Working Lives Sydney: Miner

Michael Cowan, 43, comes from a long line of coal miners.

Going to work underground and emerging at the end of a long day covered in soot is a way of life he grew up with.

After stints working as a builder and a fundraiser, he says he was on the edge of financial ruin. He needed to find a job that offered him and his family more financial stability which is why he decided to follow in his great-grandfather's footsteps and go to work in the mines.

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