Man - once a slave of the earth - gradually becomes its ruler, and look what miracles he works. Here are majestic palaces and temples with columns carved from huge blocks of granite, with stairs made of snow-white marble, with jewelry made of cast gold: here are railways, cars, bridges; here are vast areas decorated with monuments of cast iron and bronze: here are millions of everyday objects made of copper, steel, lead and tin: knives, sickles, axes, boilers, pots, samovars, cups, etc., etc. Finally, there are thousands of precious trinkets - rings, earrings, brooches, bracelets, stalls, cups - made of gold or silver and decorated with patterns of gem stones. Where does all this come from? Who created it? Of course, the labors of human hands, his patience and knowledge; and the raw material for these necessities and luxuries is taken from combat near the ground. Let's get acquainted with this "raw material" and see how it is mined.