Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Most rescue efforts suspended at Russian gold mine due to collapse risk

Reuters | March 27, 2024 

Search and rescue efforts are underway at the Pioneer gold mine in Russia. Credit: Ministry of Emergency Situations, Russia

Most rescue efforts have been suspended at a gold mine in Russia’s far east, where 13 miners were trapped by a rock fall on March 18, due to the risk of another collapse, state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday.


The Pioneer gold mine, one of Russia’s largest, is in the Amur region which borders China, about 5,300 km (3,300 miles) east of Moscow.

Emergency workers would study water deposits discovered at the bottom of four shafts, the emergencies ministry said in a statement posted on the messenger app Telegram.

“This will allow us to establish a complete picture of the entire depth of the mine and make a decision on further work,” it added.

The ministry earlier said that the mine was probably flooded.

(By Felix Light; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Andrew Heavens)

Several people killed in accident at abandoned Liberia gold mine

Reuters | March 26, 2024 | 

Iron ore mine site in Liberia. Stock image.

Several people have been killed in Liberia in an accident at an abandoned gold mine, the West African country’s mines minister said on Tuesday.


Minister Wilmot Paye said on Tuesday seven people died in Monday night’s incident, but acknowledged the authorities could not yet provide an exact death toll until a team reached the site in River Cess County in south-central Liberia.

“I was told that seven persons died, but I can’t say much until the team gets there. The mines had been abandoned several months ago,” Paye told Reuters, adding that he did not know which company had operated the site.

“If we get the details of the company, the law will take its course,” he said.

Liberia, one of the world’s poorest countries, is rich in minerals including gold, diamonds and iron ore. Paye gave no details about the nature of the accident.

(By James Harding Giahyue, Alphonso Toweh and Portia Crowe; Editing by Alison Williams)

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