The three workers who remain trapped underground at a mine in northwestern B.C. have access to a “natural flow of air ventilation,” the company that operates the facility said Thursday evening.
Specialized drones have been deployed at the Red Chris gold and copper mine to assess the geotechnical conditions underground, and Newmont Corporation group head of health, safety and security Bernard Wessels said there have been no further collapses since the original incidents.
“We also determined that the route to the refuge station behind the fall of the ground is stable,” Wessels said.
“We have commenced efforts to safely remove the debris, utilizing a line-of-sight loading equipment or loader.”
The miners, who are Hy-Tech drilling employees, are in a refuge area with food, water and air that can accommodate up to 16 people for 48 hours, which is about 700 metres from the rockfall site, according to Newmont.
Hy-Tech confirmed on Thursday that the men were operating a diamond drill rig at the mine.
The drillers became trapped on Tuesday after two sections of the underground area caved in.
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They were working more than 500 metres beyond the first cave-in, Newmont said, and were asked to relocate to the refuge station before a second cave-in blocked the access way.
Newmont said staff at the mine were able to communicate with the miners after the first cave-in to make sure they made it to the refuge area before the second cave-in cut off all communication.
In an update late Thursday, the company said its top priority remains reestablishing communication, and that planning was underway to develop a safe rescue plan.
“We need to deploy a specialized system to see how we can get communication up,” Wessels said. “We’re also actively assessing all methods and technologies available to conduct a response effort successfully.”
The company said there was no timeline for the operation, stressing that planning and execution were critical and that the workers were currently safe.
Earlier Thursday, Newmont said the debris blocking access to the underground area is estimated to be approximately 20 to 30 metres long and seven to eight metres high. The area of the refuge chambers is not in the same area as the fall of ground and is understood to be stable and well-ventilated.
A remote control scoop, transported from the nearby Brucejack site, has begun removing debris, Newmont confirmed.
Teams are also restoring the specialized communication system in an attempt to re-establish communication with the workers.
B.C. Premier David Eby originally said that two of the miners are from B.C. and one is from Ontario. However, Hy-Tech clarified on Thursday that one of the workers is from B.C., one is from Manitoba and one is from Ontario.
All operations at the Red Chris mine have been paused while the rescue operation is underway.
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