Early in Minto's coal mining exploits, land owners were permitted to mine under their own land without obtaining a license from the Crown or paying any royalties, which ended in 1915. During the boom, both mining conditions and the living quarters of miners' families degraded with lowering wages and lack of maintenance in the mines and homes supplied to the miners families. Although a tally of the number of deaths related to the coal mining industry in Minto is not available, deaths did occur.