How Safe Are Chile’s Copper Mines?
Chile’s Trapped Miners Are Hauled To Safety
13 Oct 2010
Life At “Camp Hope”, Outside Chile’s San Jose Mine
20 Oct 2010
An accident that trapped 33 miners at the San José mine in the Atacama Desert has raised serious questions about safety standards in the Chilean mining industry. bUSiness CHILE asks how dangerous the country’s mines really are and what is being done to make them safer.
Up the dirt road that leads to the San José gold and copper mine, a group of around 40 miners come walking. Dressed in dark blue overalls and hard hats, they appear ready to start their shifts. But these men have no work to do. Since August 5, when a tunnel collapsed at the mine trapping 33 of their colleagues below ground, they have been idle.
