Say I own a mine in Alabama in the 1840s. Could I purchase slaves to work these mines? Would this practice have been common? Were there laws prohibiting the type of work a slave was allowed to do?
Yes! Many slaves (if not always per capita) were artisans or craftsmen whose masters rented out their skills to others.
/u/commustar has previously answered Were slaves ever leased?
/u/Irishfafnir has previously written about slaves in the coal mines, but mostly about mines in Virginia.