Twenty-three hundred feet beneath the earth’s surface; that is a representative depth for workers mining precious metals, such as gold and copper. More pointedly, that is the depth at which miners were working in San Jose Mine, Chile, when the structure collapsed August 5th. On August 22nd, seventeen days later, it was determined that all 33 miners assigned to the crew were alive, and in reasonably good health.
Although by the time it was discovered the crew was alive and in tact, any number of minor miracles had occurred, including surviving seventeen days on rations allocated for 48 hours, developing a revised social structure to accommodate the needs of 33 men in a confined space, and taking into account their individual phobias and or anxieties. More challenges awaited both the miners and their would-be rescuers.
Two huge concerns were alleviated immediately.
• The men knew they had been found, which precluded continuing notions that officials may have given up on
finding them; after two and a half weeks, a real possibility.
• Family members, friends and officials recognized that they had an opportunity to ensure the negative
consequences of the event were confined to harrowing experiences, instead of devolving into a tragedy of
immense proportions.
But then the serious work of envisioning, designing, implementing and fully executing a successful rescue mission began in earnest. Initial estimates suggested that it may take until Christmas or the New Year to extricate the miners; which would mean the miners would spend more than four additional months underground, after they were found. This possibility was so chilling, the miners were not told for several days. The list of issues known to be a factor, aside from general health concerns, included anxiety, depression, and fear of the dark.
One of the finer balancing acts entailed ensuring the men were properly and amply hydrated and nourished, yet, in a way that did not cause them to gain too much weight, or girth. These considerations were directly related to the unavoidably tight squeeze some would face as they prepared for their exit from the mine. The dimensions of the 22-inch cage that would have to travel the twenty-three hundred feet up the 24-inch shaft were uncompromising givens. Thus, the size of the miners had to be a variable factor, adjusted accordingly.
As might be imagined, the collapse of the mine resulted in a distress call heard ‘round the world. Fortunately, it not only attracted media attention, but also the interest and concern of problem-solvers. Eventually, heavy-duty drilling hardware and apparatus capable of piercing and penetrating the hard rock surface, yet not causing further collapse had to be found and deployed. In the end, collaboration emerged that leveraged knowledge, skills, abilities, tools, and equipment from numerous sources, including:
- Codelco, the state-owned mining company the Chilean government ask to take the lead on the rescue project
- Geotec Boyles Brothers, a U.S.-Chilean company asked to manage the Plan B drilling effort, one of three run simultaneously
- Schramm, Inc., a Pennsylvania company which makes the T-130 drill, that bore the hole through which the miners escaped
- Center Rock, Inc., another Pennsylvania company which makes the drill bits that penetrated the rock
- American contractor, Jeff Hart, of Denver, who flew in from Afghanistan to operate the drill that eventually enabled the miners to be freed
- NASA, which furnished the pod
After several revisions, estimates of the time required to reach and free the miners was shortened. Over the weekend it was concluded that sometime between Tuesday and Thursday of this week was a sound and viable goal.
Last night, just prior to beginning the effort to remove the miners, two additional men, Manuel Gonzalez, a mine rescue expert, and Robert Ros, a paramedic were lowered into the mine to help prepare the men for their rescue. It has been projected that it could take up to 36 hours to return every one to the surface. Officials planned to bring one person to the surface each hour.
At approximately 11:12 p.m., EDT (12:12 a.m. Local Time), Florencio Avalos, 31 was born…again, or at least that is how he may have felt. Avalos a Chilean miner, who along with his 32 colleagues had been trapped for ten weeks, became the first to be rescued. Mr. Avalos, who was second-in-command, was preselected to be the first miner out.
An assessment was made that a group of three men, Mario Sepulveda Espina, Juan Illanes, and Carlos Mamani, because of their advanced skill sets, would be the next to be retrieved. Officials believed if any of the three encountered problems, they could resolve them in the process of their rescue.
Next on tap for rescue are the ten miners who are the weakest, or who suffer from a variety of debilitating ailments, such as hypertension, diabetes, or respiratory infections. Presumably, they may be too weak or enfeebled to get out, if they were nearer the last to leave.
Finally, the last of the miners scheduled to leave is shift foreman, Luiz Urzua. Mr. Urzua is credited for ensuring the miners’ survival during the initial period of seventeen days, when no one outside knew whether they were dead or alive.
This is indeed a good news story; a rare incidence for the news these days. There will be more time for drama, politics, and intrigue. Today, join me in celebrating Chile’s Epic Story: Free at Last!
I’m done; holla back!
Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/12/workers-begin-to-rescue-trapped-chilean-miners/?hpt=T1&iref=BN1
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/12/world/main6951753.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/12/world/main6951753.shtml?tag=topnews
http://www.livescience.com/environment/underground-mining-process-dangers-100830.html
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700073162/First-of-33-men-rescued-from-Chilean-mine.html
http://abcnews.go.com/International/chilean-mine-rescue-underway-capsule-pulling-men-10/story?id=11865814
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/2-months-later-Chile-mine-rescue-begins/articleshow/6739451.cms
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/chile/8060657/Chile-mine-rescue-final-phase-begins.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101013/wl_afp/alert
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2013143440_miners13.html?syndication=rss
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/09/jeff-hart-chile-mine-dril_n_757060.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codelco
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