Second drill joins effort to aid trapped Chile miners

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Second drill joins effort to aid trapped Chile miners
– 1 hr 20 mins ago

COPIAPO, Chile (AFP) – A second drill that will widen a supply chute to 33 miners trapped in a Chilean mine, and could aid their rescue, arrived Friday at the site where the men have been trapped for nearly a month.

The T-130 excavator arrived at the San Jose mine after engineers resumed drilling a rescue borehole after a brief halt to allow the walls of the shaft to be cemented.

The second drill arrived in pieces, transported on five trucks to the site of the copper and gold mine in Chile's Atacama desert, some 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Santiago.

"I feel so much emotion and I'm impatient to begin work as soon as possible," Juan Castillo Olea, who drove one of the trucks carrying the machine parts, told AFP.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100903/wl_afp/chileminingaccident

[Judi Lynn]

1. New drill arrives in Chile with great fanfare

New drill arrives in Chile with great fanfare
By Karl Penhaul, CNN
September 3, 2010 -- Updated 1736 GMT (0136 HKT)

Capiapo, Chile (CNN) -- A new drill in Chile that could speed the rescue of trapped miners arrived at the rescue scene on Friday with great jubilation from families of the workers.

The Schramm T-130 drill and components were transported to the scene drill by a five-vehicle convoy, a development cheered by miners' families who waved Chilean flags and chanted slogans in support of the rescue workers

"We are happy this new drill has arrived," said Cristina Nunez, wife of one of the trapped miners. "We think it will get our men out much quicker."

Thirty-three miners have been trapped 2,300 feet underground since a rockslide cut off their exit route on August 5.

This drill will be used, engineers say, for the so-called plan B, as a parallel attempt to a drill a rescue shaft down to the miners.

Owners of the new drill mining company, GeoTech, say in ideal circumstances they believe this drill could reach the miners in around two months.

More:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/03/chile.miners.drill/index.html#fbid=q1U2OJnT7yd&wom=false

[Judi Lynn]

2. Chile's Pinera Prepares Oil Drill in `Plan C' to Rescue 33 Trapped Miners

Chile's Pinera Prepares Oil Drill in `Plan C' to Rescue 33 Trapped Miners
By Matt Craze and Randy Woods - Sep 3, 2010 1:17 PM CT

Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera said the government will set up an oil drill to rescue 33 miners trapped in an underground mine in northern Chile.

The drill will require an area the size of a soccer field to set up and is the government’s “Plan C” to rescue the miners, trapped about 700 meters (2,300 feet) below the surface since Aug. 5, after work started on two other bore holes, Pinera said in a televised speech today.

“We are doing all humanly possible, as we promised from the first day, to rescue our miners who are in good spirits and in good health,” Pinera said. The oil rig will begin operating by Sept. 18, Chile’s independence day, he said.

Rescue teams began drilling this week a hole big enough to lift the miners out of tunnels where temperatures exceed 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). The rescue may be shortened to two months from an original estimate of four, Walter Herrera, whose company is installing the drilling machine to bore a second tunnel, said Aug. 28.

The government will set up a videoconferencing system tomorrow that will allow the miners to speak to their families and the rescue team, Pinera said. They will be able to watch Chile’s national soccer team play the Ukraine in a friendly match Sept. 7, he said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-03/chile-s-pinera-prepares-oil-drill-to-rescue-miners-update1-.html

[Judi Lynn]

3. Life-saving roles of buried miners

Life-saving roles of buried miners
By Fiona Govan, The Daily Telegraph
September 3, 2010 10:55 AM

The 33 miners trapped half a mile below the surface of the Atacama Desert in Chile have created a micro-society to stave off boredom and keep themselves sane as they prepare to shift 4,000 tons of rock to assist their rescuers.

The miners have each taken on roles within the underground world at the San Jose mine naming a "priest", a "doctor", a "poet" a "television presenter" and a "foreman" within the group.

"They are completely organized," said Dr Jaime Manalich, Chile's health minister. "They have a full hierarchy. It is a matter of life and death for them."

The minister admitted that his worst fear was that one or more of the men could suffer a mental breakdown as their confinement drags on from weeks into months.

"The worst scenario would be if one of the men suffered severe psychosis for being trapped so long and attempted to claw their way out of the mine. As long as they are kept busy with defining roles we hope to avoid it."

Mario Gomez, 62, the oldest member of the group, has taken on the role of spiritual leader and urges the men to pray daily in the makeshift chapel he has created in a corner of the subterranean chamber.

More:
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Life+saving+roles+buried+miners/3474412/story.html

[thereismore]

4. As long as they have a chapel to pray in. I am being sarcastic. Maybe it heps. nt

[Judi Lynn]

5. Love lost over trapped miners' cash

Love lost over trapped miners' cash
Indo-Asian News Service
London, September 03, 2010

Mistresses and wives of 33 miners trapped inside a mine in Chile have clashed over compensation claims and some of the miners may face difficult questions when they make it to the surface. The miners have been trapped since August 5 when a tunnel collapsed at the mine, located about 700 km north of Chilean capital Santiago.

Now there is a rush of women who are claiming to be first in the Chilean miners' affections so that they get government handouts.

Daily Telegraph reported that at least five wives came face to face with mistresses.

In one of the worst cases, a miner has four women fighting over him.

Marta Flores, a Red Cross worker, said: "There has been a lot of conflict between women."

More:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Love-lost-over-trapped-miners-cash/Article1-595531.aspx

[Judi Lynn]

6. Miners' Morale Soars As Hot Food Delivered

Miners' Morale Soars As Hot Food Delivered
2:09pm UK, Thursday September 02, 2010

Sarah Gordon, Sky News Online

The morale of the trapped Chilean miners has soared after music and hot meals arrived at the San Jose gold and copper mine.

A new video shot by the men and broadcast on state television shows them shaven, wearing clean clothes and listening to a tropical tune.

It is a huge difference from the images of the 33 haggard and mud-caked men in the first video broadcast a week ago.

This time, the men show off their new comforts ranging from clothes designed to deal with the humid conditions underground, to bedding and MP3 players.

A convivial atmosphere is apparent as the men give messages to their families and shout Chilean chants while waving the national flag.

The uplifting images will be a relief to family members who had been told early on that five of the men were showing signs of depression.

More:
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Chilean-Trapped-Miners-Morale-Soars-As-Hot-Meals-Bedding-And-Music-Are-Delivered/Article/201009115711043?lpos=World_News_First_World_News_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15711043_Chilean_Trapped_Miners%3A_Morale_Soars_As_Hot_Meals%2C_Bedding_And_Music_Are_Delivered

[Judi Lynn]

7. Andes crash survivors to support trapped miners

Andes crash survivors to support trapped miners
The Associated Press
Friday, September 3, 2010; 4:37 PM

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Former Uruguayan rugby players who survived more than two months of isolation in the Andes after their plane crashed about 40 years ago were in Chile on Friday to support a group of miners trapped deep underground.

Ramon Sabella said he and fellow plane-crash survivors Pedro Alcorta, Jose Inciarte, and Gustavo Servino will visit the San Jose mine in the northern town of Copiapo on Saturday to deliver a message of hope and support from Uruguayan children.

The miners have been trapped nearly a half-mile underground since Aug. 5. Authorities say it may take up to four months to rescue them.

The ex-players met with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Friday in the capital, Santiago.

More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/03/AR2010090304546.html

[skoalyman]

8. drill baby drill

[Old Troop]

9. God, I just hope they get those guys out alive.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Their entire country seems to have taken their situation to heart.

I'll bet the people involved will do everything within their power to get them out safely.

One of the articles quotes one of the truck drivers simply sent to bring in new equipment as being 100% concerned, and wanting to do whatever he can, personally, as well.

They have lights around the sight topside at night, and a host of relatives waiting there at a campsite. They plan to bring them up at night so their eyes won't be overwhelmed by too much light at one time.

[cloudythescribbler]

11. Democracy Now reports that the miners' company REFUSES to pay them for the time they're stuck there!

I know this belongs in a Ripley's Believe it or Not -- but it's at the DDemocracyNow.org website -- one of Fri AMs headliner notes

Just as appalling as the company is any government that woudl let them get away with that

I suppose the miners should feel lucky they aren't sent a bill for their rescue

[rabs]

13. The problem with paying the miners

1. The private company that owns the mine last week declared bankruptcy and mining has been paralyzed since Aug. 5 when the cave-in happened. (Today was the one-month anniversary.)

2 The Chilean government's hands are tied because by law the government is prohibited from paying the wages of a private company.

3. It is not only the trapped miners who are not getting paid; there are about 200 other miners and administrative staff who also are not getting wages.

I think the government will find some solution. Meantime, private donations have been pouring in to help the miners' families.

[Judi Lynn]

12. Chile miners may be free by November

Chile miners may be free by November
On Monday 6 September 2010, 12:34

The 33 miners trapped deep underground in northern Chile may be brought back to the surface as early as November, according to a document provided to workers on the various rescue efforts.

The quickest possible route to the surface is the rescue workers' "Plan C", which involves a football-pitch-size oil drilling platform that Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has said is expected to begin work by September 18 -- Chile's Independence Day.

This plan reduces the rescue time to two months, at best, having to only drill some 597 meters to reach the trapped workers.

The process, in which miners can escape one-by-one in a small cage winched up to ground level through a hole that is still yet to be drilled, should be ready "in early November in the best case scenario or early December if there are problems", said the document seen by AFP.

More:
http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/Chile-miners-free-November-aap-4049805316.html?x=0