Chilean Mine Rescuers Face Daunting Challenge
American mining experts say Chilean authorities face two daunting tasks as they try to rescue 33 miners trapped underground since Aug. 5: drilling a wide borehole nearly a half-mile down to reach the miners; and keeping the miners safe and sane during four months of expected drilling.
"A suggestion is that we might look around the world to try to enhance the technology to be able to affect a rescue a little sooner," says Davitt McAteer, a former chief of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. "A number of discussions are being held in the United States as well as other countries in Europe and South Africa to see what kind of help we can provide."
Chilean rescuers are already shipping a massive diamond-tipped drilling machine to the San Jose gold and copper mine outside Copiapo, about 530 miles north of Santiago.
They have also gathered a team of physicians and psychiatric experts to tend to the mental health of the miners, whose 18 days underground may now stretch as much as four months. Rescue leader Andre Sougarret says it could take that long to drill a borehole wide enough to bring the miners to the surface.
Similar Rescue Attempts
American mine rescue teams drilled similar boreholes to evacuate trapped miners at the Quecreek Mine in Pennsylvania in 2002 and the Sunshine Mine in Idaho in 1972. But those holes were just a fraction of the depth required in Chile. And Quecreek is a coal mine with relatively soft deposits.
"We're talking about a hard rock mine [in Chile], so I would expect the drilling progress is going to be a lot slower," says Robert Ferriter, a senior mine safety and health specialist at the Colorado School of Mines.
Ferriter lists some of the obstacles drillers face in reaching the trapped miners:
-- Hitting a fault zone with soft material, which will "interfere with the drilling."
-- Drills "wander. They don't go in nice straight line[s]. They'll corkscrew around."
-- The ground between the miners and the surface may not be well understood, "so there's a possibility of losing that drill or losing that hole."
"There are a lot of unknowns drilling that big a hole and then extracting people up through it," Ferriter says. "I would hope they are looking at other ways of reaching them."
Other Alternatives
One other way would be digging back through the collapsed portion of the mine that trapped the miners in the first place. That's also suggested by Felipe Calizaya, a mine ventilation expert at the University of Utah who has mining experience in Peru. Calizaya says he worries about breathable air in the mine while rescuers drill toward the miners.
"The problem here is the enclosure," Calizaya explains. "They are in a confined space, and 33 people -- they may run out of oxygen when it comes to waiting for weeks or months."
It's not clear how much air remains underground, whether there's any ongoing airflow, or whether sufficient air can be pumped in from the surface. Calizaya, McAteer and Ferriter don't expect much of a threat from toxic gases, including methane, the explosive and lethal gas that plagues coal mines. They're not as persistent in hard rock mines. But Ferriter is concerned about the stability of the space in which the miners found refuge from collapsing tunnels.
"You have to keep the space open, and you have to keep it stable enough that it'll stay open," he says.
'Psychologically, It's Going To Be A Challenge'
All of this likely weighs on the minds of the miners.
"Your mind will wander around at all the possibilities of things that could go wrong," Ferriter says. "These guys are just sitting there waiting, so psychologically, it's going to be a challenge."
"They live there. They work there," Calizaya notes. "Probably they can survive for a couple of weeks without any problem. But when it comes to months, then it's another issue."
Rescuers are planning to lower food, water, medicine and even questionnaires through the small borehole drilled into the mine already. The questionnaires will help officials assess the physical and mental condition of each miner.
There's also a plan to lower microphones so that the miners can speak with their families while they await rescue. A video camera has already been lowered, and officials have been able to see eight or nine miners waving.
Crews are also drilling two more small shafts to make sure there are multiple ways to reach the men during the rescue efforts.
"Miners are resilient as a general matter, but that's a long time to be trapped," McAteer says. "No matter what the duration, whether it's weeks or months, it's going to be a difficult time."
Mario Gomez, 63, wrote an optimistic note to his wife on a sheet of notebook paper and sent it to the surface attached to the probe lowered into the mine.
"I want to tell everyone that I'm good and we'll surely come out OK," Gomez wrote. "God is great, and the help of my God is going to make it possible to leave this mine alive."
This report contains material from The Associated Press and NPR's Scott Neuman.
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It could be many weeks, even months, underground for 33 Chilean miners. Rescue workers are lowering supplies and microphones through a bore hole just six inches wide. Psychiatrists are working on plans to help keep the miners sane.
Meantime, a massive, diamond-tipped drilling machine is on the way to drill a hole big enough to pull the miners out one at a time. Here in the U.S., mining experts are considering the immense challenges ahead. We hear that story from NPR's Howard Berkes.
HOWARD BERKES: The 33 gold and copper miners have already spent 18 days trapped nearly a half mile underground. A collapsed tunnel blocks their way out. It took eight tries to reach them with a relatively tiny borehole. The much bigger rescue shaft could take as much as four months to drill, according to Chilean mining officials.
Mine safety experts here are astounded by the task. Davitt McAteer is a former federal mine safety chief.
Mr. DAVITT McATEER (Former Federal Mine Safety Chief): Miners are resilient as a general matter, but that's a long time to be trapped up. It is going to be, no matter what the duration, whether it's weeks or months, it's going to be a difficult time.
BERKES: This is a hard rock mine so there isn't much of a toxic gas threat, including the methane that plagues coal mines, says Felipe Calizaya, a University of Utah mine ventilation expert with experience in neighboring Peru. But breathable air in a confined space is a concern.
Mr. FELIPE CALIZAYA (University of Utah): Thirty-three people, they may run out of oxygen. That's one of the key elements to worry about. And when it comes to waiting for weeks or months, then oxygen depletion is an issue.
BERKES: It's not clear how much air remains underground, whether there's any ongoing airflow or whether sufficient air can be pumped in from the surface. The stability of the space in which the miners found refuge is also a concern. Is it subject to collapse? And reaching them a half-mile down with a big enough hole for rescue is a problematic task.
Bob Ferriter is the senior mine safety specialist at the Colorado School of Mines.
Mr. BOB FERRITER (Senior Mine Safety Specialist, Colorado School of Mines): You know, if you hit a fault zone in there somewhere, it'll take and interfere with that drilling. And drills do, you know, they wander. They dont go a nice straight line. They'll kind of corkscrew around.
There's a possibility of losing that drill or losing that hole. So there's a lot of unknowns drilling that big a hole and then extracting people back up through it.
BERKES: Ferriter recalls two similar rescues in the United States: at the Que Creek mine in Pennsylvania eight years ago and the Sunshine Mine in Idaho in 1972. But both shafts used in those rescues were drilled a fraction of the depth required in Chile. Ferriter says these physical challenges weigh on the minds of trapped miners.
Mr. FERRITER: Your mind will wander around at all the possibilities of things that could go wrong. And then of course you have to have encouragement. You know, hopefully the leader is saying, hey, we're going to get out of here. It's okay. We're going to make it. Look, they found us already, that's half the battle. But these guys are just sitting there waiting. So psychologically it's going to be a challenge.
BERKES: Part of the plan in Chile is to drop microphones into the mine so the miners can speak with their families as they await rescue. They've already sent out written notes. The families have been celebrating the miracle of locating their loved ones alive. Now they're praying for one more miracle.
Howard Berkes, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
