Chilean mine safety under scrutiny

Sebastián Piñera-(Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique, Ph.D.0) Chile's president says the mine that trapped 33 workers will close forever, and is vowing to create safer conditions for those in the country's biggest industry.

Officials at the copper and gold mine that partially collapsed in August, stranding the miners, will be forced to answer why it was allowed to operate at all. President Sebastian Pinera seemed unequivocal after Wednesday's rescue about the fate of the San Jose mine.

"This mine will definitely never open again," he said after a dizzying day in which the miners were pulled to safety through over 600 metres of rock in a narrow escape chute.

Pinera also said the conditions that allowed the accident "will not go unpunished. Those who are responsible will have to assume their responsibility."

Pinera said the rescue would end up costing "somewhere between US$10 [million] and $20 million," a third covered by private donations with the rest coming from state-owned Codelco — the country's largest copper mining company — and the government itself.

The Aug. 5 collapse brought the 125-year-old San Jose mine's checkered safety record into focus and put Chile's top industry — mining accounts for 40 per cent of the Chilean state's earnings — under close scrutiny. Many believe the collapse occurred because the mine was overworked and violated safety codes.

The families of 27 of the 33 rescued miners have sued its owners for negligence and compensatory damages.

Also suing the San Esteban company is Gino Cortez, a 40-year-old miner who lost his left leg from the knee down a month before the latest accident as he was leaving the mine after his shift and a rock fell on him. He contends he was hurt because the mine was short on the metallic screens that protect miners from such collapses.

Pinera said in the coming days he will be offering a new proposal for better protecting Chilean workers.

Pinera said he would triple the budget of mine safety agency Sernageomin, whose top regulators he fired after the collapse. He also created a commission to investigate the accident and recommend changes.

Some action was swift: the agency shut down at least 18 small mines for safety violations.

"The mine has been proven dangerous, but what's worse are the mine owners who don't offer any protection to men who work in mining," said Patricio Aguilar, 60, of nearby Copiapo, during celebrations of the meticulously executed rescue.

Despite advances in technology, mining remains a dangerous profession in the smaller mines in northern Chile, which employ about 10,000 people.

Since 2000, about 34 people have died every year on average in mining accidents in Chile — with a high of 43 in 2008, according to Sernageomin data.

Mining industry experts say while the Chile accident showed how dangerous some mining operations are, the rescue showed how safe the industry can be.

"All mining is now recognized as the safest heavy industry, certainly in Canada if not North America," Dan Jepsen, formerly with B.C.'s mining exploration association, told CBC News on Wednesday.

He said the Chilean miners knew how to get to a safe zone to survive and mining companies from around the world — including a Canadian firm — teamed up to design a plan to get them out.

Jepsen said most mining companies have safety records worth boasting about.

Mining, he said, has "an absolutely stellar track record of health and safety, and I think we can be very proud of that.

There has been such an effort from the mineral and mining industry to address health and safety issues."

(source:cbc.ca)

Chile Nears End of Rescue Operation for 33 Miners

Chilean rescuers were nearing the end of a marathon operation to rescue 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months. All of the rescued miners are being sent for medical treatment and that several are expected to undergo surgery in the coming days.

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Chilean officials say the rescue operation at the San Jose mine in northern Chile is advancing more quickly than expected and could conclude before Thursday. Initially, officials said it might take 48 hours to pull the miners to the surface through a 622-meter rescue shaft.

Rescue crews have been honing the process throughout the day, enabling them to pull each miner to the surface in about 15 minutes.

Rescue crews and officials cheer and clap as each miner arrives at the surface, where family members are waiting for him. Medical teams rush each man to a hospital in nearby Copiapó for a thorough examination.

Chile's President Sebastián Piñera is at the site to greet each rescued miner.

After Victor Zamora surfaced, Mr. Piñera told him that he was never alone, saying that the government fulfilled its promise to bring the men back alive.

The rescue ends a two-month-long ordeal for the men, who were trapped by a cave-in at the gold and copper mine on August 5. The men were cut off from the surface for 17 days, until a drilling crew located them.

Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne offered thanks to scores of experts and others who have helped carry out the rescue operation. But he cautioned that the job was not over yet.

Golborne said weeks of work are finally paying off, but officials will not be satisfied until the rescue is completed.

Health Minister Jaime Mañalich says many of the miners appear to be in better health than expected. He says each miner will undergo a series of tests, including a lung x-ray and heart monitoring, and that some might receive psychiatric treatment, if needed.

A few miners are expected to receive dental surgery in the coming days to treat abscesses and other conditions. Mañalich says the most serious case was a miner with pneumonia.

He says the miner will likely remain in intensive care for several days to receive oxygen and other treatments.

More than 1,000 journalists are covering the rescue operation at the remote San Jose mine in the Atacama desert. During the past two months, relatives of the miners and rescue crews have gathered outside the mine, forming a community they call Camp Hope.

Millions of people around the world are watching the rescue operation unfold on television. In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama says he watched the first miner being freed, adding that it was a tribute to the hard work of the rescue workers and the Chilean people. He thanked people from around the world who contributed to the operation, including a U.S.-based drilling team and experts from the U.S. space agency, NASA.

(source:voa)