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With modern mining technology there's no reason to have many humans underground.

It's just a matter of money, investing in remote controlled and autonomous equipment.

Since remote controlled machines work well and are proven, an equipment operator can "go to work" at his or her kitchen table or living room.

As autonomous AI equipment comes on line more, he may be out of a job though.

There are already AI massive trucks running in pit mines.

This situation might be the thing that moves this along in a bigger way than it already is.

When the AI takes over, the out of a job coal miner might have another opportunity.

Since they are already skilled as operators, 3D printing from home.

Returning to the way things were done before production lines.

Manufacturers can "farm out" work to employees or sub contractors in their homes.

If you look at old New England farm structures, the house is often connected to the barn by a few run on smaller building sections.

Small manufacturing of shoes and other items went on there.

Often, "retired" family members would putter away making stuff there.

Farmers were paid by the town to "keep" paupers, and those paupers who were able also worked at manufacturing there.

With 3D printing, AI can't do everything, somebody still has to set up the machine, start the program, and remove the finished product.

In between they can read, play video games, watch TV, surf the web, while the machine works. etc.

This could be done in garages, cellars, or out buildings in suburban and rural areas throughout the country, saving companies a lot of money on facilities, and making the "commute" a few feet.

This then frees up parents to homeschool, getting rid of the need for those buildings and leftist indoctrination.

Handled properly, this virus could cause the next wave of the industrial revolution and make us independent from China and other countries.

Yep - and breathing protection has also improved.

I've never been in a coal mine but did get a tour of a salt mine (ex son-in-law) and most areas have one or two people per several hundred yards (or more) of tunnel. One person may be doing jack-drilling to place charges, another will place charges, area is evacuated to detonate, then single person runs equipment to start hauling loosened product to staging areas where other equipment operators (who pass each other on their machines haul it to conveyor systems to have it extracted.

Even up top, where it is sorted/moved to other areas for storage/movement, do not have more than one or two in a pretty large area.

I imagine there's a number of similarities in the process.