Deep Gem Shaft | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category: | Gem | ||||||
| Level: | 1 | ||||||
| Turns to build: | 2 | ||||||
| Building cost: | 2500 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Requires | |||||||
 Open Gem Pit | |||||||
The term for a gem field is an “occurrence”, and often the site has a very small surface area. Eventually the easy stones are found, and the miners must dig a shaft to find more.
Given that miners are paid only for the gemstones they find and not for any other work, the shaft sunk into the ground is often extremely crude. Shoring up and pumping out the shaft may seem like sensible activities, but both of these things go unpaid and therefore undone. The mine owners do not care about casualties: men who die need no wages, merely hold up production and stop others earning.
The shafts often have to go deep indeed, as gemstones are deposited in very small areas. This does not matter. All that matters is finding riches. Few miners worry that side tunnels are little more than death traps, given the chances of discovering the perfect stone!