Edison Peña
Rescue efforts at San José Mine near Copiapó, Chile on 10 August 2010
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| Date | 5 August 2010 – 13 October 2010 (69 days) |
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| Time | 14:05 CLT (UTC−4) |
| Location | Atacama Desert near Copiapó, Chile |
| Coordinates | 27°09′31″S 70°29′52″W / 27.158609°S 70.497655°WCoordinates: 27°09′31″S 70°29′52″W / 27.158609°S 70.497655°W |
| First reporter | San Esteban Mining Company |
| Outcome | All 33 trapped miners rescued by government |
| Property damage | Total closure and loss as of August 2010[update] |
| Litigation | US$2 million lawsuit as of August 2010[update] |
| Website | Ministry of Mining, Chile |
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Drilling Results
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The 2010 Copiapó mining accident, also known then as the "Chilean mining accident", began on Thursday, 5 August 2010 with a cave-in at the San José copper–gold mine, located in the Atacama Desert 45 kilometers (28 mi) north of the regional capital of Copiapó, in northern Chile. Thirty-three men, trapped 700 meters (2,300 ft) underground and 5 kilometers (3 mi) from the mine's entrance via spiraling underground ramps, were rescued after 69 days.
After the state-owned mining company, Codelco, took over rescue efforts from the mine's owners, exploratory boreholes were drilled, and seventeen days after the accident a note was found taped to a drill bit pulled back to the surface:"Estamos bien en el refugio, los 33" (English: "We are well in the shelter, the 33 of us").
Three separate drilling rig teams, nearly every Chilean government ministry, the United States' NASA space agency, and a dozen corporations from around the world cooperated completing the rescue. On 13 October 2010 the men were winched to the surface one at a time, in a specially built capsule, as an estimated 1 billion people worldwide watched. With few exceptions all were in good medical condition with no long-term physical effects anticipated. Private donations covered one-third of the US$20 million cost of the rescue, with the rest coming from the mine owners and the government.
Previous geological instability at the old mine and a long record of safety violations for the mine's owners, San Esteban Mining Company, had resulted in a series of fines and accidents, including eight deaths, during the dozen years leading up to this accident. Following three years of work, lawsuits and investigations into the collapse concluded in August 2013 with no charges filed.
The collapse occurred at 14:00 CLT on 5 August 2010. Access to the depths of the mine was by a long helical roadway. A group nearer the entrance escaped, but a second group of 33 men was trapped deep inside. A thick dust cloud caused by the rock fall blinded the miners for as much as six hours.
Initially, the trapped miners tried to escape through ventilation shafts, but the ladders required by safety codes were missing.
Luis Urzúa, the duty shift supervisor, gathered his men in a room called a "refuge" and organized them and their resources. Teams were sent out to assess the vicinity.
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Wikipedia