Not to be confused with The Mines
Mines are alien traps found in the Ice Caves. They are extremely dangerous, but can also be very useful.
Mechanics
Touching a mine will begin its detonation sequence, causing it to bleep four times before exploding like a bomb, with a fuse that lasts about a second.
Thrown objects, and blasts from a firearm such as the Shotgun won't set off the explosion, but other characters will. Keep in mind if two mines are right next to each other, It is possible for the first one triggered to send the other one flying in the opposite direction, so running past may result in the second mine exploding in the player's face.
Even if you survive the explosion, you will likely be thrown far and fall into the Abyss.
Disarming
If you act quickly, it is possible to pick up a mine before it explodes, which aborts the detonation and allows it to be repositioned.
The mine will reset wherever it is placed until it is triggered again.
This can be useful for killing Mammoths or using them to destroy blocks, allowing you to conserve your own bombs. Another sneaky use is to place one below a shopkeeper to safely blow him up.
You can detonate a mine safely from a distance by throwing a penguin or the corpse of a Yeti at it.
If you want to pick one up, you are much more likely to be successful if jump and land directly on top of it. Walking to it from the side will cause it to begin the detonation sequence before you're in position, which doesn't leave you a lot of time if you fumble.
If you don't have the Spike Shoes, it can be very difficult to grab a mine while sliding around on ice, so this shouldn't be attempted.
It is always recommended to safely detonate all nearby mines before attacking any Yetis - If you are thrown near to one, you won't recover from being stunned fast enough to get away from the explosion.
Finally, although it seems obvious, it's important not to get complacent around mines after successfully disarming several of them in a row. Always treat them with the proper respect, or they will eventually bite you in the ass.