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Toughest Place to be a...

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Workers are challenged to do their job under some of the toughest conditions in the world.

Three British workers. Experienced. Qualified. And looking for a challenge. They are on a quest to find out what it would be like to do their job under some of the toughest conditions on the planet.

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Toughest Place to be a...: Series 3

Simon Muriel

Sam Bagnall

Simon Watts-Davies

Toughest Place to be a...: Series 3: Episode 1: Miner

Miner

Episode 1

Episode 1: Miner

Series 3

BBC Two - Toughest Place to be a..., Series 3, Miner

Staffordshire mine worker Craig Notman travels to Mongolia to dig for gold.

Safety conscious Staffordshire mine worker Craig Notman travels to Mongolia to dig for gold in a precarious and dangerous network of tunnels deep in the Mongolian steppe.

Craig Notman, a mine worker from Staffordshire, is travelling to Mongolia to dig for gold in some of the toughest conditions on Earth. Mongolia is a country enjoying the world's biggest economic boom, entirely supported by mining. But while some people are getting rich, more than 40 percent of the population lives in poverty. Craig is staying in a traditional Mongolian tent, or ger, and working with local miner Sukhbaatar. 

Like tens of thousands of small-scale miners, Sukhbaatar digs tunnels into the Mongolian steppe, searching for gold deep underground. It is a gruelling and dangerous way to earn just a few pounds a day. Thousands have died in the precarious networks of underground tunnels. Safety conscious Craig braves the tunnels himself as he learns to dig and pan for gold. He has to endure extreme weather and back-breaking work, and get to grips with unusual cuisine. Along the way, he discovers that a traditional nomadic people have been driven off their land by unprecedented extreme weather. With no other work in prospect, they must risk their lives every day in a desperate attempt to make money.

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A miner, ferryman and nurse try to work in some of the world's toughest places.

Three British workers: a miner, a ferryman and a nurse. Experienced. Qualified. And looking for a challenge. They are on a quest to do their jobs in some of the toughest conditions on the planet.

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Toughest Place to be a...

Series 3

Episode 1: Miner

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