3 workers trapped in a Canadian mine have air, food and water as rescuers try to gain access to them

Key Points

• Three workers remain trapped at the Red Chris gold and copper mine in northern British Columbia after two rockfalls, with a remote-controlled scoop now removing a debris pile up to 30 meters long and 8 meters high.
• The workers have enough air, food and water for an extended stay and are sheltering in a MineARC refuge chamber designed to support 16 people, with additional chambers accessible if needed.
• Specialized drones are being deployed to assess geotechnical conditions underground, while teams work to restore a communication system to reestablish contact with the trapped employees.
• Mining operations at the site have been paused as the rescue effort continues; underground block-cave development at the mostly open-pit mine began in 2019.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Three workers remain trapped at a gold and copper mine in Western Canada on Thursday as a remote-controlled scoop began removing debris from rockfalls to gain access to them, a mine company said in a statement.

The heap of rocks is 20 to 30 meters (65 to 100 feet) long and seven to eight meters (22 to 26 feet) high. The workers were trapped Tuesday after two rockfalls at the Red Chris mine in northern British Columbia.

Mine company Newmont Corp. said that the workers have enough air, food and water for an extended stay, although their communications were cut off after the second cave-in.

The company's statement said that specialized drones have been sent in to assess the geotechnical conditions underground at the mine. Teams are restoring the specialized communication system to try to reestablish communication with the workers, the statement said.

“The workers are understood to be sheltering in a MineARC refuge chamber designed to support 16 people. Additional refuge chambers are also available nearby and accessible if required,” according to the statement, referring to the safe haven where the workers are staying.

Production at the mine has been paused while the rescue effort continues.

The mine is mostly open pit, but Newmont said in an earlier statement that development of underground block-cave mining began in 2019, four years after the mine’s first production date.

The company said that the three trapped workers are business-partner employees, two from British Columbia and one from Ontario. They were working more than 500 meters (more than a quarter-mile) past the affected zone when the first rocks fell, and were asked to relocate to the refuge before the second rockfall.

“Following the first event, contact was established with the individuals and confirmation was received that they had safely relocated to one of multiple self-contained refuge bays,” the company’s statement said.