What The Mines Are In Silo & What Is Being Mined

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Silo season 3.Silo‘s mines are often shrouded in mystery and only mentioned in specific circumstances, but the show quietly reveals enough about the location to make them just the right level of enigmatic. The mines are discussed by several members of the Silo cast but rarely in a positive light.

So, despite the importance of the setting, it’s not considered a desirable destination for the residents of the show’s titular structure. As one of the grittiest Apple TV+ sci-fi shows, Silo boasting a location like the mines is certainly on brand.

Despite several Silo book changes, the adaptation has largely remained faithful to the series of novels by Hugh Howey. So, most of what happens onscreen can be found in the pages of the source material. This includes the mines.

Apple TV+’s method of drip-feeding information about Silo‘s mines is a brilliant way to build tension, but it can also lead to impatience in the best possible way. Sometimes, such a slow delivery method of lore can be frustrating, but that doesn’t mean it’s not effective.

The Mines Are Located In Silo 18

Although they’ve yet to appear onscreen, the show’s “main” silo, Silo 18, is built atop the mines. So, they’re at the very bottom of the structure.

After Juliette’s discovery of the other identical silos that surround her own, it’s reasonable to assume that all the others also have access to the mines, but this is also difficult to confirm without further evidence. The method of reaching the mines is also unknown, but the characters presumably need to travel through the lower levels to access them.

The mines loom over the larger narrative rather than being an active part of it. That being said, the fact they continue to arise in conversation suggests they will eventually become far more important to the story over time. If the other silos do have access to the mines, a complex network of tunnels may exist that connect all the communities underground, which would be huge for many reasons.

Being Sent To The Mines Is A Form Of Punishment In Silo

Avi Nash looking sad as Lukas Kyle in Silo

Silo 18 is a complete society, which means it also has a way of punishing those who stray from the Pact or otherwise become a nuisance to other inhabitants or the higher-ups, such as Judicial. Possession of an unregistered Relic is also likely to result in being sentenced to work in the mines, and those sentences could be for a very long time.

For instance, Avi Nash’s Lukas Kyle is sentenced to a decade of working in the mines. Although Lukas has his sentence reduced to five years, Tanya Moodie’s Judge Meadows later reveals to Silo 18’s mayor that Nash’s character is unlikely to even last a year down there.

So, the conditions in the mines paired with the strenuous enforced labor seem to border on a death sentence framed as service to the silo. That being said, even the threat of a stint in the mines is often enough to keep almost everyone in line. While it may be inhumane, such a fate being possible is unfortunately very effective as far as Silo‘s preventative measures go.

Iron Ore Is Being Mined In Silo 18’s Mines

Judge Meadows (Tanya Moodie) looking offscreen in Silo season 2

The silos were designed to be self-contained societies. As such, the communities within have the facilities to be self-sufficient without the need to go outside. They grow their own food, make their own clothes, and provide everything else for themselves they need to survive, and also to keep themselves occupied.

To allow this ongoing means of production, Silo 18 needs a constant stream of metal, which isn’t as easy to produce as planting a tree, for example. So, those sent down to the mines are tasked with extracting iron ore, which is then used to make metal.

The necessity for miners is one of many unfortunate realities of silo life. Most jobs in Silo 18 generally don’t come with very much risk, but finding people to voluntarily work in the mines has proven to be impossible due to the risk of death and the intensity of the labor required on an ongoing basis.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that it’s used as a punishment, and it allows those in charge to bend the rules and laws whenever more hands are needed. In short, Silo has a terrifyingly effective way of maintaining the mining workforce while also keeping order.

Why The Mines Are So Important In Silo Season 3

Rebecca Ferguson as Juliette Nichols backed up against a wall in Silo season 3, episode 4

Since the Mines were mentioned quite a few times in previous seasons, it was hard not to expect them to have significance in season 3’s story. They are first mentioned in episode 3 when Camille realizes Lukas Kyle must be hiding in the mines. To force him out, she orders pest control in the mines, which forces many people to rush out.

Lukas, too, emerges but only to save Juliette, who rushes into the mines and inhales too much of the rodent-killing spray. Interestingly, during the same mines fumigation, Orla Kent’s body is found in a tunnel in the mines.

Silo season 3 had previously revealed that she was a “shadow” to Carla McLain, the head of Critical Supply. During her newfound role, she discovered that specialized grow bulbs and structural materials were quickly going missing. Since the supplies were critical, she took it upon herself to investigate the matter. However, soon after, she went missing.

This becomes an intriguing secondary plot in Silo season 3, where running out of grow bulbs and essential hardware pave the way for crop failure and food shortages in Silo 18. While Juliette and her crew remain fixated on finding and sealing the Safeguard pipe, Billings sets out to find the truth about Kent’s murder and missing supplies.