It was a moment of national pride and an inspirational story to millions across the world, when, to a huge sigh of relief, the first pictures were seen of the 33 miners – Los 33 – trapped in San Jose Mine near Copiapo, Chile being pulled out into safety last month.
Despite advances in safety regulations, procedures and equipment, mining remains a highly dangerous profession. The odds of surviving a collapse, are stacked heavily against those that have been trapped.
Even if you’ve been found, earth and rock are the most obvious hazards, there are often subterranean rivers to avoid and gas pockets that could easily spark.
Drilling boreholes into possible safe locations in the mine has been the standard procedure to find lost workers for several decades.
The first time they were used as probes to find lost mine workers was in the Sheppton Mine Disaster of August 1963, when two anthracite miners – David Fellin, then 58, and Henry “Hank” Throne, 28 – were trapped and given up for dead, then dramatically rescued after being buried 14 days underground.
All three had been working 330 ft below ground when they were left stranded after a cave-in. As the mine shaft collapsed, the three men sought shelter in the chamber they were in. Thinking he had spotted a safer place, Bover ran toward it just as the roof of the mine collapsed. He was heard calling to Throne and Fellin but he was never to be seen again.
Throne and Fellin were left in a tiny prison, crawling in the darkness. Above ground the threat of additional cave-ins as well as the presence of poisonous carbon dioxide were eroding hope of a rescue. The idea of using a borehole in the search was Fellin’s brother, Joe, who pleaded that one be used in a last ditch effort to find the men.
Digging the borehole took almost two days to drill to the proper depth. A light and a microphone were lowered into the earth in an effort to establish contact with the miners. And to the astonishment of everyone there was a feint response.
Incredibly the first 6 in borehole drilled had managed to reach them although further miracles would be required if the pair were to be pulled to safety. Several attempts to enlarge the tunnel created by the borehole failed and the men’s families could only watch in frustration and concern as their hopes were repeatedly dashed.
Finally a subsidiary of Howard Hughes’s Hughes Tool Company’ loaned drilling equipment to the effort and a much larger borehole, 17.5 in in diameter, was successfully drilled over the borehole and the process of extracting Fellin and Throne could finally begin.
More recently, the Crandall Canyon disaster in 2007 proved that five decades of technological advancement has not made mine rescues any less dangerous, when the mine took the lives of six miners and three rescuers.
On mid-day 16 August, 2007, eleven days after the initial collapse, underground rescue teams were less than halfway through the rubble to the suspected location of the miners. Continued bursting of tunnel walls damaged digging equipment and required additional structural reinforcement for the safety of the crew.
In 24 hours, digging teams were only able to advance about 7.5 m. They had advanced 251.7 m into the rubble and estimated 365 m still remained. However later that day, the mine collapsed again when one of the walls of the tunnel exploded outwards, killing three of the rescue workers and injuring six others. The search for the miners was abandoned.
Following the disaster, Bob Murray, owner of the mine, filed paperwork with federal regulators to permanently close and seal the Crandall Canyon mine. “Had I known that this evil mountain, this alive mountain, would do what it did, I would never have sent the miners in here. I’ll never go near that mountain again.”
Digging out of trouble
The challenge of mine rescues
It was a moment of national pride and an inspirational story to millions across the world, when, to a huge sigh of relief, the first pictures were seen of the 33 miners – Los 33 – trapped in San Jose Mine near Copiapo, Chile being pulled out into safety last month.
Despite advances in safety regulations, procedures and equipment, mining remains a highly dangerous profession. The odds of surviving a collapse, are stacked heavily against those that have been trapped.
Even if you’ve been found, earth and rock are the most obvious hazards, there are often subterranean rivers to avoid and gas pockets that could easily spark.
Drilling boreholes into possible safe locations in the mine has been the standard procedure to find lost workers for several decades.
The first time they were used as probes to find lost mine workers was in the Sheppton Mine Disaster of August 1963, when two anthracite miners – David Fellin, then 58, and Henry “Hank” Throne, 28 – were trapped and given up for dead, then dramatically rescued after being buried 14 days underground.
All three had been working 330 ft below ground when they were left stranded after a cave-in. As the mine shaft collapsed, the three men sought shelter in the chamber they were in. Thinking he had spotted a safer place, Bover ran toward it just as the roof of the mine collapsed. He was heard calling to Throne and Fellin but he was never to be seen again.
Throne and Fellin were left in a tiny prison, crawling in the darkness. Above ground the threat of additional cave-ins as well as the presence of poisonous carbon dioxide were eroding hope of a rescue. The idea of using a borehole in the search was Fellin’s brother, Joe, who pleaded that one be used in a last ditch effort to find the men.
Digging the borehole took almost two days to drill to the proper depth. A light and a microphone were lowered into the earth in an effort to establish contact with the miners. And to the astonishment of everyone there was a feint response.
Incredibly the first 6 in borehole drilled had managed to reach them although further miracles would be required if the pair were to be pulled to safety. Several attempts to enlarge the tunnel created by the borehole failed and the men’s families could only watch in frustration and concern as their hopes were repeatedly dashed.
Finally a subsidiary of Howard Hughes’s Hughes Tool Company’ loaned drilling equipment to the effort and a much larger borehole, 17.5 in in diameter, was successfully drilled over the borehole and the process of extracting Fellin and Throne could finally begin.
More recently, the Crandall Canyon disaster in 2007 proved that five decades of technological advancement has not made mine rescues any less dangerous, when the mine took the lives of six miners and three rescuers.
On mid-day 16 August, 2007, eleven days after the initial collapse, underground rescue teams were less than halfway through the rubble to the suspected location of the miners. Continued bursting of tunnel walls damaged digging equipment and required additional structural reinforcement for the safety of the crew.
In 24 hours, digging teams were only able to advance about 7.5 m. They had advanced 251.7 m into the rubble and estimated 365 m still remained. However later that day, the mine collapsed again when one of the walls of the tunnel exploded outwards, killing three of the rescue workers and injuring six others. The search for the miners was abandoned.
Following the disaster, Bob Murray, owner of the mine, filed paperwork with federal regulators to permanently close and seal the Crandall Canyon mine. “Had I known that this evil mountain, this alive mountain, would do what it did, I would never have sent the miners in here. I’ll never go near that mountain again.”