India's largest coal handling agency - Mjunction

Snap Shot
It was finalised that the miners will wear sweaters because
they will experience a shift in climate from about 90 degrees
Fahrenheit underground to temperatures hovering near
freezing point if they ascend at night. Those coming out during
daylight hours were instructed to wear sunglasses. At the
beginning after their discovery, the miners installed lights to
simulate day and night to diminish the impact of their eventual
return to the surface, supported by a 500-watt power line.
The escape capsule
In the last stage, three capsules were built to bring back each
miner at a time, corresponding to the three rescue plans. The
capsules had a common name, “Phoenix”, after the mythical
bird which rose from the ashes, symbolising a sort of rebirth
for the trapped miners. As per the plans, they were called
Phoenix 1, 2 and 3. It was Phoenix 2 which finally rescued the
trapped miners.
The escape capsule, equipped with spring-loaded wheels
to press against the hole's walls, was to be lowered into the
hole by an slow speed electric winch and the trapped miners
brought up one by one. The spring loaded wheels ensured
that the capsule would not be jammed in the hole. The weight
of each capsule was approximately 924 pounds or 420 kg.
The safety department of the Chilean government had insisted
on casing the whole shaft. But a technical decision, based on
the evidence and the expertise of a team of eight geologists
and mining engineers, was taken whether to line the whole
shaft or part of it.
Encasing the full shaft would have added another week
or so before the rescue could begin and there was the added
danger of pipes getting jammed.
The political consequences of the pipe getting jammed
were inescapable. Chile's success story would evaporate if a
miner should get stuck on the way up for reasons that might
have been avoided.
Some miners' families wanted the entire shaft lined with
pipe, but some engineers involved said the risk of the capsule
getting jammed in the unreinforced hole was less than the risk
of the pipes getting jammed and ruining their hard-won exit
route. It was ultimately decided to encase only first 100 metres
of the shaft.
The trial run of the capsule was done a few times before
men were allowed to enter the capsule.
As it travelled down and up, down and up, the rescue
capsule was not rotating as much inside the 2041-foot escape
shaft as officials had expected, thereby allowing for faster
trips.
The final moment
Eager family members and anxious strangers from around
the world bit their lips in anticipation as the rescue operations
began in the intense chill of the desert night.
Sixteen minutes later, they broke out in cheers and chants
of "Chile! Chile!" were heard as Florencio Avalos was the
first to step out from the capsule. Avalos beamed as his
feet touched the surface under which he was trapped for
more than two months. He cradled his son and wife before
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera bear-hugged him. Avalos
appeared strong, walking without help and embracing many
of the rescue workers who witnessed his arrival. He was then
put on a gurney and wheeled away for an examination by
doctors.
In Chile’s capital Santiago, hundreds wept and embraced
as they watched the rescue on a flickering big screen TV set
up in a square. Champagne flowed at the Chilean embassy in
Washington, D.C., too.
The scene repeated itself several times as more and
more miners arrived. Around the world, people, who were
otherwise completely unrelated to the miners, sat glued to
their television sets.
Each round trip in the 924-pound Fenix capsule took
about 50 minutes, and the last miner emerged on Wednesday,
October 13.
As the second miner, Mario Sepulveda, exited the rescue
hole, he reached into a large yellow bag and handed out what
appeared to be rocks to officials and rescue workers.
Amid the sea of Chilean flags greeting the emerging miners
was a collection of small, handheld Bolivian flags for Carlos
Mamani, the lone Bolivian miner.
His family back home was restrained for much of the
morning while watching the rescue on TV. But they jumped
up and clapped when they saw him kneel on the ground
Next up was the youngest of the lot, Jimmy Sanchez, a
19-year-old who worked as an environmental assistant and
the father of a newborn girl.
The first miners to come to the surface were deemed the
most fit, but also possessed the most technical know-how so
that they could advise the rescue teams.
The next five were the physically weakest, a term perhaps
not appropriate for anyone who has survived more than two
months in the bowels of the earth. But one of the miners had
diabetes; another had black lung.
The last to come out was Luis Alberto Iribarren, 54 years
of age. Like the captain of a sinking ship, the shift supervisor
volunteered to stay behind until all his men were safe.
"It's extremely exciting for us. ... It's a very emotional
moment for us," said Jeff Hart, one of the lead drillers who
assisted with the rescue efforts. "We worked real long and hard
on that, and to actually see the capsule come through the first
time through the hole that we drilled was just unbelievable."
For the 33 men, the only contact with the outside world
since August 5 was through a small bore hole through which
they were sent food, water and other supplies. A letter sent by
one of them said they would take a vow of silence, to never to
fully reveal the details of their underground misery.
High above the miners, about 1500 journalists from 39
nations and family members held their collective breath, as
the rescue effort went on. In the end, man won over the whims
of nature, in an episode that will be remembered for a long
time to come.
COAL INSIGHTS 80 October 2010