Three miners are trapped underground at B.C.’s Red Chris copper and gold mine, Premier David Eby said on Wednesday morning.
Eby, speaking at the premier’s meeting in Huntsville, Ont., said the incident happened earlier on Tuesday at the mine in northwestern B.C.
He said the miners are not injured and are in a refuge area.
A rescue is now underway to free the miners.
“B.C. miners are the best in the world, our rescue teams are exceptional,” Eby said.
Two miners are from B.C. and one is from Ontario, he added.
In a statement, Newmont Corporation, which is the world’s leading gold mining company and owns and operates the Red Chris mine, said two “fall of ground” incidents happened on Tuesday morning in the access way to the underground work area.
“At the time of the initial incident, three business partner employees were working more than 500 meters beyond the affected zone and were asked to relocate to a designated refuge station before a subsequent fall of ground blocked the access way,” the company said in a statement.
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“Following the first event, contact was established with the individuals and confirmation was received that they had safely relocated to one of multiple self-contained refuge bays. The refuge stations are equipped with adequate food, water and ventilation to support an extended stay.”
The company said the second fall of ground event restricted communication and it is working to assemble specialist teams from the nearby mine sites to respond to the situation.
It confirmed all mining operations have been suspended.
Shawn Rideout, chief mine rescue officer for Ontario Mine Rescue, said the loss of communication with the three miners is frustrating on both sides.
“What the rescue teams will do is at the beginning stages is they’re gathering information right so they want to know the extent of the damage that the mine has sustained in this fall of ground so that they can prepare and safely get to these workers… so that there’s no further injury or further damage to the mine or the rescue teams that are performing the rescue,” he explained to Global News.
Rideout is not involved in this rescue operation but has been involved in similar mining rescue operations.
“If they have compressed air and water and all that kind of stuff, they’re good there for days, if not weeks, and they’ll be perfectly safe,” he added.
“But if that air becomes compromised, then it depends on the size of the refuge station.”
RCMP confirmed that they have not been notified of the incident at this time.
WorkSafeBC said the mine does not fall within its jurisdiction. In B.C., mine safety jurisdiction falls under the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals, specifically through the Mines Act and the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines.
In a statement, Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals, Jagrup Brar, said the government is working closely with Newmont Corporation to support the rescue effort.
“Our thoughts are with the workers, their families and co-workers, and we will do everything we can to support the company’s efforts to ensure the affected workers are brought to safety as soon as possible,” he said.
The ministry has dispatched a geotechnical inspector of mines to the site and the Ministry of Transportation expedited a permit to allow heavy equipment to be moved from the nearby Brucejack mine to Red Chris.
More to come.
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