TOTAL WAR WIKI

Industrial Silver Mining Complex
Category:	Silver
Level:	2
Turns to build:	4
Building cost:	4000
European Indian Middle Eastern
Requires
Steam-Pumped Silver Mine
Technology
Steam Engine

Mining is only part of the process of extracting wealth from the ground. Once on the surface, the ore must be processed and smelted.

For a mine owner to gain the maximum profit from his investment, as much usable material as possible must be extracted from the ore. This means that a large number of processes must be carried out on an industrial scale: the ore will need to be washed, sorted by hand to extract worthless spoil, crushed, and finally smelted and ingots cast. All of these tasks need a large number of workers, and women and children do the work while their men labour in the depths. Even away from the shafts, the work is dangerous and deaths and injuries are not uncommon. It is also unhealthy work too: dust is ever present, and the fumes from smelting works are often poisonous.

A large mine workings poisons the land and water for miles around, and turns pleasant countryside into a wasteland of spoil heaps and toxic ponds. This does not matter, as long as profit continues.