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Global News
4 days ago
- General
- Global News
‘Goosebumps' and euphoria after workers trapped in B.C. mine were freed
It was a 'euphoric' moment as three drilling company workers were brought to safety after spending more than 60 hours trapped underground in a mine in a remote area of northwestern British Columbia, their employer said Friday. The workers who had been sheltering in a steel refuge 284 metres below ground emerged after a complex, high-stakes rescue mission involving drones, a remote-controlled scoop machine and a special protected rescue vehicle. Hy-Tech Drilling's president Dwayne Ross thanked everyone involved in the rescue effort at the Red Chris mine, where the workers surfaced at around 10:40 p.m. Thursday. He told a news briefing that the men — Kevin Coumbs, Darien Maduke and Jesse Chubaty — would soon be back in Smithers, B.C., where Hy-Tech is based. Bernard Wessels, the global safety chief for the mine's operator, Newmont Corp., said there were 'goosebumps and happiness' when the contractors escaped the gold and copper mine, about 500 kilometres northwest of Terrace, B.C. Story continues below advertisement The men 'held hope and strength through their every moment,' he told the briefing. The men were to be reunited with their families on Friday, Wessels said. A statement from Newmont said the workers were in 'good physical and mental condition' when they were found. 'As a precaution, they were taken for medical evaluations and offered access to counselling,' it said, adding that reuniting the workers with their families was the immediate focus. Hy-Tech issued a statement Friday including a photo of the three men standing with Ross and a company director in front of the helicopter taking them home. 'Bringing our team safely back to surface was a moment of immense relief,' Ross said in the statement. The trio had been trapped by two 'falls of ground' that blocked an access tunnel. Wessels described the remote-controlled machine used in the operation as 'big, big pieces of equipment,' with the scoop clearing a path to allow the rescue vehicle to pass through a blockage about 20 metres long. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'With the area stabilized, the emergency response team advanced across the impacted zone using equipment with an engineered falling object protect system,' he said, referring to an enclosure on a vehicle used in dangerous locations. Story continues below advertisement 'Upon reaching the refuge chamber, the team found Kevin, Darien, and Jesse in stable condition. Together with the emergency response team, they returned to (the) surface using the same protective equipment.' He said the men walked on their own to the rescue vehicle and they were taken out one by one. Wessels said the response showed that 'safety protocols work,' adding the men did 'exactly what they were trained to do.' The first fall of ground had occurred at 7:47 a.m. Tuesday, prompting the men to retreat to the refuge equipped with air, food and water, before the second, bigger fall around 10:30 a.m. Wessels said the refuge was about 700 metres from where both falls occurred. He said the men were found in 'healthy spirits,' telling rescuers they had managed to catch up on their sleep. Newmont, based in Denver, Colo., said in a statement that the outcome was a 'result of tireless collaboration, technical expertise, and above all, safety and care.' 'We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the rescue teams and all those involved.' No prior fall-of-ground events had occurred in the tunnel where the men became trapped, the company said, adding it had been subjected to routine inspections. Story continues below advertisement 'This incident was highly localized and unexpected' the statement said. 'A full investigation will be conducted to determine the root cause and share learnings with the broader industry.' Wessels told Friday's briefing that the mine doesn't have a history of geotechnical instability and the fall-of-ground incidents occurred in a 'very localized area.' 'This one caught us by surprise and we need to go and understand that,' he said. The mine is subject to daily and monthly inspections, as well as 'second line of defence' inspections by external observers, Wessels said. 'We will do an extensive inspection and investigation into this incident, and ultimately we will share the results of this incident so that we can learn from that. But it's not a common thing, and it's not a common thing for this operation,' he said. Still, he said falls of ground are a risk across the mining industry. 'That's why we've got standards and protocols that we put in place.' B.C. Premier David Eby hailed the outcome and the 'heroic work of the rescue team.' 'The three drillers demonstrated remarkable courage over the 60-plus hours of being trapped underground,' he said. A statement from Mines Minister Jagrup Brar later Friday said it was a 'proud day' for the province. Story continues below advertisement 'We breathe a collective sigh of relief and express our profound thanks in celebration of the rescue and safe return of the three workers,' he said. 'As we move forward, we reflect on the impact of this incident and the lessons we can glean from it.' Brar said the ministry's chief inspector had begun an investigation into the incident, the results of which would be made public. The three workers had been identified on Thursday by Hy-Tech, saying Coumbs was from Ontario, Maduke was from B.C. and Chubaty was from Manitoba. It described Coumbs and Chubaty as drillers and Maduke as a driller's helper. A Facebook page belonging to Chubaty issued a post Friday saying it had been a 'wild week' and he thanked people for reaching out. 'Glad to be outta there!' the post read. 'To all my mining brothers stay safe down there and to everyone else as well!' Newmont said open-pit operations had resumed at the Red Chris. Those operations are separate from the underground project, it said. 'The underground area where the incident occurred remains secured. No work will resume there until a full investigation is completed and safety is reassessed.' Story continues below advertisement Michael Goehring, president of the Mining Association of B.C., issued a statement Friday thanking rescuers and commending the successful effort. 'Newmont's rescue operation is a testament to the commitment, skill, and readiness of mine rescue teams across British Columbia who, at a moment's notice, willingly place themselves in harm's way to keep others safe,' he said. The effort involved mine rescue professionals from both Red Chris and the Brucejack mine in the same region, he noted. — With files from Ashley Joannou in Vancouver
The Market Online
5 days ago
- Business
- The Market Online
Market Open: TSX Futures Slip as Traders Brace for U.S. Tariff Call
Futures tied to Toronto's main index slipped on Friday as investors watch closely, hoping the United States will hold off on imposing steep import levies. Market Numbers (Futures) TSX : Down ( 0.20%) 27,317.51TSXV: Down (0.19%%) 802.93DOW: Up (0.08%) 44,934.00NASDAQ: Down (0.05%) 23,366.25 FTSE: Down (0.36%) 9,105.15 In the Headlines: Three contractors working for Hy‑Tech Drilling were successfully rescued late Thursday after being trapped for more than 60 hours underground at Newmont Corp.'s Red Chris gold and copper mine in northern British Columbia. The Denver‑based operator said the rescue operation involved drones to assess subsurface conditions and a remote‑controlled scoop to clear a rockfall estimated at 20–30 meters long and nearly eight meters high. Once access was restored, emergency teams reached the MineARC refuge chamber where the workers had consistent access to food, water, and air, and brought them to safety. Newmont described the operation as 'carefully planned and meticulously executed' and noted that all three men, Kevin Coumbs, Darien Maduke, and Jesse Chubaty, were in good health and spirits. The mine's production remains suspended pending a thorough review and independent investigation into the incident. Currencies Update: (Futures) The Canadian dollar sinks over 0.30% to $0.7287 U.S., with the euro also edging down 0.05% to $0.6233, while Bitcoin takes a beating, dropping more than $3,310.66 or 2.04% to C$158,797.10 in a sharp crypto slide. Commodities: (Futures) Natural Gas: Up (1.78%), 3.14WTI: Up (0.60%), 66.43Gold: Down (0.81%), 3,340.92 Copper: Up (0.28%) 6.08 To stay up-to-date on all of your market news head to Join the discussion: Find out what everybody's saying check out the rest of Stockhouse's stock forums and message boards. The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. For full disclaimer information, please click here
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
How the rescue of three workers trapped underground in B.C. mine unfolded
Three contractors were rescued late Thursday after more than 60 hours trapped underground at the Red Chris gold and copper mine in northern B.C. Here is a timeline of how the situation unfolded (all times Pacific): July 22, 2025, 6 a.m. Three contractors working for Hy-Tech Drilling begin work for the day at the mine. 7:47 a.m. The mine experiences the first of what officials call a 'localized' ground fall. The three workers go to a refuge station and Newmont says the workers radio that they were safe. 10:30 a.m. A second, larger, fall takes place, cutting off communication. July 23, 2025, 10 a.m. B.C. Premier David Eby, speaking at a news conference in Ontario to mark the end of a premiers' meeting, announces the three workers are trapped. 11 a.m. Newmont Corp., the operator and majority owner of the mine, says the contractors were working more than 500 metres beyond the area affected by the first fall. It says the workers have enough air, water and food for an 'extended stay.' July 24, 2025, 6 a.m. Newmont says it has deployed drones to assess the conditions underground, and a pile of debris 20 to 30 metres long and seven to eight metres high is blocking access to the workers. It says a remote-controlled scoop is removing the debris. 2:30 p.m. Newmont CEO Tom Palmer says the company will conduct a 'thorough and independent investigation' into what happened and share details with the rest of the industry. 4:40 p.m. Newmont holds a news conference where global safety chief Bernard Wessels says there is a 'natural flow of air' to the area where the workers are trapped. He says drones have flown over the debris and have found a stable route to the refuge behind it. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 6 p.m. Hy-Tech Drilling releases the names of the workers with permission from their families. They are Kevin Coumbs, Darien Maduke and Jesse Chubaty. 10:50 p.m. The men are safely brought to the surface after what Newmont calls a 'carefully planned and meticulously executed rescue.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.
Vancouver Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
What is the Red Chris mine project and why it's on B.C. premier's fast-track list?
Construction of Newmont Corp.'s Red Chris mine was 'a huge economic driver to Northwest B.C.' and remains an important building block for the province's critical minerals strategy, according to Michael Goehring, CEO of the Mining Association of B.C. The mine, which is subject of an intense effort to rescue three miners trapped deep underground behind a significant roof collapse, was the second major new mine to be built in the region after B.C. Hydro constructed its Northwest Transmission Line and remains one of the projects that will 'set the tone for the next decade of mining,' Goehring said. Here are some of the Red Chris mine's history and how it became so important to Premier David Eby's strategy to stabilize B.C.'s economy in the face of threatened U.S. tariffs. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Colorado-headquartered Newmont is the 70-per-cent owner and operator, along with B.C.'s Imperial Metals Corp., which holds a 30-per-cent stake in the Red Chris mine, an open-pit copper and gold mine located 80 km south of Dease Lake in B.C.'s far northwest. It employs 350 miners. The $634-million Red Chris mine opened in 2015 to produce some 11 million tonnes of copper per year with amounts of gold over an expected 28-year mine life. The mine's mineral resource also includes gold with production ranging from 46,000 ounces in 2023 to 60,000 ounces last year. Newmont's 2025 forecast is for 86,000 ounces of gold production for 2025. Prospectors first started looking at the geology of what is now the 230-sq.-km. Red Chris site in 1956, with more dedicated exploration between 1973 and 1980. Mine development started in 2002, and in 2010 it survived a Supreme Court of Canada challenge of its federal environmental approval. Red Chris received its provincial permit in 2013, but faced a blockade by Tahltan First Nation elders in the summer of 2014 who were concerned about the mine's proposed tailings dam designed to store mine waste and water. Imperial Metals, which was full owner at the time, had suffered the high-profile failure of the tailings dam at its Mount Polley mine northeast of Williams Lake. The dam failure created a flash-flood of some 17 million cubic metres of water eight million cubic metres of mine waste down Hazeltine Creek and into Quesnel Lake. At Red Chris, Imperial Metals reached a co-management and revenue-sharing agreement with the Tahltan Nation, which was approved by 87 per cent of the community in a vote. The Red Chris mine's initial permit for open-pit operations was based on a 2004 feasibility study, but before the facility was even under construction, additional exploration work starting in 2007 showed that the geology held richer mineralization deep underground. Diamond drilling work between 2007 and 2012, which reached depths beyond a kilometre into the earth, showed rich veins of copper and gold that showed potential for underground mining using block cave methods. In 2021, the mine partners started construction of a portal shaft for underground operations. Last December, Newmont submitted an application to amend its mining permit to transition to underground mining from open pit, which it deemed 'would not be economically sustainable at forecast copper prices,' according to the application. Block cave mining is a method where miners excavate underground by cutting horizontal slices across an ore body then allow the ore-containing rock above the slice to collapse, said Dwayne Tannant, a professor and geotechnical engineering expert at the University of B.C. Okanagan. 'Once you get it going, you don't have to use a whole lot of explosives because (the ore) kind of breaks up as it crushes and collapses into this lower level,' Tannant said. 'And you just draw it out and bring it up to the surface.' In its application, Newmont said the mine plan is based on the excavation of some 300 million tonnes of rock. Shifting gears would mean only 40 per cent of those 300 million tonnes would be excavated from the open pit, some 60 per cent would come from underground operations, which would be expected to last 12 years. According to Goehring, it was more a matter of timing than anything else that put it's underground mining project on the list of 18 major resource projects that Eby wanted to see fast-tracked as a means to diversify B.C.'s economy away from dependence on the U.S., in light of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war. Newmont submitted its application in December, and Eby unveiled a list of clean energy, infrastructure, natural gas and mining projects that were close to 'shovel ready' that he wanted to push ahead. Goehring added that the Red Chris expansion fits that bill, with a possible decision by the Tahltan First Nation and provincial Environmental Assessment Office by the end of 2025, pending Newmont and Imperial Metals' final investment decision. 'It will be a $2-billion investment that will generate 1,800 construction jobs and 1,500 continuing jobs to support its operation,' Goehring said. He added that Red Chris' underground expansion alone would increase B.C.'s exports of copper, its second-most important mining export, by 15 per cent. Almost all of B.C.'s copper exports go to Asia-Pacific trading partners. 'So it's very important to Northwest B.C. and it's very important to the Tahltan Nation,' Goehring said. The Red Chris mine, which has been in operation since 2015, had 'no outstanding compliance concerns related to health and safety' before Tuesday's roof collapse incident, according to the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals. B.C.'s provincial inspector of mines is responsible for occupational health and safety in the province, and the Red Chris mine's most recent inspections included an occupational health inspection June 25 and geotechnical inspections of both its open-pit and underground operations June 18. Newmont officials said the trapped miners are sheltering in a refuge chamber manufactured by the safety-equipment firm MineARC, one of several refuge stations that are mandatory for underground mining in B.C. B.C.'s Occupational Health and Safety Regulations requires that a refuge station be established within 500 metres of the main underground work area in a mine that can accommodate all workers on shift, be supplied with drinking water, breathable air either compressed or by air generator, a communication system to the surface, and be sealable against fire or toxic gases. In its statements, Newmont said the refuge chamber has room for 16 people to shelter, including cots for sleeping and supplies for several days. An information sheet on MineARC's website said its chambers include monitors to track essential gas levels and carbon dioxide, as well as carbon monoxide scrubbers to eliminate toxic gases. 'Additional refuge chambers are also available nearby and accessible if required,' Newmont said in a statement. depenner@ — with files from Canadian Press
Vancouver Sun
6 days ago
- General
- Vancouver Sun
Rescue efforts underway at B.C. mine where three workers are trapped underground
Rescue efforts are continuing at a northern B.C. mine where three workers are trapped underground. Operator Newmont Corp. has said it was working to assemble specialist teams from nearby mine sites to respond to the situation at the Red Chris Mine in a remote area near Dease Lake, B.C. The three contractors, two from British Columbia and one from Ontario, were trapped Tuesday after two 'fall of ground incidents,' in what the company says is the access way to the underground work area. It says the workers were more than 500 metres beyond the first fall and were asked to relocate to a designated refuge station before a second collapse blocked the access way and restricted communication. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The company says that before communication was cut, the workers confirmed they were in a refuge bay, which has enough food, water and ventilation for an 'extended stay.' The company has said it was assessing technologies to restore communication and bring the workers to surface, while Premier David Eby, who announced the accident on Wednesday, says a senior geotechnical inspector has been sent to support the rescue. Imperial Metals Corp. has a minority stake in the mine and has said that its priority is ensuring the safety of the three workers and the emergency response teams supporting the rescue effort. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
