Clearly their survival was due to greater Canadian regulation of the mining industry and the fact that the regulators were Liberal Party members who had nothing but the best interest of miners at heart over those of the evil managers of the mine. Had Bush been in charge they would all be dead./sarc
Potash doesn't burn, Coal does. Big difference.
It appears dangerous mines is this year's hot topic issue.
Saskatchewan miners brought to surface after fire
Updated Mon. Jan. 30 2006 6:58 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
It's turning out to be a happy ending for 70 miners who spent 24 hours trapped deep underground following a fire in a Saskatchewan potash mine.
At least half of the miners have now been brought to the surface, Marshall Hamilton, spokesman for mine owner Mosaic Company, told CTV Newsnet early Monday. The rest of the workers are still in the process of being brought up.
Reporting from the scene, CTV's Sarah Galashan said the rescued workers "just felt extreme relief."
The miners were trapped when fire broke out in polyethylene piping nearly a kilometre underground at about 3 a.m. Sunday.
When toxic smoke began to fill the tunnels, the miners retreated to so-called safe rooms -- spacious chambers that can be sealed off and are equipped with supplies of oxygen, food and water.
"In those refuge stations, the workers can seal themselves in with enough oxygen and food and water to be comfortable for the next 36 hours at least," Hamilton told CTV Newsnet Sunday.
Officials had not been able to establish contact with 30 of the workers until Sunday night. They are Dynatec Corporation miners who work as contract employees.
Each rescue team is equipped with breathing apparatus that allows them to work underground for up to four hours.
Most of the miners had been underground since Saturday night, having started work at 7 p.m. CST, Hamilton added.
He said while this might not be the biggest fire the mine has suffered, it is "the trickiest one that we've encountered in quite a few years.
"For most fires that happen in an underground operation, it may be as simple as throwing a couple shovels of potash on it to put it out. This one is proving to be a little more tricky," he said.
The Mosaic mine was Saskatchewan's first potash operation when it opened in 1962.
The mine is near Esterhazy, Sask., about 210 kilometres east of Regina and not far from the Manitoba border.
They shouldn't have under-aged people digging underground anyway...