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Alrosa Calls Off Mir Rescue, Declares Eight Dead
Aug 27, 2017 5:46 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Alrosa has called off a search for eight
workers at its Mir deposit in Yakutia, three weeks after the underground portion of the mine flooded.
The danger of a sudden rush of water into the
mine shaft makes the rescue operation impossible, the Russian miner said in a
statement Saturday.
The workers could not have survived for
three weeks without water and food in conditions of high humidity, Alrosa said,
citing medical experts. The
mud that flowed into the mine — with a high content of hydrogen sulfide and
salts — further damaged their chances of survival.
Rescue workers began to search for the
eight miners after Mir’s underground section flooded on August 4, when water
seeped in from an open-pit mine above it. The operation took place 24
hours a day in three shifts.
“It is with a heavy heart that I am forced
to announce that there is no more hope that we can find the missing miners
alive and bring them to the surface,” said Alrosa president Sergey Ivanov.
“As the head of the company, I guarantee
that the miners’ families will receive the necessary support and financial aid —
[in a] timely [manner] and in full,” he added.
The rough producer will pay the missing
miners’ relatives about $34,000 (RUB 2 million) in compensation, it said.
Despite the flood, Alrosa expects to reach its production goal
of 39 million carats for 2017. The company plans to increase production at
its other mines to compensate for the decline in output from Mir, which yielded
around 2 million carats in the first half of the year — 11% of its total output.
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Tags:
Alrosa, mining, Mir, Mir mine, Mirny, Rapaport News, Sergey Ivanov
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