Catherine Dilts
  • About Catherine
  • Catherine Dilts - Blog
  • Rose Creek
  • Short Stories
  • Annie's Fiction
  • Survive Or Die
  • Rock Shop Mystery Series
  • About Catherine
  • Catherine Dilts - Blog
  • Rose Creek
  • Short Stories
  • Annie's Fiction
  • Survive Or Die
  • Rock Shop Mystery Series
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

News 

11/20/2013

Jeff Hart and the Rescue of Los 33

Picture
Jeff Hart, the drilling expert whose skill was instrumental in the rescue of 33 Chilean miners in 2010, gave a talk Novemver 7th that was full of surprises.  

Surprise One – Continuing Interest: Three years after the event that consumed international news for 69 days, Mr. Hart packed the library at the Western Museum of Mining and Industry with a capacity crowd. The audience included museum members, prospectors, rock hounds, students from elementary school to the School of Mines, and anyone with a passion for mining history.

Surprise Two – Drilling for Water: Mr. Hart and his crew from Layne Christensen, a South Dakota based water, minerals, and energy extraction company, were drilling water wells in Afghanistan when the Chilean mine disaster occurred. Hearing the story on the news, Hart did not believe anyone could survive the cave-in.

Surprise Three – Arrival at the Rescue: Eighteen days into the rescue effort, Chilean President Pinera announced that they had established communication with the 33 miners, and all were alive. In a moving PowerPoint at the beginning of his talk, Hart showed the note that came up the first pilot hole: Estamos bien en el refugio los 33 - We are well in the shelter, the 33. Another seventeen days would pass before Hart received a 4 am call from the president of Layne. At first, he thought something bad had happened to one of his drilling crew’s families. Instead, he was ordered to assemble a crew and get to Chile ASAP. Hart, another employee, and two US Spanish-speaking helpers began the long trip to the Atacama Desert, arriving 35 days after the cave-in, and what would become the mid-point of the rescue effort.

Surprise Four – Conditions for Los 33: The miners could survive indefinitely underground. After the first hole was drilled (before Hart’s team arrived), air, food, and water could reach the trapped miners. They had survived on tuna and stale tortillas the first eighteen days. The clock they were working against, according to Hart, was disease. The temperature in the mine was over 90 degrees F, and the humidity was over 90%. Hart joked about the gourmet meals being sent to the miners 2,300 feet below ground while the rescuers ate ham and cheese sandwiches.

Surprise Five – No Surprise:  The unsafe copper and gold mine was immediately closed after the cave-in, and remains closed to this day. The miners knew the dangers of working in the earthquake prone region, and were paid more than if they had chosen to work in mines with better safety records.

Surprise Six – Fenix: The capsule (photo below) sent down the shaft drilled by Hart’s crew was designed by NASA and built by the Chilean Navy. A replica capsule on display in the Western Museum of Mining and Industry is the only other “official” capsule in existence. The first person to use the capsule went down to the miners to assist them and assess their medical status. Rescue expert Manuel Gonzalez did not know with certainty that he would make it back to the surface. He could have been trapped with the miners. Hart called him “the bravest man in the world.”

Surprise Seven – New Careers: Four of the rescued miners went to work for Layne Christensen and their Latin American affiliate Geotec after their rescue.

Surprise Eight – Lessons learned from the Chilean mine cave-in are being implemented by the US mining industry. The equipment and teams for mine rescue are being assembled at strategic areas in the US, ready to deploy when needed.

Jeff Hart said, “The most important thing you could ever get out of a mine is a miner.” The talk was fascinating. I am certain I have missed several critical points of interest, such as the details about the drills and drilling techniques, but don’t worry! A movie is being filmed, and a book on the rescue will be released soon. Until then, you can see the authentic replica capsule at the WMMI in Colorado Springs.
 
To learn more about Jeff Hart and Layne Christensen’s role in the Chilean mine rescue, see:  http://www.layne.com/en/about/plan-b.aspx

To learn more about the Western Museum of Mining and Industry in Colorado Springs, Colorado, see:  http://www.wmmi.org/ 

Picture
Jacqueline Seewald
11/20/2013 06:25:17 am

Sounds like a very interesting talk. Libraries do sponsor wonderful speakers.

donnell link
11/21/2013 03:06:29 am

What a cool talk to attend. Ideally, we'll see something of what you learned in future books. So excited about your release and your short story successes, Cathy! Well done!


Comments are closed.

    Subscribe to this blog:

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly