Three individuals are trapped underground at the Red Chris mine in British Columbia, Canada, following two separate “fall of ground” incidents that occurred on the morning of 22 July.
Newmont has confirmed that two “fall of ground” incidents disrupted the accessway to a non-producing underground area of the mine.
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Imperial Metals, holding a 30% interest in the mine, corroborated the incident in a separate statement.
The initial incident prompted the relocation of three business partner employees to a designated refuge station, equipped with necessary provisions for an extended stay, including food, water and ventilation.
The individuals were working more than 500m from the affected zone when the incident occurred.
They were safely relocated before the second incident blocked the accessway and restricted communication.
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By GlobalDataFollowing the first incident, contact with the trapped employees was established, confirming their safe relocation to one of the multiple self-contained refuge bays.
However, the subsequent fall of ground has led to a communication standstill.
Newmont has initiated a standdown of operations at Red Chris to concentrate on the response efforts and is assembling specialist teams from nearby mines for the rescue operation.
The company is currently evaluating all available methods and technologies to restore communication and safely bring the workers to the surface.
A Newmont spokesperson stated at a televised press conference: “They are, to the best of our knowledge, uninjured and in a refuge area.”
In a separate development, Newmont has completed the divestment of its Akyem operation in the Republic of Ghana and its Porcupine operation in Canada.
This is part of the company’s non-core asset divestiture programme, which aims to generate up to $4.3bn, including $3.8bn from non-core assets and $527m from other investment sales.
