Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Situation for New Zealand miners has a turn for the worse yet

The perspective at the New Zealand Mine has gotten worse yet. The Pike River Mine has been discovered to contain hazardous methane gas, which makes a rescue harder to pull off. A rescue may be too hazardous to mount, and it’s not known if the men are nevertheless alive.

Dangerous gas in New Zealand Mine harmful

The conditions inside the New Zealand mine will determine whether a rescue of the 29 caught miners will take place or not. The blast occurred on Friday, Nov. 12, and air samples taken three days later revealed dangerously high and fluctuating amounts of methane, based on The Telegraph. Mine explosions can occur due to methane which is commonly found in coal mining. There is a plan to send a bomb disposal robot into the Mine, which will further assess the scenario. The robot would stop working though if the air is very rich in methane since it’s a battery operated robot that works in fresh air only.

May not go also as Chile Mine

After the Chilean Mine event that had 33 men walking away, New Zealand officials have been talking to Chilean officials. The main difference in mines makes a difference to every little thing. The Pike River coal Mine outside Greymouth is not a copper and gold Mine just like the one in Chili; it’s a coal mine. The composition of coal ores makes it so hazardous gases like methane are released. This is what is dangerous about coal mines. Planning for death is something the New Zealand officials are doing as they are "planning for all outcomes" that could come from this. USA Today accounts this.

No communications

No communications have yet been established with the caught New Zealand miners. Nobody has answered the phone line to the Mine even though it has rung continuously. New Zealand has one of the safer records of mining in the world, with accidents being rarer than in other nations.

Articles cited

The Telegraph

telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/8151428/New-Zealand-mine-relatives-told-to-brace-for-deaths.html

USA Today



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