Dedicated efforts made to save miners By ZHAO RUIXUE in Qixia, Shandong | China Daily Global | Updated: 2021-01-21 07:06 Share CLOSE Rescue work continues at the Hushan gold mine in Qixia, Shandong province, where 22 miners have been trapped underground since Jan 10. WANG KAI/XINHUA
Rescuers tell of the challenges faced
For a time on Sunday, noisy machinery operating at a gold mine rescue site in Shandong province fell silent.
After drilling a hole to a depth of more than 500 meters, workers paused to listen for any sounds coming from below ground.
The Hushan gold mine in the city of Qixia was rocked by an explosion on Jan 10 that left 22 workers trapped below the surface and damaged a communications system. As a result, rescuers were initially unable to establish whether the miners were still alive.
22 workers trapped by blast in Chinese gold mine
Rescue operations are continuing at Qixia in China’s Shandong Province after 22 miners were trapped underground on January 10 following an explosion in the Hushan gold mine. The blast cut all communications, which were partially restored with 12 miners this week. The fate of the other 10 workers remains unknown.
The mine is owned by Shandong Wucailong Investment, a subsidiary of Zhaojin Mining. Wucailong had obtained the mineral rights to the site in 2016, but full-scale mining operations were yet to start. Construction was taking place, including of the shaft where the blast occurred.
Oceania Gold Mine Htachi EX3600 (John Welsh/Flickr)
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A week after 22 Chinese gold miners went missing, a note has made it to the surface pleading that rescue efforts continue.
The mining company did not report the disaster for more than 30 hours after an explosion rocked the Hushan mine near Qixia in China s Shandong province on January 10.
But at least 12 were apparently alive, 600 metres from the mine s entrance, stuck under tonnes of rubble.
Rescuers work to clear rubble at the mine explosion in Shandong Province last week.
Credit:Xinhua via AP Don t stop trying to reach us, the note said. We hope the rescue continues. We remain hopeful.