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B.C. Premier David Eby has confirmed three miners are trapped underground in a mine in northern B.C.
The miners work at the Red Chris mine on Talhtan Nation territory near Dease Lake, B.C., about 420 kilometres west of Fort Nelson, B.C.
Two of the miners are from B.C. and one is from Ontario, the premier said at a news conference at the First Ministers meeting in Huntsville, Ont., Wednesday morning.
“There was an accident,” Eby said. “There are three miners that are currently trapped underground. They are, to the best of our knowledge, uninjured and in a refuge area.”
B.C. Premier David Eby said on Wednesday that there was an accident at the Red Chris mine in northwest B.C., where three miners — two from B.C. and one from Ontario — are trapped underground. Eby added that, to the best of his knowledge, they are not injured. (NOTE: The premier initially said the incident occurred overnight, in fact the incident happened earlier Tuesday.)
Eby initially said the incident happened overnight, but the mine’s operating company and majority owner, Newmont Corp., later confirmed it happened earlier in the day Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Newmont said there were “two fall of ground incidents” in the access way to an underground work area Tuesday morning.
The Red Chris mine is an open-pit copper and gold mine that has been operating since 2015.
“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 Newmont spokesperson said in a statement.
“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 second fall of ground event restricted communication, so a “standdown of operations” at Red Chris is now in place to focus on the response, according to the company.
“All appropriate emergency response protocols were activated immediately. Newmont is actively assessing all methods and technologies available to restore communication and safely bring our team members to surface. Our priority remains on ensuring the safety of the three individuals and of the emergency response teams supporting this effort,” the spokesperson said.
Eby said Newmont is working with “our world-leading mining rescue teams.”
“B.C. miners are the best in the world, our rescue teams are exceptional and they will be working overtime to bring these workers home safely to their families,” the premier said.
More to come
