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Meanwhile, the gold market riggers don't even get their hands dirty
Trapped Chile Miners Alive But Long Rescue Ahead
By Antonio de la Jara and Simon Gardner
Reuters
Sunday, August 22, 2010
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67L1H620100823
SANTIAGO, Chile -- Thirty-three Chilean miners trapped deep underground sent a message to the surface tied to a drill on Sunday, saying they were all alive in their first contact since a cave-in 17 days ago, but experts said it would take months to dig them out.
President Sebastian Pinera said the paper message was tied to a perforation drill that rescuers used to bore through to the area near an underground shelter, where the miners took shelter after the August 5 collapse at the small gold and copper mine in the far north.
"The 33 of us in the shelter are well," read the message written with red paint on the piece of paper that Pinera held up on television. Pinera has vowed a major overhaul of the mining regulator in the world's No.1 copper producer.
... Dispatch continues below ...
Sona Resources Expects Positive Cash Flow from Blackdome,
Plans Aggressive Exploration of Elizabeth Gold Property
On May 18, 2010, Sona Resources Corp. (TSXV: SYS, Frankfurt: QS7) announced the release of a preliminary economic assessment for gold production at its flagship Blackdome and Elizabeth properties in British Columbia.
Sona Executive Chairman Nick Ferris says: "We view this as a baseline scenario for gold production. The project is highly sensitive to the price of gold. A conservative valuation of gold at $1,093 per ounce would result in a pre-tax cash flow of $54 million. The assessment indicates that underground mining at the two sites would recover 183,600 ounces of gold and 62,500 ounces of silver. Permitting and infrastructure are already in place for processing ore at the Blackdome mill, with a 200-tonne per day throughput over an eight-year mine life. Our near-term goal is to continue aggressive exploration at Elizabeth and develop a million-plus-ounce gold resource, commencing production in 2013."
For complete information on Sona Resources Corp. please visit: www.SonaResources.com
Rescuers lowered a television camera down the bore hole, and some of the miners looked into the lens. Some were bare-chested because of the heat in the mine, and officials said they looked in better-than-expected condition.
Around 200 people gathered in a square in the capital Santiago, waving flags to celebrate the news. Drivers honked their horns and diners applauded in restaurants.
"It will take months" to get them out, the beaming president said at the mine head. "It will take time, but it doesn't matter how long it takes to have a happy ending,"
The miners are 4.5 miles inside the winding mine and about 2,300 feet vertically underground. They are inside a mine shaft shelter the size of a small apartment.
Authorities said they had limited amounts of food, and doctors advised sending glucose, enriched mineral water and medicines as well as other foods. Health officials estimated the miners may have lost about 17.5 to 20 pounds (8 to 9 kg) each.
Deep in the mine, located near the northern city of Copiapo, there are tanks of water and ventilation shafts that help the miners to survive. They used the batteries of a truck down in the mine to charge their helmet lamps, some of which were shining in the television images.
"God is great," 63-year-old Mario Gomez, the eldest of the trapped miners, wrote in a letter to his wife attached to the drill along with the message, which Pinera read on television.
"This company has got to modernize," he added. "But I want to tell everyone I'm OK, and am sure we will survive."
Relatives hugged, kissed, and thanked God as news of the message spread outside the entrance to the mine, where they have camped out since the mine caved in on August 5.
"We never, never lost faith. We knew they were there, and that they would be rescued," said family member Eduardo Hurtado, as other miners' relatives waved red-white-and-blue Chilean flags and cheered.
The miners' plight has drawn parallels with the story of 16 people who survived more than 72 days in the Andes mountains after a 1972 plane crash. Their story was later made into the Hollywood movie "Alive."
Rescuers plan to send narrow plastic tubes called "doves" down the bore-hole with food, hydration gels and communications equipment.
The mine, however, is unstable, and rescue workers were forced to abandon attempts to dig past the main cave-in and down a ventilation shaft.
The plan is now to dig a new shaft to enable the trapped miners to leave, which will take months. Rescue workers say it could take as much as 120 days to dig a new tunnel to reach them.
Pinera sacked top officials of Chile's mining regulator and vowed a major overhaul of the agency in light of the accident.
Serious mining accidents are rare in Chile, but the government says the San Jose mine, owned by local private company Compania Minera San Esteban Primera, has suffered a series of mishaps and 16 workers were killed in recent years.
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Prophecy to Become Coal Producer This Year
with 1.5 Billion Tonnes of Resource
Prophecy Resource Corp. (TSX.V: PCY) announced on May 11 that it has entered into a mine services agreement with Leighton Asia Ltd. to begin coal production this year. Production will begin with a 250,000-tonne starter pit as planned in August, with production advancing to 2 million tonnes per year in 2011. Prophecy is fully funded to production and its management team includes John Morganti, Arnold Armstrong, and Rob McEwen.
For Prophecy's complete press release about its production plans, please visit:
http://www.prophecyresource.com/news_2010_may11.php
