UPDATE 1-Trapped miners rescued at Australian zinc mine

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Tue Sep 22, 2009 4:15am EDT

(Updates with miners rescued, mine shut until power restored)

SYDNEY, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Two miners trapped underground for almost 24 hours after a power blackout in a remote Australian zinc mine were rescued on Tuesday, but operations at the mine remain shutdown until full power can be restored, officials said.

"They have just come to the surface. They are well," a New South Wales state government official told local media.

A union spokesman at the mine site 1,100 km (680 miles) east of Sydney said a dust storm hit the outback town of Broken Hill on Monday, cutting power at the Perilya mine.

The mine is forecast to yield 55,000 tonnes of zinc and 50,000 tonnes of lead this year.

Only emergency power has been restored to the Broken Hill area and the mine will remain shut until full power can be restored, said mine union official Greg Braes.

"They don't have enough power to mine underground, to run the winches and ventilation," Braes told Reuters. "Mining operations will be shut until power is restored." (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Michael Perry)

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