August 30, 2010
A new video of 33 men trapped in a mine under Chile’s Atacama Desert shows them sending greetings to their families, talking about how they are doing better since receiving food and breaking into tears as they talk about loved ones.
In the video released Sunday, the men are shirtless because of the heat in the mine and wearing what look like white surgical pants, special clothing sent down to help keep them dry.
Most are upbeat, expressing gratitude to their families and the rescuers for the support they are receiving via handwritten notes sent to them through three small bore holes. Authorities also send food, water, medicine and other goods to them through the three holes.
But when it comes time to speak about their wives and children, many of the men break down.
“I’m sending my greetings to Angelica. I love you so much, darling,” says 30-year-old Osman Araya, as his voice chokes and he begins to cry. “Tell my mother, I love you guys so much. I’ll never leave you, I will fight to the end to be with you.”
Araya and 32 fellow miners were trapped by the Aug. 5 collapse of the main shaft of the San Jose gold and silver mine in northern Chile. They only gained contact with the outside after 17 days — during which they rationed 48-hours’ worth of food and dug for water in the ground. On Monday, the men will equal a mark set by three miners who survived 25 days trapped in a flooded mine in southern China last year. Few other rescues have taken more than two weeks.
In the video, one miner explains to the family of 28-year-old Ariel Ticona that he didn’t want to appear on camera — apparently because he is shy — but that he was sending his love to them and that, according to an unidentified speaker, he “is super happy and he is super, super, super well!”
The latest video, in contrast to the first 45-minute video released by the government on Thursday, shows little of the men’s surroundings. Instead, it appears meant as a video postcard for loved ones, as each of the 12 men who speak to the camera are given about 30 seconds to talk.
At one point, the camera pans to a larger group of men, and several animated, joking voices can be heard throughout the tape.
One unidentified man, who squints in the light shone on his face as do most of the miners, said he is thankful “for all your efforts out there.”
Another man shown says he is doing much better because of the food and water the miners have received.
The miners will have to aid in their own escape by clearing thousands of tons of rock that will fall as a rescue hole is drilled toward them.
“The miners are going to have to take out all that material as it falls,” Andres Sougarret, Codelco’s head engineer on the operation, told The Associated Press Sunday in a phone interview.
After drilling three small bore holes in recent weeks to create lines of communication with the miners and deliver basic food and medicine, Chile’s state-owned Codelco mining company will begin boring a rescue hole Monday afternoon that will be wide enough to pull the men up through 2,300 feet (700 meters) of earth.
The first step will be to drill a “pilot hole” similar in size to the other three. Then much larger machine cutters will slowly grind through that hole, forcing crushed rock to fall down into the mine shaft area near the trapped men.
Failure to keep the bottom clear of debris could quickly plug the hole, delaying a rescue that officials say could take three to four months.
In all, the trapped miners will have to clear between 3,000 and 4,000 tons of rock, work that will require crews of about a half-dozen men working in shifts 24 hours a day.
The men have basic clearing equipment, such as wheel barrows and industrial-sized battery-powered sweepers, Sougarret said. The hole will likely end up several hundred yards (meters) from their living area in the mine’s shelter, giving the men room to maneuver and store the rocks, he added.
Sougarret declined to estimate how long the work would take, saying it would depend on how each step went.
Once drilling begins, the team will have to decide whether to fit the wider hole with metal casing, often used to seal a hole and prevent collapses in the walls.
“We may not have to use it in this case because the rock is really high quality, really strong,” he said.
On Sunday, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne reiterated the government’s estimate of three to four months to rescue the men, rejecting local reports citing engineers who said it could be done in much less time.
Golborne said that experts had analyzed 10 different methods to get the men out, will continue to study other options, but that “nothing has yet been found that will be quicker.”
Normally, after completing a pilot hole, the opening is enlarged by drilling from the bottom up. The drill, hanging at the bottom of the pilot hole, is reached through existing shafts in a mine and then fitted with the machine cutters, which then blast through rock as they are raised.
In this case, however, there is no way to get those large cutters to the bottom of the mine; if there was a hole large enough to reach it, the men would already have been rescued.
Araya said that knowledge gained drilling the initial holes, which are between 20 and 100 yards (meters) from the shelter, would give the team digging the rescue hole a head start. For example, while penetrating rock, the circular motion of the bits causes the drill to veer right. In this case, the especially hard rock exaggerates that, making constant correction necessary, he said.
From the moment the mine collapsed, the trapped men have had a central role in keeping themselves alive — getting to the safety chamber, rationing food and keeping order with extraordinary discipline.
Still, many questions remain. What physical and mental condition will the men be in when they are called on to help save themselves?
“We will keep them alive, in good shape and health,” said Golborne. “That is something that is happening in parallel while we are digging the larger hole.”
Other steps are being taken to keep the men as strong as possible — physically and mentally.
Telephone wire was being snaked down one of the bore holes on Sunday, and Golborne said that within a few hours one representative from each family would be allowed to talk to one of the miners — the first verbal communication they would have. Until now, handwritten notes have been passed through tubes sent up and down the bore holes.
Physically, many of the men have severe skin irritations from the hot, wet conditions underground and were sent special clothing that dries quicker and also small mats to sleep on so they don’t have to rest directly on the damp ground.
For now, the men have some time to prepare before they start the arduous task of hauling away the rock that stands between them and freedom, but questions remain.
Sougarret, the operation leader, said it will be one to two months before large quantities of rocks start falling. Can the men do such hard labor for a couple months just on food that will fit down the narrow tubes? And then there is what will be a harrowing rescue: each man will be pulled up through the 26-inch (66-centimeter) hole in a tube, a ride that will take about an hour each.
story from and video at: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wirestory?id=11508711&page=1
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August 5th, 2010
8 + 5 +2+0+1+0 = 16 = the universal number for August 5th, 2010 = Surprises. Shocks. Instantaneous. Sudden. Astonishment. Speechless. Unprecedented. Thunderstruck. Stun. Startle. Limits. Caution. Be careful. Safety first. Expect the unexpected. Anything can happen. Predictably unpredictable. Never shout never. All of a sudden. In a flash. In an instant. From out of nowhere. Bolt out of the blue. Shock to the system. A real eye opener. Blown away. Freedom from the known. Going where no one has ever gone before. Life-altering experiences.
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Using August 5th, 2010 as the “birthdate” of the collapse of the main shaft of the San Jose gold and silver mine in northern Chile yields:
August 5th, 2010
8 + 5 +2+0+1+0 = 16 = the personal year for the collapse of the main shaft of the San Jose gold and silver mine in northern Chile (from August 5th, 2010 to August 4th, 2011) = Surprises. Shocks. Instantaneous. Sudden. Speechless. Unprecedented. Thunderstruck. Stun. Startle. Limits. Caution. Be careful. Safety first. Expect the unexpected. Anything can happen. Predictably unpredictable. Never shout never. All of a sudden. In a flash. In an instant. From out of nowhere. Bolt out of the blue. Shock to the system. A real eye opener. Blown away. Freedom from the known. Going where no one has ever gone before. Life-altering experiences.
16 year + 8 (August) = 24 = the personal month for the collapse of the main shaft of the San Jose gold and silver mine in northern Chile (from August 5th, 2010 to September 4th, 2010) = The need for clean living.
24 month + 30 (30th of the month on August 30th, 2010) = 54 = the personal day for the collapse of the main shaft of the San Jose gold and silver mine in northern Chile = Video.
—————————————————————————————-
using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
Osman Araya
6 1 1
his primary challenge and how he obtains/loses his heart’s desire both = OA = 61 = Strategy. Planning. Contingency plans. Back up plans. Plan B. Change of plans. Tactics. Exit. Escape. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Doing the unexpected. Having a back up plan (in case plans fall through at the last minute). Having plan B up your sleeve. Having a trick up your sleeve. I’m outta here. Escape unharmed. Sneak by. Slide by. Fit through. Fit in between.
—————————————————————————————–
using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
Ariel Ticona
1 2
his primary challenge = AT = 12 = Seeing is believing. Thy Will be done. Faith makes you act in different ways. Putting your faith in God. Let go and let God. In God we trust. A true believer. I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle, I just wish God didn’t trust me so much. To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary; to one without faith, no explanation is possible. In faith there is light enough for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t. Faith isn’t faith ’til it’s all you’re holding on to. Faith means belief in something concerning which doubt is possible. Wait and see. I’ll believe it when I see it. When in doubt, do nothing.
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Monday, August 30th 2010, 9:12 AM
Esteban Rojas won’t let 2,300 feet of rock stand between him and a church wedding with the woman he loves.
Rojas, one of the 33 Chilean trapped miners since an Aug. 5 cave-in has sent a letter officially proposing to his long-time sweetheart, London’s Daily Mirror reported.
The 44-year-old had wed Jessica Yanez, 43, in a civil ceremony 25 years ago, but had never given her the church wedding that is customary in Chile. So he sent his proposal in a letter sent up from the air pocket where he and his fellow miners are trapped.
“Please keep praying that we get out of this alive. And when I do get out, we will buy a dress and get married,” he wrote on the scrap of paper, according to CNN.
Rojas and Yanez got to speak briefly – for 20 seconds – by phone Sunday through a line jury-rigged through the mine. The pair used that time to start planning their wedding, CNN reported.
The couple has three children and two grandchildren together.
“I thought he was never going to ask me. We have talked about it before, but he never asked me,” Yanez told the Daily Mail.
“He knows that however long it takes, I’ll wait for him, because with him I’ve been through good and bad.”
—————————————————————————————-
using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
Esteban Rojas
5125215 96111 39
his path of destiny = 39 = Charm. Idealism. Ideals. Romantic. Proposals. Engagement. Fiancé. Fiancée. Commitments. Promises. Sincerity. A nice guy.
—————————————————————————————-
using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
Jessica Yanez
1 7
her primary challenge = JY = 17 = Optimism. Inspiration. Hope. Vision. Visualization. Affirmations. The power of positive thinking. A breath of fresh air. Making miracles happen. Guiding light. Staying positive. There’s always hope. Hope springs eternal.
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from: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129035452
—————————————————————————————-
using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
The 33 Chilean miners trapped deep underground have spoken for the first time to family members waiting for them on the surface.
The brief phone conversations late yesterday brought a measure of reassurance to families who have grown increasingly worried about the ability of the men to survive the estimated three months of the rescue operation.
Engineers at the mine in Chile‘s Atacama desert are awaiting for drilling parts from Germany to begin the initial digging of what is expected to be the main rescue shaft.
“The families have had the chance to communicate by telephone with them, so of course there have been moments of great emotion,” said Ximena Matas, the governor of the Atacama region.
She said the families “listened with great interest and they both felt and realised that the men are well. This has been a very important moment, which no doubt strengthens their [the miners’] morale”.
Family members received the first of what are intended to be daily phone calls in a cabin set up alongside one of the three boreholes now connecting the miners with the surface.
Portions of the conversations were made public, including the promise by miner Esteban Rojas that he would marry his girlfriend of 25 years upon his rescue from the collapsed tunnel.
As the phone connection is still precarious, family members were given just 20-30 seconds to say hello and send a short message to their loved one.
“I could hear him fine,” said Jessica Cortes, who spoke to her husband Victor Zamora.
“He is aware that the rescue is not going to happen today, that it will take some time. He asked us to stay calm as everything is going to be OK.
“He sounded relaxed and since it was so short I didn’t manage to ask anything. Twenty seconds was nothing.”
Of all the unlucky miners, Zamora is possibly the unluckiest. After losing his job in Chile’s 8.8-magnitude earthquake in February which destroyed his workplace in Talcahuano, near the epicentre, Zamora began work hundreds of miles north, at the San Jose Mine.
“He’s a vehicle mechanic and doesn’t even enter the mine,” Cortes said. “He went in that day because a vehicle had broken down [deep] inside the mine … At first they told us he had been crushed [to death].”
The phone conversations follow a new video of the miners showing the men in apparently good spirits, although many broke into tears as they sent messages of love for their families.
“I’m sending my greetings to Angelica. I love you so much, darling,” said Osman Araya, 30, as his voice choked and he began to cry.
“Tell my mother, I love you guys so much. I’ll never leave you, I will fight to the end to be with you.”
Tomorrow, the miners will enter Day 26, passing the mark set by three Chinese miners who last year spent 25 days drinking contaminated water and chewing coal to survive in a flooded mine in Guizhou province, China.
The miners in Chile are expected to be trapped for at least another 8-16 weeks, making their ordeal by far the longest known enforced stay in an underground mine.
Vaccinations have been given to the men to guard against tetanus and diphtheria. But skin problems, poor ventilation and constant humidity continue to take their toll on the health of the trapped men.
Yesterday, Chile’s mining minister, Laurence Golborne, repeated earlier estimates that it would take three to four months to rescue the men, rejecting reports quoting engineers who said it could be done in much less time.
Golborne said relief workers were studying 10 separate rescue options, but that “nothing has yet been found that will be quicker”.
from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/30/chile-miners-phone-call-families
—————————————————————————————-
using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
Victor Zamora
493269 814691 62
his path of destiny/how he learns what he is here to learn = 62 = Trapped. Dealing with restrictions.
—————————————————————————————-
using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
Victor Zamora
4 8
his primary challenge = VZ = 48 = Remembering God.
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Monday, 23 August 2010
“We need to urgently establish what psychological situation they are in. They need to understand what we know up here at the surface, that it will take many weeks for them to reach the light,” Health Minister Jaime Manalich explained.
Engineers worked through the night to reinforce the six-inch (15 cm) -wide bore-hole that broke through to the miners’ refuge on Sunday, more than 2,257 feet (688 meters) below the surface. Using a long hose, they coated the walls with a metallic gel to decrease the risk of more rock falls in the unstable mine and make it easier to pass material in capsules nicknamed “palomas,” or doves.
The first capsules — which take about an hour to descend from the surface — will include water and food in the form of a high-energy glucose gel to miners who have almost certainly lost significant weight since they were trapped with limited food supplies on Aug. 5.
Also being sent down are questionnaires to determine each miners’ condition, along with medicines and small microphones to enable them to speak with their families during their long wait. Rescue leader Andre Sougarret said the communications equipment could begin working within hours, and that officials were organizing the families into small groups to make their talks as orderly as possible.
An enormous machine with diamond-tipped drills capable of carving a person-sized tunnel through solid rock at a velocity of 20 meters a day was on its way Monday to the San Jose gold and copper mine outside Copiapo in north-central Chile.
Engineers also were boring two more narrow shafts to the trapped men to ensure that their lifelines would remain intact while the larger tunnel is being carved.
It will be important for the men’s well-being to keep them busy and well-supported throughout this ordeal, Manalich said.
“There has to be leadership established, and to support them and prepare them for what’s coming, which is no small thing,” he said.
Euphoria that their men survived the collapse of their mine, and anxiety for what’s coming next meant for a sleepless night for the miners’s families after a drill broke through to their refuge Sunday and came back up with two notes attached, one saying all 33 were in good condition in an underground refuge.
“We didn’t sleep. We stayed up all night long hoping for more news. They said that new images would appear, so we were up hoping to see them,” said one, Carolina Godoy.
Dawn broke behind a cold fog on the surface of the gold and copper mine in Chile’s Atacama desert, where an intense rescue effort finally reached the miners on Sunday after weeks of missteps, new cave-ins and other false starts.
Now the plan is to carve a wider tunnel, just big enough for the men to be pulled out one by one. That equipment works much more slowly than the bore that drilled the 15-centimeter-wide shaft used to make first contact.
That narrower drill broke through 2,257 feet (688 meters) of solid rock to reach the emergency refuge where the miners have gathered. The trapped men quickly tied two notes to the end of a probe that rescuers pulled to the surface, announcing in big red letters: “All 33 of us are fine in the shelter.”
“Today all of Chile is crying with excitement and joy,” President Sebastian Pinera said at the mine.
And where many were beginning to give up hope, the scene above ground became a celebration Sunday night, with a barbecue for the miners’ families, roving musicians, lit candles and Chilean flags making the barren landscape seem festive.
The men already have been trapped underground longer than all but a few miners rescued in recent history. Last year, three miners survived 25 days trapped in a flooded mine in southern China, and two miners in northeastern China were rescued after 23 days in 1983. Few other rescues have taken more than two weeks.
The miners’ survival after 17 days is very unusual, but since they’ve made it this far, they should emerge physically fine, said Davitt McAteer, who was assistant secretary for mine safety and health at the U.S. Labor Department under President Bill Clinton.
“The health risks in a copper and gold mine are pretty small if you have air, food and water,” McAteer said.
Still, he said the stress of being trapped underground for a long period of time can be significant.
“There is a psychological pattern there that we’ve looked at,” McAteer said. But “they’ve established communication with the guys; there are people who can talk them through that.”
Two-way communication may be key to keeping them thinking positive.
A video camera lowered down the probe shaft Sunday showed some of the miners, stripped to the waist in the underground heat, waving happily. But they weren’t able to establish audio contact, Pinera said.
“I saw eight or nine of them. They were waving their hands. They got close to the camera and we could see their eyes, their joy,” the president said.
The miners seemed to be aware that their rescue may take a long time, according to one of them, Mario Gomez, perhaps the eldest of the trapped men at 63, who wrote a note to his wife.
“Even if we have to wait months to communicate. … I want to tell everyone that I’m good and we’ll surely come out OK,” Gomez wrote, scrawling the words on a sheet of notebook paper the miners tied to the probe. “Patience and faith. God is great and the help of my God is going to make it possible to leave this mine alive.”
Mine officials and relatives of the workers had hoped the men reached a shelter below where the tunnel collapsed Aug. 5 at the San Jose gold and copper mine about 530 miles (850 kilometers) north of the capital, Santiago. But they had said the shelter’s emergency air and food supplies would last only 48 hours.
Gomez wrote that the miners used vehicles for light and a backhoe to dig a channel to retrieve underground water.
It was unclear whether their air supply was in danger of running out.
Rescuers had drilled repeatedly in an effort to reach the shelter, but failed seven times. They blamed the errors on the mining company’s maps. According to Gomez’s note, at least some of those earlier probes were close enough that the trapped miners heard them. The eighth attempt finally worked.
Gomez’s note, which the president read aloud on live television, focused on expressions of faith and love for his family. But frustration also showed through in one line, where he declared that “this company has got to modernize.”
Chile is the world’s top copper producer and a leading gold producer, and has some of the world’s most advanced mining operations. But both the company that owns the mine, San Esteban, and the National Mining and Geology Service have been criticized for allegedly failing to comply with regulations. In 2007, an explosion at the San Jose mine killed three workers.
Liliana Ramirez couldn’t believe it when Chile’s mining minister said her husband had sent a note to his “Dearest Lila.”
“I know my husband is strong, and at 63, is the most experienced miner who could lead his co-workers,” she said, but she vowed to keep him above ground once he’s rescued.
Authorities and relatives of the miners hugged, climbed a nearby hill, planted 33 flags and sang Chile’s national anthem after discovering the miners had survived.
Along the length of Chile, horns honked, flags waved and people watched the drama unfold live on television and computer screens. It was a rush of good news in a country still rebuilding from a magnitude-8.8 earthquake Feb. 27 and its resulting tsunami, which together killed at least 521 people and left 200,000 homeless.
from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/chilean-miners-trapped-until-christmas-2059370.html
—————————————————————————————-
using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
Mario Gomez
4 8
how he obtains his heart’s desire = MZ = 48 = Remembering God.
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On August 5, 2010, the roof of the San José copper–gold mine collapsed, leaving 33 miners trapped underground.[1][2]
The San José Mine is about 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Copiapó, Chile. The miners were trapped at approximately 700 metres (2,300 ft) deep and about 5 kilometres (3 mi) from the mine entrance. The mine had a history of instability that had led to previous accidents, including one death.[3] A government report from July 2010 warned that the mine owners had failed “to reinforce the roof …”. The lack of reinforcement “had led to [an earlier] collapse of the roof.” There has been controversy over why the mine was not closed down earlier.
Some, including lawyers representing the mining company, suspect that the owners of the mine will declare bankruptcy after the men are rescued.
Chile has a long tradition in mining, which developed during the 20th century and made the country the world’s top producer of copper.[5] Since 2000, an average of 34 people have died every year in mining accidents in Chile, with a high of 43 in 2008, according to a review of data collected by the state regulatory agency SERNAGEOMIN.[4]
The mine is owned by Empresa Minera San Esteban, which has an allegedly poor safety record and has suffered a series of mishaps, with several workers being killed in recent years.[3][6] Between 2004 and 2010 the company received 42 fines for breaching safety regulations.[7] The mine was shut down after an accident in 2007 when relatives of a miner who had died sued company executives, but the mine was reopened in 2008,[8] despite failing to comply with all regulations, a matter still under investigation according to mining committee Senator Baldo Prokurica.[4] Due to budget constraints, there were only three inspectors for Atacama Region‘s 884 mines.[7]
Chilean copper mine workers are among the highest-paid miners in South America.[9] Although the accident itself has put into question mine safety in Chile, serious accidents in large mines are rare, as they are either owned by the state copper mining company, Codelco, or by multinational companies.[5] However, smaller mines — such as the one at San Jose — have generally lower safety standards.[5]
The collapse occurred on August 5, 2010, at 14:00 (UTC-4), as reported by the company San Esteban to the authorities. The rescue efforts started on August 6, supervised by Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Camila Merino, Undersecretary of Mining Pablo Wagner, and the director of the National Mining and Geology Service (SERNAGEOMIN) Alejandro Vío.[10] Oficina Nacional de Emergencias del Ministerio del Interior (ONEMI – National Emergencies Office of the Interior Ministry) reported that day the names of the 33 miners trapped in the mine,[2] including Franklin Lobos Ramírez, a retired Chilean footballer.[1] Minister of Mining Laurence Golborne was in Ecuador at the time of the disaster, and moved to the area on August 7.[10]
A dust cloud occurred after the collapse, blinding the miners for six hours and causing eye irritation for some.[11] The miners tried to escape through a ventilation shaft, but the ladder was missing, and the shaft later caved in.[12] The company had been ordered to install ladders after a previous accident.[7]
[edit] Workers
The workers in the mine consists of 1 Bolivian and 32 Chileans.[1][13] Franklin Lobos was a footballer and a member of the national team of Chile. Lobos played in the qualifying round of the 1984 Olympic Games.
[edit] Rescue attempts
[edit] The ventilation shaft
A second collapse occurred on August 7 when rescuers were trying to gain access via a ventilation shaft, and rescuers were forced to use heavy machinery.[14] President Sebastián Piñera returned to Chile to take charge of the emergency response. At the time he was in Colombia to attend a presidential inauguration.[15]
[edit] Developments
Diagram of the mining accident
Perforation drills were used to make boreholes about the width of a grapefruit to find the miners.[16] The rescue effort was complicated by out-of-date maps and several boreholes drifted off-target.[17] The particularly hard rock exaggerated the drill’s tendency to drift.[18] On August 19, one of the probes reached the area where the miners were believed to be trapped, but was unable to locate them.[19]
On August 22, at 07:15 (UTC-4), another probe reached a ramp, at 688 meters (2,257 ft) underground, about 20 meters from a shelter where the miners were expected to have taken refuge.[20] The miners quickly wrote notes and attached them to the drill bit with insulation tape, surprising rescuers when they pulled it out.[21] At 15:17 (UTC-4) President Sebastián Piñera showed the media a note sent from the miners’ shelter, written on a piece of paper with a red pencil, that confirmed the miners were alive.
“We are fine in the shelter the 33 [of us]”, the note sent by the trapped miners.
The note read: “Estamos bien en el refugio los 33” (English: “We are fine in the shelter the 33 [of us]”).[22]
Hours later, cameras used in the probe into the mine made contact with the miners, taking the first images of the trapped workers.[23] The miners had a 50 square meter shelter with two long benches,[24] but ventilation problems had led them to move out to a tunnel.[25] In addition to the shelter, they had some 2 km of galleries in which to move around.[11] The miners used backhoes to dig for trapped water.[26] Some water was obtained from the radiators of vehicles inside the mineshaft.[11] Health officials are running tests on the water.[11] Food supplies were limited, and the men may have lost 8 to 9 kg (17-20 pounds) each.[25] Although the emergency supplies were intended for only two or three days, the miners rationed them to last for 17 days until contact with the surface.[27] They consumed “two little spoonfuls of tuna, a sip of milk and a biscuit every 48 hours” and a morsel of peach.[11][26] They used the batteries of a truck to power their helmet lamps.[25]
On August 23, voice contact was made with the miners. They reported having few medical problems. The doctor in charge of the rescue operation reported to the media that “they have considerably less discomfort than we might have expected after spending 18 days inside the mine, at 700 meters deep and under high temperatures and high humidity”. The doctors also reported that they already have been provided with a 5% glucose solution and a drug to prevent stomach ulcers resulting from the stress caused by lack of food all week.[28] Material is sent down in 5 foot long blue plastic capsules nicknamed palomas (“doves”), taking an hour to reach the miners.[24][29] Engineers coated the boreholes with metallic gel in order to ensure the integrity of the shafts and ease the passage of the capsules.[30] In addition to high-energy glucose gels, rehydration tablets, and medicine, rescuers also sent down oxygen after the miners reported there was not enough air.[29] Delivery of solid food began a few days later.[29][31] Two other boreholes were completed – one for enriched oxygen, the second for video conferences to allow daily chats with family members.[31] Relatives may also write letters, but were asked to keep them optimistic.[24]
Out of concern for the miners’ mental health, rescuers hesitated to tell them the rescue might take months, but the miners were informed on August 25.[32]
The group of miners was described as very disciplined.[18] Psychiatrists and doctors are working with the rescue effort to ensure the miners keep busy and mentally focused.[29] Fluorescent lights with timers will be sent down to keep the men on a normal schedule by imitating day and night.[31] The miners affirmed their capability to participate in rescue efforts, saying “There are a large number of professionals who are going to help in the rescue efforts from down here.”[33] Psychologists believe the miners having a role in their own destiny is important for maintaining motivation and optimism.[33] They divided themselves into three groups, one being responsible for the palomas, a second in charge of security and preventing further rock falls, and a third focusing on health.[33] Luis Urzúa became the overall leader and the oldest miner, Mario Gómez, was chosen for spiritual guidance.[33]
It was determined that Johny Barrios was the most qualified of the miners to administer medicine and communicate on health issues.[34] Barrios vaccinated the group against tetanus and diphtheria.[18] Many of the miners developed severe skin problems due to the hot and wet conditions.[18] They were sent quick-drying clothing and small mats so they do not have to sleep directly on the ground.[18]
Health Minister Jaime Manalich stated, “The situation is very similar to the one experienced by astronauts who spend months on end in the space station.”[35] NASA in the United States has agreed to provide assistance on how to survive the conditions.[36] NASA is providing a great deal of technical expertise to help rescue the miners. NASA has done many experiments in extreme isolation, and is using its expertise to help the miners.[37]
President Piñera has dismissed top officials of Chile’s mining regulator and has vowed to undertake a major overhaul of the agency in light of the accident.[3] 18 mines were shut down in the days following the San José accident and a further 300 may be ordered to close.[34] Relatives have begun to file lawsuits against the company and a judge has frozen $2 million in assets despite the company’s claims of not having money.[34]
[edit] Future plans
Rescue officials estimate that it will take three to four months to complete the rescue of the trapped miners,[23] but some mining experts believe that it can take two to three months if there are no setbacks.[38] The Strata 950 drilling rig will be used to produce the escape tunnel.[38] An estimated 500 kg of rocks will fall down every hour.[34] Working in shifts 24 hours a day, the miners will keep the passage clear with industrial-sized battery-powered sweepers and wheel barrows at their disposal.[18]
The diameter of the rescue tunnel will be 66 cm (26 inches),[11] meaning each miner will have to have a waistline of no more than 90 cm (35 inches) to escape.[11][39] In order to ensure they are the correct size an exercise regime is being developed to keep them in shape.[32] The men will be extracted in a narrow metal cage,[38] with each trip to the surface taking an hour.[18] On August 25, it was reported that drilling should begin by the end of the week after a route is determined, without causing another collapse.[35]
Another option being considered as of August 29th is to use a Schramm T130XD air drill which could possibly complete the drill in 6 weeks.
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Copiap%C3%B3_mining_accident
—————————————————————————————-
using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
Franklin Lobos
6 3 1
his primary challenge = FL = 63 = Compassion. Relief. Concerns. Distress. Worries. Worried sick. Fretting. Crucial. Critical. Acute. Grief. Grieving. Weeping. Wailing. Lament. Misery. Anguish. Nightmares. Pitiful. Dire. Emergencies.
how he obtains his heart’s desire = FS = 61 = Strategy. Planning. Contingency plans. Back up plans. Plan B. Change of plans. Tactics. Exit. Escape. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Doing the unexpected. Having a back up plan (in case plans fall through at the last minute). Having plan B up your sleeve. Having a trick up your sleeve. I’m outta here. Escape unharmed. Sneak by. Slide by. Fit through. Fit in between.
numerology behind the news 