Crandall Canyon news stories on Newser

Deadly Mine Collapse Draws Record Fine

Matt Cantor — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:21:41 CDT

The federal government has socked a Utah mine operator and its consultant with the highest fine ever—$1.85 million—for safety violations in a mine collapse that killed six men last year. Investigators said weak pillar support and work in dangerous areas of the Crandell Canyon mine led to...

Miners' Families Vent Anger to Lawmakers

Neal Colgrass — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:50:44 CDT

Families of 6 dead miners expressed anger and heartbreak to lawmakers today, blaming lax safety for the Utah mine collapse. Relatives said miners were afraid to speak up and continued working until the August 2 collapse. One lawmaker blasted a mining safety agency and called the incident a "preventable tragedy,...

Utah Mine Search Suspended

Caroline Miller — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 03:48:00 CDT

"We've exhausted the options that we know about." That's how mine experts put it to an attorney for the trapped Utah miners' families yesterday, CNN reports. A camera lowered through a borehole into the collapsed mine at the Candall Canyon site yesterday failed to produce useful information when it got...

Rain Foils Mine Camera Drop

Polly Davis Doig — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 12:11:05 CDT

An 8-inch robotic camera’s descent down a 1,415-foot borehole in the collapsed Crandall Canyon Mine was cut short yesterday by several hours of steady rain, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The weather blocked positioning of equipment needed to drop the camera, as well as preparations for a seventh borehole,...

Mine Operation Continues With 7th Hole and Camera

Colleen Barry — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 05:17:43 CDT

Reversing an earlier decision, recovery efforts will continue at the Utah mine where six miners were trapped three weeks ago. A seventh hole will be drilled into the mine, and a camera will be dropped into a previously bored hole to search for signs of life. Family members requested that...

6th Hole Shows No Signs of Life

Caroline Miller — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 21:45:37 CDT

The last hole drilled into the collapsed Utah mine where six men are trapped yielded no hopeful sign today; the space it reached was too small to support the men, a lawyer for some of the families told the press. "The only thing they told us is there is no...

Rescue Workers Will Bore One Last Hole

Heather McPherson — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 03:55:21 CDT

Workers will bore a final hole in a bid to locate six miners lost in a Utah mine, but if that fails, the operation will be halted and the mine closed as a kind of memorial tomb, the owner said yesterday. "We're not going to risk more live people to...

Owners Mull Reopening Mine

Heather McPherson — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 12:49:15 CDT

Days after three more deaths ended efforts to rescue trapped miners, Crandall Canyon’s operators are talking about reopening the Utah mine—to mixed reaction from families and townspeople, according to the Times. Some wonder how the area is safe for mining but not for continuing recovery operations; others point to...

Mine Owner: They're Probably Dead

Sam Gale Rosen — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 07:05:59 CDT

The trapped Utah miners are most likely dead, and their bodies may never be recovered, mine owner Robert Murray acknowledged to bereaved family members last night. Following the death of three rescuers—and a report from mining experts concluding that further attempts would be an unacceptable risk—underground rescue efforts...