Australian gold miners freed after rockfall
(Writes through with company comment)
MELBOURNE, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Twenty-seven gold miners were rescued unharmed in Australia's southeastern state of Victoria on Monday after being trapped underground for five hours by a rockfall, the company operating the mine said.
The accident occurred in the early hours of the morning at the 140-year-old Ballarat gold mine, about 100 km (60 miles) west of Melbourne, which is being redeveloped by new owner Lihir Gold Ltd (LGL.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
"They have all been brought out and they've been reunited with their families," said Ballarat Goldfields spokesman Joe Dowling.
The collapse of the main tunnel to the mine was caused by a rockfall that blocked access about 700 metres underground, he said.
An investigation into the cause of the rockfall had begun, and work at the mine would not resume until it had been completed, he said. Lihir is aiming to start begin commercial production at Ballarat in the second half of 2008.
"The impact on mine development will not be known until a full assessment of the area has been completed," Dowling said.
The miners were trapped for about five hours from about 3.30 a.m. (1630 GMT) to about 8:30 a.m. and were evacuated through a ventilation shaft. Ballarat was one of the centres of the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s. Lihir took over Ballarat Goldfields last year and is trying to recover gold from beneath the old workings.
"They're digging deeper down below the level of the old mine," said Professor John Smith, a mine engineering expert at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
"There's a lot of new technology, and with the gold price where it is that makes it pretty attractive. But the earth stress increases as you go down deeper," Smith told Reuters.
Lihir shares were trading up 2.1 pct at A$3.89 in early trade in a stronger overall market. (Reporting by Victoria Thieberger and Fayen Wong, editing by Richard Pullin)
MELBOURNE, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Twenty-seven gold miners were rescued unharmed in Australia's southeastern state of Victoria on Monday after being trapped underground for five hours by a rockfall, the company operating the mine said.
The accident occurred in the early hours of the morning at the 140-year-old Ballarat gold mine, about 100 km (60 miles) west of Melbourne, which is being redeveloped by new owner Lihir Gold Ltd (LGL.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
"They have all been brought out and they've been reunited with their families," said Ballarat Goldfields spokesman Joe Dowling.
The collapse of the main tunnel to the mine was caused by a rockfall that blocked access about 700 metres underground, he said.
An investigation into the cause of the rockfall had begun, and work at the mine would not resume until it had been completed, he said. Lihir is aiming to start begin commercial production at Ballarat in the second half of 2008.
"The impact on mine development will not be known until a full assessment of the area has been completed," Dowling said.
The miners were trapped for about five hours from about 3.30 a.m. (1630 GMT) to about 8:30 a.m. and were evacuated through a ventilation shaft. Ballarat was one of the centres of the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s. Lihir took over Ballarat Goldfields last year and is trying to recover gold from beneath the old workings.
"They're digging deeper down below the level of the old mine," said Professor John Smith, a mine engineering expert at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
"There's a lot of new technology, and with the gold price where it is that makes it pretty attractive. But the earth stress increases as you go down deeper," Smith told Reuters.
Lihir shares were trading up 2.1 pct at A$3.89 in early trade in a stronger overall market. (Reporting by Victoria Thieberger and Fayen Wong, editing by Richard Pullin)
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