British ColumbiaNewmont Corp. says the miners who have been trapped for days in the Red Chris mine in northern B.C. were successfully brought to the surface and are “in good health and spirits.”‘We are relieved to share that all three individuals are safe, and in good health and spirits’CBC News · Posted: Jul 24, 2025 10:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes agoThree mine workers had been trapped underground at the Red Chris mine in northern B.C. (Colin Arisman/colinarisman.com)Newmont Corp. says the miners who have been trapped for days in the Red Chris mine in northern B.C. were successfully brought to the surface safely on Thursday night.The company says they were freed at 10:40 p.m. local time.”We are relieved to share that all three individuals are safe, and in good health and spirits,” said Newmont in an emailed statement. “They had consistent access to food, water and ventilation whilst they remained in place in a refuge chamber underground over the last two days. They are now being supported by medical and wellness teams. Their families have been notified.”Earlier on Thursday, Hy-Tech Drilling identified the miners as Kevin Coumbs of Ontario, Darien Maduke of B.C. and Jesse Chubaty of Manitoba. The drilling company, based in Smithers, B.C., said it had permission from the families to share the names and asked that their privacy be respected.While earlier statements outlined two possible rescue routes, Newmont now confirms the workers were reached by clearing the original access tunnel. The company also says it will conduct a full investigation, alongside a separate probe by B.C.’s Ministry of Mines Act, which has pledged to make its findings public.”We will conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the factors that led to this event,” Newmont CEO Tom Palmer said during the company’s second quarter earnings call on Thursday, adding that any findings will be used across the company and shared with the broader mining industry. Officials had also confirmed that natural air had been flowing to the workers, according to Newmont safety head Bernard Wessels, and a safe path was then mapped to the refuge chamber where they had been located on Thursday evening. The three had been trapped underground since Tuesday morning when two rockfalls cut them off.Wessels said the contractors for Hy-Tech Drilling confirmed by radio they had made their way to a steel refuge chamber after the first fall, before a second collapse severed communications.A remote-controlled scoop removed a pile of debris 20- to 30-metres long and seven- to eight-metres high to gain access to the trapped workers. Newmont Corp. also used specialized drones to assess the geotechnical conditions underground. The mining site is located on Tahltan Nation territory near Dease Lake, B.C., about 420 kilometres west of Fort Nelson, B.C.Refuge chamber equipped for 16 peopleHy-Tech said the workers are diamond drillers, meaning they cut through rock using drill bits embedded with industrial diamonds. Newmont said the three were in a refuge chamber designed to support 16 people with enough air, food and water for an extended stay.Production at the gold and copper mine was paused during the rescue effort. The mine is mostly open pit, but Newmont said in an earlier statement that development of underground block-cave mining began in 2019 — four years after the mine’s first production date.The drillers were working more than 500 metres past the affected zone when the first rocks fell, and were asked to relocate to the refuge before the second fall.”Following the first event, contact was established with the individuals and confirmation was received that they had safely relocated to one of multiple self-contained refuge bays,” the company said. In a statement, B.C.’s Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals said it was notified mid-afternoon Tuesday about the two fall-of-ground events, which occurred in the morning.The ministry said Newmont reported they had an “orderly” stand-down of operations following the incident.Workers were about 600 metres inside tunnel: sourceA source with direct knowledge of the mine and the rescue operation said the first fall of ground happened 200 metres into a lateral tunnel underground.An aerial shot of the Red Chris mine site. Newmont says the refuge chamber where the workers were had food and water. (SkeenaWild)The source said the mine workers had been located 400 metres beyond that, meaning they were around 600 metres inside the tunnel, and there were multiple self-contained refuge bays in the area — with each having enough supplies to sustain 16 people for three days.’Block caving’Nolan Paquette, a local vice-president with the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 that represents about 450 Red Chris workers, said the three workers had been boring a hole to start up “block-cave operations” at the mine within the next three years.The open-pit mine, which is above ground, is transitioning to underground mining using “block caving,” a technique that involves digging underground to target the ore from below, according to a Newmont communications video on the company’s website.The Red Chris mine is one of the projects that B.C. announced it would be fast-tracking in response to the U.S. tariff threat.With files from The Canadian Press
Drillers freed from northern B.C. mine after being trapped for days, says company
