San José Mine

Mina San José
San José de Copiapó mine during the 2010 mining accident rescue efforts, on August 10.
Location
Mina San José Location in Chile 27.160203°S 70.496778°W / 27.1602°S 70.49678°W / -27.1602; -70.49678Coordinates: 27.160203°S 70.496778°W / 27.1602°S 70.49678°W / -27.1602; -70.49678
Location	Copiapó
City	Atacama Region
Country	Chile
Owner
Company	San Esteban Mining Company
None	Private company
Production
Products	Copper
History
Opened	1889
Closed	2010

The San José Mine (Spanish: Mina San José) is a small copper-gold mine located near Copiapó, Atacama Region, Chile.^[1] The mine is mostly known for its 2010 collapse which trapped 33 miners 700 metres (2,300 ft) underground.^[2] Its workings are reached by a long sloping roadway with many spiral turns (a diagram shows ten turns), not by a vertical mineshaft.

History

diagram of mine layout

The San José Mine is located 45 kilometers northwest of Copiapó. It began to be operated in 1889.^[1] In 1957, Jorge Kemeny Letay, a Hungarian immigrant founded the San Esteban Mining Company (Spanish: Compañía Minera San Esteban).^[1]

According to Terra, the mine's annual sales surpassed 20 million dollars.^[1]

Between 2003 and 2010, several mining accidents occurred in the mine, causing at least three deaths.^[1] In 2007, a geologist was killed in the mine, and led to its closure. It was reopened in May 2008 by SERNAGEOMIN – Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (National Geology and Mining Service). In July 2010, miner Gino Cortés lost one of his legs in an accident.^[1]

2010 accident

Main article: 2010 Copiapó mining accident

Compañía Minera San Esteban (English: San Esteban Mining Company) advised national authorities on 5 August 2010 that a collapse had occurred at 14:00 local time, and rescue efforts began the next day. National Emergencies Office of Chile reported that day a list of 33 trapped and possibly deceased miners, that included Franklin Lobos, a retired footballer, and Carlos Mamani, a Bolivian miner.^[2] The miners were found alive 17 days later, on August 22.^[3] Nonetheless, it was not until 69 days after the collapse on October 13, 2010, that the first miner, Florencio Ávalos, was rescued.^[4]

San Esteban Mining Company is considering bankruptcy after the miners are rescued.^[5] San José is the only mine owned by San Esteban.^[5] President of Chile Sebastián Piñera said on October 12 that "the mine will remain closed until security measures that guard the life and dignity of the workers are established."^[6]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Derrumbe en la Mina San José" (in Spanish). Terra Perú. http://www.pe.terra.com/shared/pop/noticias/mina-san-jose/mina_san_jose.html. Retrieved October 13, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Navarrete, Camila (August 6, 2010). "Se confirman las identidades de mineros atrapados en mina San José en Región de Atacama." (in Spanish). Radio Bío Bío. http://www.radiobiobio.cl/2010/08/06/se-confirman-las-identidades-de-mineros-atrapados-en-mina-san-jose-en-region-de-atacama/. Retrieved October 12, 2010. 
3. ^ Haroon Siddique (August 23, 2010). "Chilean miners found alive – but rescue will take four months". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/23/miners-trapped-alive-chile. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
4. ^ "First of 33 trapped miners reaches surface". CNN. October 12, 2010. http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/12/workers-begin-to-rescue-trapped-chilean-miners/?hpt=T1&iref=BN1. Retrieved October 12, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ ^{a b} "Chile: la minera San José podría declararse en quiebra " (in Spanish). Central de Noticias Tucumán. http://cntucuman.com/cnt/2010/08/25/chile-la-minera-san-jose-podria-declararse-en-quiebra/. Retrieved October 13, 2010. 
6. ^ "Piñera: Mina San José será clausurada hasta que se establezcan normas de seguridad" (in Spanish). Agencia Venezolana de Noticias. http://www.avn.info.ve/node/22692. Retrieved October 13, 2010.