The Chilean Miners Could Soon Be Above Ground

Good news for the trapped miners. According to the article below, Chile’s government hopes to have the group out of the collapsed mine later this month after initially saying it would take until Christmas. There are three drills working to reach them and they are making good time. I'm sure that to the men trapped below, every hour saved is precious.    . . . June


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Chilean miners could see light soon:
Eyewitness News: South African construction giant Murray and Roberts said its drill will break through to a group of trapped Chilean miners within the next few days.

After that, the hole left by the pilot drill will be widened to a 70cm diameter to allow a special capsule to pull the 33 men to surface.

The miners are stuck 700 metres underground and are waiting as three separate drills are boring their way down to rescue them.

Fresh reports have said Chile’s government hopes to have the group out of the collapsed mine later this month after initially saying it would take until Christmas.

Murray and Roberts said while the other two drills may well reach the miners earlier, their rescue shaft will not be ready before mid-November. 


The company’s Ed Jardim said, “Our drills are currently 600 metres down of the 700 and that’s the pilot hole. 

Thereafter we’ll start widening the hole to its full diameter. We expect that our pilot hole will break through in the next few days, maybe in a week or 10 days.”



The miners have been trapped underground for two months and are reportedly exercising to stay fit and prepare for their rescue.

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Rescue Capsule 'Phoenix" Arrives at The Mine

One of the rescue capsules has arrived at the Chilean mine according to the following article.The capsule is 21 inches wide and contains tanks of air, a microphone for communications, and equipment to monitor the miner's heart rate and breathing as they are raised to the surface. Both the families and the miners themselves are reminded that their nightmare will eventually end.
    . . . June


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'Phoenix' capsule arrives to rescue Chilean miners
Telegraph:

The first of three rescue capsules, named Phoenix, arrived at the mine on Saturday.

'We have called it Phoenix because I think it will bring about a rebirth of the miners, and a new life for them,' said mining minister Laurence Golborne.

The miners have been trapped 2,257 feet underground since August 5 when the roof of the mine collapsed.
They were discovered alive and well 17 days later, and rescuers have been drilling to reach them since August 31.

Families gathered at Camp Hope, high in the Atacama Desert, applauded and chanted "Viva Chile!" as the six foot high metal cage was unveiled.

"It is what we have all been waiting for," said Elizabeth Segovia, sister of one of the trapped miners.

"Of course we know that there will be difficulties, but now everything will be much easier."

The 420kg capsule, painted in the colours of the Chilean flag, is 21 inches wide and contains tanks of air, a microphone for communications, and equipment to monitor the miner's heart rate and breathing as they are raised to the surface.

Cristina Nunez, wife of trapped miner Claudio Yanez, climbed into the cage and said: "I'm very happy.

Claudio will fit inside perfectly because he's one of the skinnier ones. But all 33 will fit fine. This bring us a step closer to the rescue."

Engineers in charge of drilling to rescue the miners believe that they are likely to be reached in early November.

Read entire article . . .

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Giant Drill Arrives at Chile mine

A truck carrying pieces of the third

drill that will be used in the... 

((AP Photo/Aliosha Marquez))

 The officials are busy drilling down some rescue shafts through the solid rock to their location. A huge oil drilling machine has just arrived at the site to start a third rescue shaft. It's still going to take a long time to reach them. In the meantime, the men are now allowed cigaretes and they are regularly speaking to their families.
   . . . June



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Giant drill at Chile mine greeted with cheers
Yahoo! News:

COPIAPO, Chile (AFP) – Scores of flatbed trucks began unloading a huge oil drilling machine Friday to dig a third rescue tunnel to 33 trapped miners, as one drill was nearly one-third of the way down and another lay idle for repairs.

The families of the trapped miners cheered and waved flags as they welcomed the first of 42 trucks that rolled in around 8:30 am (1230 GMT).

'These trucks are enormous,' marveled Maria, sister of trapped miner Dario Segovia. 'We were up all night here in the camp waiting for them.'

Several of the six-axle trucks limped in with flat tires, a result of driving to the mine on a steep hillside dirt road filled with potholes and sharp rocks.

Their arrival was delayed as excavators and bulldozers had to broaden the entrance to the San Jose mine near Copiapo, a city some 800 kilometers north of Santiago, to accommodate the giant trucks.

The trapped miners have become national heroes since they were found alive on August 22, 17 days after a mine cave-in in the remote Atacama desert. The miners are trapped some 700 meters (2,300 feet)
below the surface.

However euphoria over their discovery was dampened by news it could take months, possibly until Christmas, to drill a shaft to rescue the miners.

Rescuers are dropping food and water down narrow shafts to the miners to keep them alive, along with medicines and games to keep them healthy and occupied.

One of the delivery shafts Friday was fitted with a multi-use conduit reaching all the way down to the miners' shelter, providing them with permanent supplies of oxygen, water, and a telephone line.

"Now they can speak by telephone via the conduct," the lead engineer in the rescue effort, Andres Sougarret, told reporters Friday.

The trucks bringing the new equipment, designed to drill oil wells and operated by Canada's Precision Drilling, arrived from Iquique in waves because the camp work zone is too small to park them all together.

The giant drill "RIG-422" they were bringing can tunnel up to 2,000 meters below the surface at a speed -- depending on the density of the ground -- of between 20 and 40 meters a day, according to Chilean officials.
Officials have dubbed the effort "Plan C," and if all goes according to schedule workers will drill down just 597 meters (1,958 feet), shortening the rescue time to perhaps two months.

Read on . . .

Unique challenge For Chilean Miners. Stay Slim For Rescue.

One challenge is that in order for the miners must fit through a rescue hole they must be no more than 45 inches around the waist. Exercise programs are in place for this. Also, NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez said that the space agency, with its long research on aiding astronauts isolated in space, could help the Chileans understand how to provide "psychological support for those trapped
   . .  June

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Chile faces unique challenge in maintaining miners  
Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010

: "COPIAPO, Chile -- In less than a week the 33 miners trapped under Chile's Atacama Desert will have been stuck underground longer than any others in memory - taxing authorities Thursday with unique challenges on coaxing them and their families through the ordeal.
A team of submarine commanders was called in for advice on close-quarters living. NASA is advising on 'life sciences' and giving the men a sense they control their own destinies. Exercise programs are in place so the miners are skinny enough to fit through a rescue hole.

Even a masseuse roams a makeshift camp for the miners' families, relieving tensions with a touch.

All in an effort to confront the unique challenges being faced by all involved to bring the miners out alive.

Extreme patience is seen with each new day that breaks over Camp Hope - where the families of the miners have erected tents, awaiting their loved ones - but there are high expectations for results.

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Now Drilling Begins in The Chilean Mine Rescue

The brave men underground in the Chilean Mine Cave-in will have to have lots of patience and stamina to face the challenges ahead. The rescue efforts are starting up and could take months to complete, and keeping their spirits up in that time becomes a priority. More on those efforts in the article below.
   . . . June


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Drilling Begins in Chile Mine Rescue
Published: August 31, 2010  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

"SAN JOSE MINE, Chile (AP) -- The effort to save 33 Chilean men trapped deep in a mine is an unprecedented challenge, mining safety experts said Tuesday. It means months of drilling, then a harrowing three-hour trip in a cage up a narrow hole carved through solid rock.

If all of that is successful, the freed men will emerge from the earth and ''feel born again,'' said an American miner who was part of a group dramatically rescued in 2002 with similar techniques. But that rescue pulled men from a spot only one-tenth as deep."

''They're facing the most unusual rescue that has ever been dealt with,'' said Dave Feickert, director of KiaOra, a mine safety consulting firm in New Zealand that has worked to improve China's dangerous mines. ''Every one of these rescues presents challenging issues. But this one is unique.''

First, engineers must use a 31-ton drill to create a ''pilot'' hole from the floor of the Atacama Desert down 2,200 feet (700 meters) to the area in the San Jose mine where the men wait.

Then, the drill must be fitted with a larger bit to carve out a rescue chimney that will be about 26 inches (66 centimeters) wide -- a task that means guiding the drill through solid rock while keeping the drill rod from snapping or getting bogged down as it nears its target.

Finally, the men must be brought up one at a time inside a specially built cage -- a trip that will take three hours each. Just hauling the men up will itself -- if there are no problems -- take more than four days.

''Nothing of this magnitude has happened before; it's absolutely unheard of,'' said Alex Gryska, a mine rescue manager with the Canadian government.

Read More . . .

Trapped Chilean Miner Proposes To His Sweetheart

This is about as romantic as it gets! With the world watching, Esteban Rojes, buried deep underground in the collapsed Chilean mine, scribbled his proposal on a scrap of paper. “When I get out, let’s buy the dress and we’ll get married.”

Of course, the delighted bride-to-be- Jessica said "YES"
   . . . June

Trapped Chilean miner proposes to sweetheart
Mumbai Mirror: Posted On Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 04:23:35 AM
One of the 33 Chilean miners stuck deep underground awaiting rescue has popped the question to his childhood sweetheart in a handwritten note.


Romantic Esteban Rojas, 44, scribbled his proposal on a scrap of paper from where he is buried 700 metres underground.


In the note to Jessica Ganiez, he wrote: “When I get out, let’s buy the dress and we’ll get married.”


Trapped miners are receiving handwritten notes sent to them through three small bore holes.

On Sunday night, a delighted Jessica, 43, spoke of her joy at finally being asked to tie the knot after 25 years together. Speaking to Daily Mirror, she said: “I thought he was never going to ask me. We have talked about it before, but he never asked me. I think it is a good idea.”

She added: “I have tried to hint at it many times, but it never happened. He always said getting married is a once in a lifetime thing and he would ask me when the time is best. Obviously, what has happened has made him do it.”

The couple are registered civil partners but have never had a church wedding. Now Jessica has told friends and family she will set up a wedding gift register with a fridge and a cooker at the top of the list.

This week Jessica, who began dating Esteban in her teens, will get to speak him on the phone for the first time after a communication link was set up Sunday.

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The Story of One Chili Mine Disaster Family

There are many stories associated with the Chili Mine disaster. Each of the trapped miners has a family waiting for him, but this one family have already had a disaster behind them. 

Read their story in the article below.
   . . . June


Chilean family survives quake, faces mine collapse
By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer Bradley Brooks, Associated Press Writer

COPIAPO, Chile – Carola Narvaez breathed in the Atacama Desert's cold dawn air and slowly began to exhale the story of how her family survived a devastating earthquake and worked to rebuild their lives — only for her husband to end up trapped deep inside a Chilean mine.

A tale of two disasters, Narvaez's account embodies the challenges still faced by the poor in Chile despite two decades as Latin America's economic darling. It is a story of incredible misfortune, unwavering faith and a love she said has only been strengthened by adversity.

Narvaez's husband, Raul Bustos, is a heavy-machinery mechanic whose skills have always been in demand. For years he has made a living repairing the equipment that rips copper, the lifeblood of Chile's economy, out of the earth, or helping build massive ships in ports along the nation's 4,000-mile (6,400-kilometer) coastline.

Six months ago Friday, the family was living in the port city of Talcahuano, 300 miles (500 kilometers) south of the capital, where Raul was working for Chilean shipbuilder Asmar.

Like most Chileans, the couple were sound asleep when one of the most powerful earthquakes registered in a century struck the central coast Feb. 27.

What the earthquake did not knock down, the tsunami it triggered washed away. While the family's home survived, ships in Asmar's yards were pushed into the street and the builder's operations destroyed.

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