Irans Hormuz Island has one of the worlds most famous red ocher mines, from which ocher is extracted, and a long history in the country's mining industry. The island is located about 18 kilometers southeast of Bandar Abbas and occupies 42 square kilometers: covered by sedimentary rock and layers of volcanic material on its surface, with vast deposits of red ocher.
Hormuzs ocher is used in at least twenty different industrial products like paint, cosmetics, tiles and ceramics, mosaics, ocher and glaze pottery, and the production of industrial micronized powders, among others. Even the island native people used ocher for making a traditional kind of food named Souragh.
But working conditions for laborers in Hormuzs mines are very difficult, with one of the main issues being workplace conditions and a lack of safety facilities. The mine and factory belong to a private the company that, according to its miners, does not pay enough to.
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