Drilling of rescue shaft begins at Chile mine

SANTIAGO DE CHILE - The digging of a rescue shaft to free 33 miners trapped some 700 metres underground in a collapsed Chilean mine started late Monday, following several delays, a government spokesman said.

Drilling the 66-cm wide rescue shaft is expected to take between two and four months. Rescuers hope to add eight to 15 metres a day to the shaft, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said.

A mechanical digger is first to dig a 15-metre hole at the San Jose mine in the Atacama desert, then a drill head, and an additional engine, which just arrived from Germany, is to be installed. Rescuers said they hope the new equipment would speed up the drilling process.

The miners, who have been trapped since Aug 5, were found to be alive only one week ago. They are provided with emergency food and water rations through a tiny shaft.

They have been able to communicate with their loved ones, many of whom have been camping out near the mine for days.

Concern is growing among rescuers over the long time the men will be trapped. The mine’s humid condition is also a health risk.

Raul Martinez, the Atacama regional chief of the health ministry, stepped down, apparently to take responsibility in the disaster.

He had allowed the mine to reopen July 28, after a workplace accident earlier that month in which a miner had lost a leg.

In 2007, the copper and gold mine had been closed following several accidents and due to general safety concerns. However, it was allowed to reopen a year later.

Exequiel Yanes, the former head of the regulatory authority body, Sernageomin, admitted that the officials had relied on the “good will” of the mine owners.

The government during the weekend announced the formation of a new regulatory body. The mining sector is by far Chile’s most important industry.

On Monday, the government rejected union demands to pay the wages of the remaining workers at San Jose mine until their colleagues are rescued. The workers fear that mine owner San Esteban will stop paying wages as of September.