A miner’s life: Big money, bad habits

Xstrata is paying nearly a million dollars into a program to improve the wellbeing of retired and injured miners.

9News reports the $900,000, 3-year research program is being undertaken by the Wesley Research Institute. The program aims to improve the wellbeing of retired and injured workers at Xstrata Copper’s Mt. Isa mine in Queensland.

Miners, 9News quotes institute director Julie Campbell saying, often retire with bad eating habits and some have mental health problems to boot:

“Workers in these sorts of industries often have bad nutrition because they work funny hours and a lot of them are fly in, fly out, so they live on a diet of junk food.”

She says miners who are injured on the job often have to deal with “invisible injuries” such as depression and reduced self esteem.

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