What I saw and experienced during my visit to underground mines in the USA was something that I will never forget. What amazed me was the stark contrasts in mining practices in Australia vs the USA.

I thought that I would share some of those experiences for those that have not had the privilege of seeing both USA and Australian underground mines.

In Australia, the use of diesel engines in underground mines is widespread. In the USA, there are some states that ban them underground – for safety reasons.

Yet, there are some things that are allowed in USA mines that Australian mine workers would not believe.

During a visit to a Pennsylvanian longwall mine, the longwall superintendent was showing me the underground workings plan for their upcoming longwall move. He was showing me where they located all the equipment. As I looked at the plan, I was shocked to see Oxy/Acetelene shown in a cut-through. When I asked him, he told me that they always use Oxy/Acetylene underground to assist in longwall moves. It was common practice. When I told him that we don’t use it underground, he asked, “how else do you cut things that are stuck?”

A few days later, I was driving to a mine in West Virginia. I got off the Interstate, following the directions I was given. I was told that the mine was 12 miles along this road that ran beside a river. Try as I might, I could not locate the mine. Finally, I decided to try driving up to a property up on a hill that was behind a barb wire fence. To my surprise, that WAS the mine. There was a small sign tied to the fence with the mine’s name.

I was invited to go underground at the mine. I was taken underground where we got on the trolley-wire lomotives to go to a development panel. I was amazed at the arcing and sparking of the trolley wire system. Yet, later I was told that regulations don’t allow diesel engines underground due to safety reasons.

When I arrived at the development panel, I went into the crib room. I was shocked to see 110v extension leads with incandescent lights. The lights were the same type that your local garage uses – the type that have the plastic cages around one side of the light. When the bulb blows, simply change the bulb, right?

Another thing that amazed me was the work management philosophy.  In USA mines, if they need people to work overtime on Saturday, they simply declare it a work day and all employees are required to attend work for the day. If they don’t attend, they are considered absent just like any standard work day for them.

On my way back to Australia, I began to realise why the American mining company that I worked for in Australia was struggling with its industrial relations. They were simply managing workers the way they did in the USA.

Having lived and worked in both the USA and Australia, I understand how important it is to understand and adapt to local practices when doing business internationally.

Have you been following the unfolding story of the rescue attempts at the Crandall Canyon mine? I want to share some links to video clips, pictures and other illustrations to help you understand the situation at Crandall Canyon. I will continue to update this as the story unfolds.

Current News:

Officials at the Crandall Canyon mine have announced that the search for the missing miners is now finished after drilling a seventh hole and still finding no sign of life underground.  This hole was drilled into the miners’ “kitchen”, but officials had expressed disappointment that the hole only revealed 7 feet of rubble.  They had drilled this hole because miners are trained to seek refuge here during a collapse.

 They had also sent a robotic camera down one of the holes, but only found mud.  In fact, they had to abandon the robot down the mine because it got stuck in the mud.

Here is a video taken down one of the boreholes that was drilled into the mine following the initial roof collapse:

[youtube RciA_IxnYJc]
(video courtesy of KUTV-2)

I have worked in Australian coal mines for almost 20 years, and have also gone underground at a few mines in the USA. I was surprised at the differencese in safety standards between the 2 countries. One example is the use of diesel equipment underground. In some US states, they cannot use diesel equipment underground, whereas in Australia, they have been using diesels for many years. On the other hand, I was amazed at the use of trolley-wire trains (complete with all the sparks, etc) underground in the USA. So, what about Emergency Response Plans (ERP)? In particular, here is a link to the Crandall Canyon ERP submitted to the Coal Mine Safety and Health District (CMSH) District 9:

Crandall Canyon Emergency Response Plan

This plan also contains a mine layout plan at the end of the document.  As you can see, the plan was approved by CMSH on 13 June 2007. The ERP’s are a requirement of the new Miner Act 2006. As you can see from the Plan, it is pretty comprehensive in terms of providing for sufficient Self Contained Self Rescuers (SCSR), directional life-lines, post-accident breathable air (PABA), trapped-miner maintenance materials, etc.

So what does the Crandall Canyon mine look like, and what are the conditions experienced at the mine? Well, for a start, this is a deep mine – in some places over 2,000 feet (600 metres) deep.

What does it look like on the surface?  Here is a short video showing the terrain overlaying the mine:

[youtube S3l0NKJC054]