Crandall Canyon Mine
Encyclopedia
The Crandall Canyon Mine, formerly Genwal Mine, was an underground bituminous coal
mine
in northwestern Emery County, Utah
.
The mine made headline news when six miners were trapped by a collapse in August 2007. Ten days later, three rescue workers were killed by a subsequent collapse. The six miners were later declared dead and their bodies were never recovered.
The mine is located in Emery County, Utah
in the Wasatch plateau coal field. The mine is located about 140 miles (225 km) south of Salt Lake City
, 34 miles (55 km) southeast of Fairview
, and about 15 miles (24 km) west north-west of Huntington
. The mine is located in Crandall Canyon about 1.25 miles (2 km) west of its junction with the main highway road, State Route 31
, which runs through Huntington Canyon.
The Manti-La Sal National Forest
surrounds the mine. The mine conducts surface operations on 10 acres (40,000 m²) of disturbed land within the forest. The permit area for the mine covers an area of more than 5000 acres (20.2 km²) utilizing fee land, federal, and state leases.
The topography in the vicinity of the mine is generally mountainous with peaks reaching above 10,000 feet (3050m) within a 3 mile (5 km) radius from the mine's entrance. An unnamed peak 3 miles (4.8 km) west at the head of both Crandall Canyon and Blind Canyon is at elevation 10,743 feet (3274m). Mill Fork Peak, located about 1.2 miles (2 km) south of the mine's entrance, is at elevation 9885 feet (3012m). A ridge line 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north of the mine entrance reaches elevations above 9200 feet (2800m). That is an offset of about 1,400 vertical feet (427m) above the mine's entrance in the canyon below.
(formerly Andalex Resources), a company with approximately US$65.1 million in annual sales, headquartered in Sandy, Utah
. UtahAmerican is a subsidiary
of Cleveland, Ohio
based Murray Energy Corporation, owned by Robert E. "Bob" Murray
. The Crandall Canyon mine is operated by Genwal Resources Inc., an operating division of UtahAmerican.
The other co-owner is the Intermountain Power Agency (IPA) of South Jordan, Utah. On July 24, 2008 the U.S. government announced its highest penalty for coal mine safety violations against Genwal Resources, $1.64 million, for the 2007 collapse.
method. The Genwal Coal Company resumed mining there in 1983. At that time the mine produced between 100,000 and 230,000 ton
s (91,000–209,000 t
) of coal each year. NEICO purchased the mine in 1989 and the next year IPA purchased 50% interest. By 1991, a continuous haulage system was used helping production surge to 1 to 1.5 million tons (900,000–1,400,000 t) each year.
Genwal Resources, Inc. acquired the mine in March 1995 and a longwall
was installed the same year into the mine. The installation of the longwall nearly doubled the capacity of the mine. A new longwall was purchased two years later which increased the capacity further to 3.5 million tons (3,175,000 t) per year. To handle the increased capacity, a new loadout facility was built at the mine. Additional federal leases were expected to extend the life of the mine and new portals on its south side were slated to be installed to expand access options. Mine owners had informed the state of Utah they planned to close the mine in 2008.
was being conducted in some portions of the mine in which the coal had been removed by room and pillar
method. The extraction of material literally creates a 'room' while the ceiling is supported by the 'pillars' of coal that remain. Retreat mining refers to the common practice of removing the pillars while retreating back towards the mine entrance.
On March 10, 2007 the north barrier pillar suffered from a rock burst
, in which pressure causes material from the walls and ceiling to explode inward into the excavated spaces. No miners were injured and all equipment was recovered from the affected area, but the partial collapse closed off that area and forced the mine to instead extract coal that had a higher ash content. The company depended on the low-ash coal to meet its contractual obligations, however, so on March 21 a meeting was held in which it was decided to return to the south barrier pillar. This pillar was adjacent to the north barrier pillar. The March 10 event was never officially reported to MSHA
, as required by law. Robert Murray claimed to be unaware of the incident but minutes of the March 21 meeting, released in January 2008, revealed that he had in fact known about it.
took place on Monday, August 6, 2007, at 2:48 A.M. MDT
. The mine collapsed, trapping six workers: Kerry Allred (58), Luis Hernandez (23), Brandon Phillips (24), Carlos Payan (22), Manuel Sanchez (41), and Don Erickson (50). The workers were believed to be approximately 3.4 miles (5.5 km) from the mine entrance and 1500 feet (457 m) underground. Seismic waves from the "coal mine bump
" (collapse) were reported as magnitude 3.9 to 4.0 by seismograph stations in Utah and Nevada. Initial reports questioned whether the collapse was triggered by an earthquake, but overwhelming evidence has led researchers to believe the seismic waves were caused by the collapse. Additional seismic activities were recorded in the days following the event.
At 9:47 PM MDT
Thursday August 9, 2007, a drill bit boring a 2.5 inch (6.3 cm) hole over 1,800 feet (549 m) into the presumed location of the trapped miners reached its targeted destination. The hole was fitted with a steel pipe to allow air samples to be recovered and a microphone to be lowered, which reached the cavity location underground early Friday morning on August 10. The microphone recorded no sounds of human activity, but the crude air sample analysis from underground initially determined that the atmosphere was hospitable for life, with a sampling consisting of 20.5% oxygen
, some carbon monoxide
, and no traces of methane
. The analysis did not, however, reveal the presence of carbon dioxide
, which would be expected if the miners were still alive and breathing. Subsequent air samples, though, showed oxygen levels near 7%, at near fatal levels for human life. Initially, the subsequent sampling was thought to be consistent with a neighboring sealed-off mine cavity, and that the drill bit had simply drifted off course, but it was later confirmed that it actually did reach its targeted destination. Seemingly, the initial findings of 20.5% oxygen levels were from the bore hole itself, instead of the actual mine cavity.
A concurrent rescue effort involved the creation of a nine-inch (22 cm) hole. The target was another possible location of the miners at the time of the collapse. This shaft would have allowed the delivery of food, water, and a powerful camera
to scope the site. It reached the mine shaft early Saturday, August 11. The aforementioned video camera was lowered into the collapsed coal mine from the nine-inch (229 mm) wide shaft, and revealed typical mining equipment but not the six missing miners, according to a federal official speaking on Sunday, August 12, 2007.
Poor lighting allowed the camera only to see about 15 feet (4.6 m) into a void at the bottom of the drill hole, far less than the 100 feet (30.5 m) it is normally capable of seeing, said Richard Stickler, Chief of the Mine Safety and Health Administration
(MSHA).
A third bore hole was started on the evening of Sunday, August 12. The target was a ventilation area near the back of the mine. Miners are trained to go to these areas in the event that other escape routes are inaccessible. The bore hole was completed mid-day on Wednesday, August 15. Initial equipment was unable to fit through a bend in the bore hole.
Shortly before 7:00 pm MDT
on August 15, 2007, vibrations were reported to have been detected within the mine. These vibrations, heard by geophone
s lowered into the borehole, had a duration of around five minutes, but could easily have been an animal or even a rock crumbling, said Stickler. This sound activity caused a major rethinking in the proposed location of the fourth hole that was under consideration. The fourth hole was redirected to target the noises detected in the mine about 3/4 of the distance to the third hole, roughly 800 feet (250 m) beyond the initial holes. The first two bore holes targeted the approximate location of the miners at the time of the collapse. The third bore hole targeted a ventilation area about 1200 ft (365 m) beyond the first two holes.
On mid-day August 16, 2007, eleven days after the collapse, underground rescue teams were less than halfway through the rubble to the suspected location of the miners. Continued bursting of tunnel walls damaged digging equipment and required additional structural reinforcement for the safety of the crew. In the 24 hours between the August 15th and 16th reports, digging teams were only able to advance about 25 feet (7.5 m). They had advanced 826 feet (251.7 m) into the rubble and estimated 1200 feet (365 m) still remained.
flew to the hospital and said that he hoped underground rescue efforts would stop, but that that was up to MSHA.
A week later, Blake Hannah, a retired inspector who used to oversee the mine said that several warning signs — including reports from miners of weakening support structures — had been ignored. "In my opinion," he said, "there were bad mining practices."
Bob Murray, owner of the mine, stated that he filed paperwork with federal regulators to permanently close and seal the Crandall Canyon mine. "Had I known that this evil mountain, this alive mountain, would do what it did, I would never have sent the miners in here. I'll never go near that mountain again," he said.
On August 23, 2007, rescue workers bored a sixth hole into the area where the miners were last known to be working. No signs of life were detected from the sixth borehole. "There was zero void. [And they] are going through a living hell, and it's just heartbreaking" quoted Colin King of Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy, as he informed the families Saturday. Although the sixth hole had been called the final hole, a seventh hole was drilled on August 30, 2007. The mine cavity was filled with mud and debris, rising about 5 ft (1.5 m) per hour (1.5 m/h).
, the government's top mine safety official said "It was not — and I repeat, it was not — a natural occurring earthquake." The government also levied a $220,000 fine against a mining consultant, Agapito Associates, "for faulty analysis of the mine's design."
According to 1,400 pages of government and congressional reports, the mine was doomed, starting months before the disaster. MSHA cited Murray Energy affiliate Genwal Resources Inc. for negligence. Engineers Agapito Associates Inc. of Grand Junction, Colo., was cited for "reckless disregard." The mine failed to notify MSHA of the early danger signs, instead alerting the more industry-friendly Bureau of Land Management
, when pillars started unexpectedly collapsing in March 2007. MSHA said recklessness by Agapito Associates "directly contributed to the death of nine people."
Robert Murray was also heavily criticized for his actions during the rescue attempt. The MSHA cited his volatile behavior, especially at daily briefings for family members. MSHA reported that he "frequently became very irate and would start yelling," even making young children cry. He told family members that "the media is telling you lies" and "the union is your enemy."
The Department of Labor criticized MSHA chief Richard Stickler for his handling of the rescue effort. His "obsession" for keeping a continuous log of the progress made or lost by tunneling rescuers was said to demand that the crews had to halt the rescue digging to report to him, in order to document hourly measurements.
Genwal Resources was reported to use overly aggressive mining, and failed to recalibrate their modeling of Crandall's supposed stability to match the reduction of crucial barrier pillars. In one case it miscalculated depth covers that are fundamental to safety equations at underground mines. In another, a panel of experts determined, the firm overstated the strength of support pillars by a factor of two.
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mine
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
in northwestern Emery County, Utah
Emery County, Utah
Emery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 10,860, and by 2009 had been estimated to decrease to 10,629. It was named for George W. Emery, governor of the Utah Territory in 1875...
.
The mine made headline news when six miners were trapped by a collapse in August 2007. Ten days later, three rescue workers were killed by a subsequent collapse. The six miners were later declared dead and their bodies were never recovered.
Location and geography
The Crandall Canyon Mine is located at 39°27′36"N 111°10′03.5"W (39.460000°, -111.167639°) with its entrance at an elevation of 7,835 feet (2,388m).The mine is located in Emery County, Utah
Emery County, Utah
Emery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 10,860, and by 2009 had been estimated to decrease to 10,629. It was named for George W. Emery, governor of the Utah Territory in 1875...
in the Wasatch plateau coal field. The mine is located about 140 miles (225 km) south of Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, 34 miles (55 km) southeast of Fairview
Fairview, Utah
Fairview is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,160 at the 2000 census.-History:Located at the confluence of the San Pitch River and Cottonwood Creek, Fairview is the largest town in the northeast end of the Sanpete Valley...
, and about 15 miles (24 km) west north-west of Huntington
Huntington, Utah
Huntington is a town in Emery County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,131 at the 2000 census. It is the largest town in Emery County.-History:...
. The mine is located in Crandall Canyon about 1.25 miles (2 km) west of its junction with the main highway road, State Route 31
Utah State Route 31
State Route 31 is a state highway in Sanpete and Emery Counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It runs for from US-89 at Fairview to SR-10 in Huntington...
, which runs through Huntington Canyon.
The Manti-La Sal National Forest
Manti-La Sal National Forest
The Manti-La Sal National Forest covers 1,270,646 acres and is located in the central and southeastern parts of the U.S. state of Utah and the extreme western part of Colorado...
surrounds the mine. The mine conducts surface operations on 10 acres (40,000 m²) of disturbed land within the forest. The permit area for the mine covers an area of more than 5000 acres (20.2 km²) utilizing fee land, federal, and state leases.
The topography in the vicinity of the mine is generally mountainous with peaks reaching above 10,000 feet (3050m) within a 3 mile (5 km) radius from the mine's entrance. An unnamed peak 3 miles (4.8 km) west at the head of both Crandall Canyon and Blind Canyon is at elevation 10,743 feet (3274m). Mill Fork Peak, located about 1.2 miles (2 km) south of the mine's entrance, is at elevation 9885 feet (3012m). A ridge line 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north of the mine entrance reaches elevations above 9200 feet (2800m). That is an offset of about 1,400 vertical feet (427m) above the mine's entrance in the canyon below.
Ownership and operation
The mine is co-owned by UtahAmerican Energy, Inc.UtahAmerican Energy
UtahAmerican Energy, Inc. , is a bituminous coal underground coal mine and lignite surface mining company, headquartered in Sandy, Utah. UtahAmerican is a subsidiary of Cleveland, Ohio based Murray Energy Corporation. UtahAmerican is a company with approximately $65.1 million in annual sales, and...
(formerly Andalex Resources), a company with approximately US$65.1 million in annual sales, headquartered in Sandy, Utah
Sandy, Utah
Sandy is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is a suburb of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,461 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth-largest city in Utah....
. UtahAmerican is a subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
based Murray Energy Corporation, owned by Robert E. "Bob" Murray
Robert E. Murray
Robert E. Murray is an American CEO of Murray Energy Corporation, a mining corporation based in Pepper Pike, Ohio, near Cleveland. He is one of the largest independent operators of coal mines in the United States.-Personal details:...
. The Crandall Canyon mine is operated by Genwal Resources Inc., an operating division of UtahAmerican.
The other co-owner is the Intermountain Power Agency (IPA) of South Jordan, Utah. On July 24, 2008 the U.S. government announced its highest penalty for coal mine safety violations against Genwal Resources, $1.64 million, for the 2007 collapse.
History
Mining was conducted at the site from November 1939 to September 1955 using a room and pillarRoom and pillar
Room and pillar is a mining system in which the mined material is extracted across a horizontal plane while leaving "pillars" of untouched material to support the roof overburden leaving open areas or "rooms" underground...
method. The Genwal Coal Company resumed mining there in 1983. At that time the mine produced between 100,000 and 230,000 ton
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
s (91,000–209,000 t
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
) of coal each year. NEICO purchased the mine in 1989 and the next year IPA purchased 50% interest. By 1991, a continuous haulage system was used helping production surge to 1 to 1.5 million tons (900,000–1,400,000 t) each year.
Genwal Resources, Inc. acquired the mine in March 1995 and a longwall
Longwall mining
Longwall mining is a form of underground coal mining where a long wall of coal is mined in a single slice . The longwall panel is typically 3–4 km long and 250–400 m wide....
was installed the same year into the mine. The installation of the longwall nearly doubled the capacity of the mine. A new longwall was purchased two years later which increased the capacity further to 3.5 million tons (3,175,000 t) per year. To handle the increased capacity, a new loadout facility was built at the mine. Additional federal leases were expected to extend the life of the mine and new portals on its south side were slated to be installed to expand access options. Mine owners had informed the state of Utah they planned to close the mine in 2008.
Safety concerns
In 2006, the mine was cited for several safety violations, including lacking the required number of escape routes. However, its 64 violations and $12,000 in fines was a relatively good safety record and on par with similar-sized mines throughout the country. Murray said that the safety violations were trivial and included violations such as not having enough toilet paper in the restroom. In addition, a practice referred to as retreat miningRetreat mining
Retreat mining is a term used to reference the final phase of an underground mining technique known as room and pillar mining. This involves excavating a room or chamber while leaving behind pillars of material for support. This excavation is carried out in a pattern advancing away from the...
was being conducted in some portions of the mine in which the coal had been removed by room and pillar
Room and pillar
Room and pillar is a mining system in which the mined material is extracted across a horizontal plane while leaving "pillars" of untouched material to support the roof overburden leaving open areas or "rooms" underground...
method. The extraction of material literally creates a 'room' while the ceiling is supported by the 'pillars' of coal that remain. Retreat mining refers to the common practice of removing the pillars while retreating back towards the mine entrance.
On March 10, 2007 the north barrier pillar suffered from a rock burst
Rock burst
A rock burst is a spontaneous, violent fracture of rock that can occur in deep mines. The opening of a mine shaft relieves neighboring rocks of tremendous pressure, which can literally cause the rock to explode as it attempts to re-establish equilibrium...
, in which pressure causes material from the walls and ceiling to explode inward into the excavated spaces. No miners were injured and all equipment was recovered from the affected area, but the partial collapse closed off that area and forced the mine to instead extract coal that had a higher ash content. The company depended on the low-ash coal to meet its contractual obligations, however, so on March 21 a meeting was held in which it was decided to return to the south barrier pillar. This pillar was adjacent to the north barrier pillar. The March 10 event was never officially reported to MSHA
Mine Safety and Health Administration
The Mine Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce...
, as required by law. Robert Murray claimed to be unaware of the incident but minutes of the March 21 meeting, released in January 2008, revealed that he had in fact known about it.
Initial collapse
A mining accidentMining accident
A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals.Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially in the processes of coal mining and hard rock mining...
took place on Monday, August 6, 2007, at 2:48 A.M. MDT
Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
. The mine collapsed, trapping six workers: Kerry Allred (58), Luis Hernandez (23), Brandon Phillips (24), Carlos Payan (22), Manuel Sanchez (41), and Don Erickson (50). The workers were believed to be approximately 3.4 miles (5.5 km) from the mine entrance and 1500 feet (457 m) underground. Seismic waves from the "coal mine bump
Coal mine bump
A coal mine bump is a term used to describe a seismic jolt occurring within a mine. The term refers to the explosive collapse of a wall or one or more support pillars, sometimes called a rock burst...
" (collapse) were reported as magnitude 3.9 to 4.0 by seismograph stations in Utah and Nevada. Initial reports questioned whether the collapse was triggered by an earthquake, but overwhelming evidence has led researchers to believe the seismic waves were caused by the collapse. Additional seismic activities were recorded in the days following the event.
Disaster response
Rescue teams were dispatched immediately to assess the damage to the mine and begin clearing rubble to reach the cavity. The process of clearing the rubble and reinforcing the passageways to the cavity was estimated to last between two to six weeks, but additional seismic activity and safety concerns introduced further delays.At 9:47 PM MDT
Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
Thursday August 9, 2007, a drill bit boring a 2.5 inch (6.3 cm) hole over 1,800 feet (549 m) into the presumed location of the trapped miners reached its targeted destination. The hole was fitted with a steel pipe to allow air samples to be recovered and a microphone to be lowered, which reached the cavity location underground early Friday morning on August 10. The microphone recorded no sounds of human activity, but the crude air sample analysis from underground initially determined that the atmosphere was hospitable for life, with a sampling consisting of 20.5% oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, some carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
, and no traces of methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
. The analysis did not, however, reveal the presence of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
, which would be expected if the miners were still alive and breathing. Subsequent air samples, though, showed oxygen levels near 7%, at near fatal levels for human life. Initially, the subsequent sampling was thought to be consistent with a neighboring sealed-off mine cavity, and that the drill bit had simply drifted off course, but it was later confirmed that it actually did reach its targeted destination. Seemingly, the initial findings of 20.5% oxygen levels were from the bore hole itself, instead of the actual mine cavity.
A concurrent rescue effort involved the creation of a nine-inch (22 cm) hole. The target was another possible location of the miners at the time of the collapse. This shaft would have allowed the delivery of food, water, and a powerful camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
to scope the site. It reached the mine shaft early Saturday, August 11. The aforementioned video camera was lowered into the collapsed coal mine from the nine-inch (229 mm) wide shaft, and revealed typical mining equipment but not the six missing miners, according to a federal official speaking on Sunday, August 12, 2007.
Poor lighting allowed the camera only to see about 15 feet (4.6 m) into a void at the bottom of the drill hole, far less than the 100 feet (30.5 m) it is normally capable of seeing, said Richard Stickler, Chief of the Mine Safety and Health Administration
Mine Safety and Health Administration
The Mine Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce...
(MSHA).
A third bore hole was started on the evening of Sunday, August 12. The target was a ventilation area near the back of the mine. Miners are trained to go to these areas in the event that other escape routes are inaccessible. The bore hole was completed mid-day on Wednesday, August 15. Initial equipment was unable to fit through a bend in the bore hole.
Shortly before 7:00 pm MDT
Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
on August 15, 2007, vibrations were reported to have been detected within the mine. These vibrations, heard by geophone
Geophone
The term geophone derives from the Greek word "geo" meaning "earth" and "phone" meaning "sound".A geophone is a device which converts ground movement into voltage, which may be recorded at a recording station...
s lowered into the borehole, had a duration of around five minutes, but could easily have been an animal or even a rock crumbling, said Stickler. This sound activity caused a major rethinking in the proposed location of the fourth hole that was under consideration. The fourth hole was redirected to target the noises detected in the mine about 3/4 of the distance to the third hole, roughly 800 feet (250 m) beyond the initial holes. The first two bore holes targeted the approximate location of the miners at the time of the collapse. The third bore hole targeted a ventilation area about 1200 ft (365 m) beyond the first two holes.
On mid-day August 16, 2007, eleven days after the collapse, underground rescue teams were less than halfway through the rubble to the suspected location of the miners. Continued bursting of tunnel walls damaged digging equipment and required additional structural reinforcement for the safety of the crew. In the 24 hours between the August 15th and 16th reports, digging teams were only able to advance about 25 feet (7.5 m). They had advanced 826 feet (251.7 m) into the rubble and estimated 1200 feet (365 m) still remained.
Second collapse and suspension of underground rescue efforts
Later on August 16, 2007 at about 6:30pm MDT, the mine collapsed again when one of the walls of the tunnel exploded outwards, killing three rescue workers and injuring six others. All rescue workers were pulled from the mine, and it was not known whether rescue efforts underground for the trapped miners would continue. One of the killed workers was an inspector for MSHA. Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman, Jr.Jon Huntsman, Jr.
Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 16th Governor of Utah. He also served in the administrations of four United States presidents and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.Huntsman worked as a White House staff assistant for...
flew to the hospital and said that he hoped underground rescue efforts would stop, but that that was up to MSHA.
A week later, Blake Hannah, a retired inspector who used to oversee the mine said that several warning signs — including reports from miners of weakening support structures — had been ignored. "In my opinion," he said, "there were bad mining practices."
Bob Murray, owner of the mine, stated that he filed paperwork with federal regulators to permanently close and seal the Crandall Canyon mine. "Had I known that this evil mountain, this alive mountain, would do what it did, I would never have sent the miners in here. I'll never go near that mountain again," he said.
On August 23, 2007, rescue workers bored a sixth hole into the area where the miners were last known to be working. No signs of life were detected from the sixth borehole. "There was zero void. [And they] are going through a living hell, and it's just heartbreaking" quoted Colin King of Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy, as he informed the families Saturday. Although the sixth hole had been called the final hole, a seventh hole was drilled on August 30, 2007. The mine cavity was filled with mud and debris, rising about 5 ft (1.5 m) per hour (1.5 m/h).
U.S. Government fine
On July 24, 2008 MSHA announced its highest penalty for coal mine safety violations, $1.85 million, for the collapse. The government fined Genwal Resources, $1.34 million "for violations that directly contributed to the deaths of six miners last year," plus nearly $300,000 for other violations. Richard E. SticklerDick Stickler
Richard E. Stickler served as acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Mine Safety and Health Administration between October 16, 2006 and October 21, 2009....
, the government's top mine safety official said "It was not — and I repeat, it was not — a natural occurring earthquake." The government also levied a $220,000 fine against a mining consultant, Agapito Associates, "for faulty analysis of the mine's design."
Timeline
- On Thursday, August 16, 2007:
- At 8:55pm MDTMountain Time ZoneThe Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
: CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
reported that at least six ambulances were dispatched to the mine following a "significant seismic event" or "bumpCoal mine bumpA coal mine bump is a term used to describe a seismic jolt occurring within a mine. The term refers to the explosive collapse of a wall or one or more support pillars, sometimes called a rock burst...
". A seismic event was registered at 6:38 in that area. in which several rescuers were injured, according to a representative from the Utah Department of Natural Resources. Two helicopters were also dispatched from University of UtahUniversity of UtahThe University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
Hospital in Salt Lake City. Deseret Morning News further reported that the same official, Tammy Kikuchi, stated that five people were injured, two critically. - At 9:22pm MDTMountain Time ZoneThe Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
: APAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
(via MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
) and KSL Newsradio were reporting nine injured and with two of those critical. - At 9:57pm MDTMountain Time ZoneThe Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
: KSTUKSTUKSTU, channel 13, is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Salt Lake City designated market area. The station is owned by Local TV LLC, the media arm of private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, and its transmitter located on Farnsworth Peak, southwest of Salt Lake City...
confirmed reports of one fatality among the rescuers following a "bumpCoal mine bumpA coal mine bump is a term used to describe a seismic jolt occurring within a mine. The term refers to the explosive collapse of a wall or one or more support pillars, sometimes called a rock burst...
" at about 6:30pm (KSTU also reported a 1.6 magnitude seismic shock occurring) (recorded by the University of UtahUniversity of UtahThe University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
also at around 6:30pm). - At 10:57pm MDTMountain Time ZoneThe Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
: CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
& APAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported that a second rescue worker had died. - At 11:40pm MDTMountain Time ZoneThe Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
: CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
reported that a third rescue worker had died.
- At 8:55pm MDT
- On Friday, August 17, 2007:
- At 1:50am MDTMountain Time ZoneThe Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
: CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
reported that one injured rescue worker had been released from the hospital. - At 4:56am MDTMountain Time ZoneThe Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
: MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
& CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
confirmed the three previously speculated deaths. - At 11:00am MDTMountain Time ZoneThe Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
: There was another press conference discussing the latest developments.
- At 1:50am MDT
- On August 17, 2007, Rich Kuczewski of the United States Department of LaborUnited States Department of LaborThe United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
announced that there would be an indefinite suspension of the underground rescue effort, stemming from the three fatalities and nine injuries from the most recent collapse of the mine. Utah governor Jon HuntsmanJon Huntsman, Jr.Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 16th Governor of Utah. He also served in the administrations of four United States presidents and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.Huntsman worked as a White House staff assistant for...
Jr. was one individual behind the push for federal aid to stop the rescue effort immediately.
- On August 18, 2007, the fourth bore hole was completed. Cameras showed the area was completely collapsed, and air samples taken would not support human life. Rob Moore told reporters, "It is disappointing. And it's likely that these miners may not be found." A fifth bore hole was started on August 20. Both the monitoring equipment and continued seismic activity indicated that the mine was slowly collapsing and remained unsafe for underground rescue workers.
- On August 22, 2007, a fifth bore hole reached the mine tunnel. Video that came back from a camera lowered into the bore hole showed only about 6 inches of open space between the ceiling and rubble filling the 8 feet (2.4 m)-high tunnel.
- On August 25, 2007, a sixth bore hole reached the mine tunnel. Officials announced that the section of the mine was too small for the miners to have survived. A robotic camera—which was ordered weeks before and was finally assembled over the previous week—was planned to descend the hole on August 27. A seventh bore hole was also planned.
- On August 26, 2007, owner Bob Murray announced the closure of the Tower mine, which contains the area of the collapse. Murray announced that he would relocate workers to Illinois or Ohio if they choose, saying, "If they choose this, there will be no one laid off." Some workers complained that he was not offering enough benefits for relocated workers, and that a cost of living adjustment to local pay scales reduced their salary too much.
- On August 28, 2007, the robotic camera was unable to reach the mine through the sixth bore hole. The continuing seismic activity caused the bore hole to shift. The machine was able to descend within about 10 feet (3 m) of the mine cavity.
- On August 30, 2007, the seventh bore hole was completed. The mine cavity was filled with mud and debris, rising about 5 ft (1.5 m) per hour (1.5 m/h). Mine owners announced that there were no plans to drill additional holes, which cost about $600,000 each. They also announced plans to send the robotic camera down the fourth bore hole.
- On August 31, 2007, the robotic camera was sent down the fourth bore hole. Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration spokesman Rich Kulczewski said officials planned to drop the robot down the fourth hole despite his guess of a 90 percent chance the high-tech camera could be lost.
- On September 1, 2007, Federal officials called off the search after four weeks of failed search efforts. The option of drilling an eighth hole was not ruled out entirely but would only be considered if new information arose to justify its drilling.
- On November 21, 2007, Federal regulators revealed that Murray Energy sealed three main passageways with concrete blocks in October, leaving the bodies inside entombed. The blocks may be removed at a later date in the unlikely event there are any subsequent recovery efforts.
- On June 1, 2008, a 53-page report issued by University of Utah seismologists was released to the public. It recalculated the epicenter of the magnitude-3.9 mine collapse began near where miners were excavating coal and quickly grew to a 50 acres (202,343 m²) cave-in. They also estimated the size of the collapse to be about four times larger than was thought shortly after the time of the Aug. 6, 2007, disaster.
- On July 24, 2008 the U.S. government announced its highest penalty for coal mine safety violations, $1.85 million, for the collapse.
Government conclusions
MSHA said the mine was "destined to fail" because the mining company made critical miscalculations and didn't report early warning signs. MSHA itself was faulted by the Department of Labor, of which MSHA is an agency, for lax oversight before the collapse and mismanaging the failed rescue attempt.According to 1,400 pages of government and congressional reports, the mine was doomed, starting months before the disaster. MSHA cited Murray Energy affiliate Genwal Resources Inc. for negligence. Engineers Agapito Associates Inc. of Grand Junction, Colo., was cited for "reckless disregard." The mine failed to notify MSHA of the early danger signs, instead alerting the more industry-friendly Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
, when pillars started unexpectedly collapsing in March 2007. MSHA said recklessness by Agapito Associates "directly contributed to the death of nine people."
Robert Murray was also heavily criticized for his actions during the rescue attempt. The MSHA cited his volatile behavior, especially at daily briefings for family members. MSHA reported that he "frequently became very irate and would start yelling," even making young children cry. He told family members that "the media is telling you lies" and "the union is your enemy."
The Department of Labor criticized MSHA chief Richard Stickler for his handling of the rescue effort. His "obsession" for keeping a continuous log of the progress made or lost by tunneling rescuers was said to demand that the crews had to halt the rescue digging to report to him, in order to document hourly measurements.
Genwal Resources was reported to use overly aggressive mining, and failed to recalibrate their modeling of Crandall's supposed stability to match the reduction of crucial barrier pillars. In one case it miscalculated depth covers that are fundamental to safety equations at underground mines. In another, a panel of experts determined, the firm overstated the strength of support pillars by a factor of two.
See also
- Wilberg MineWilberg MineThe Wilberg Mine is a coal mine in Emery County, Utah, approximately northwest of Orangeville, just north of State Route 29, at the northern terminus of State Route 57...
- Sago Mine
- List of mining disasters
External links
- Crandall Canyon Mine - MSHA.gov MiniSite. Contains vector-image maps of the affected area of the mine and drill hole map, and also the emergency response plan.
- Utah Geological Survey 2005 Coal Report (Crandall Mine described on pp 7-8)
- Seismological Report on the 6 Aug 2007 Crandall Canyon Mine Collapse in Utah
- Song written for the community of the lost miners.