Bootleg mining is illegal coal mining. The term originated around the 1920s, though the practice probably predates that. Generally, a bootleg mine is a small mine dug by a handful of men. Usually, the mine is not large enough to turn around in.
The practice has died away in the United States; an American with simple equipment cannot dig enough coal in a day to reach a US standard of living. Bootleg mines in China are very common, as are the fatalities resulting from unregulated mining.
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