Miners's Guild

The miners’ guild is one of the wealthiest and most powerful in Terusha. The guild itself owns some mines, but many are owned by the state. In most regions, mineral rights are held by the crown, but in others they belong to powerful regional lords. In some cases, the Miners’ Guild works the mine for the lord in exchange for a percentage of the profits, while in others, the guild keeps all the proceeds in exchange for a license fee.
Most mining operations are fairly small but some have hundreds of employees. The most important minerals are gold, silver, iron, lead, tin, copper, and salt. Smelting is, where possible, done on site to minimize transportation costs.
Freemaster miners have the right to prospect on any land except church lands, orchards, meadows, and highways. They also have the right to cut timber without the consent of the local landholder, hold their own courts of law, and protect their employees. In many cases, they are exempt from taxation and military service. In most regions, an unfree peasant who flees to a mine and is employed there for two years becomes a freeman. Prospectors sometimes go missing, likely at the hands of landowners who wish to avoid the opening of a mine on their properties.

Type

Guild, Craftsmen