Qualla: 2010 Copiapo Mining Accident

2010 Copiapo Mining Accident: Introduction

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Seventeen days. That is how long the world waited before learning whether the 33 men trapped inside the San Jose copper-gold mine were alive or dead. On August 22, 2010, an exploratory drill bit was pulled to the surface and rescuers found a scrap of paper taped to it, written in red marker: "Estamos bien en el Refugio los 33" -- We are well in the Refuge, the 33. The note, now one of the most famous messages in Chilean history, set in motion an international rescue operation that would captivate a billion television viewers and redefine what was considered possible in mine rescue engineering.

2010 Copiapo Mining Accident: Collapse in the Atacama

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The San Jose mine sits 45 kilometers north of Copiapo in the Atacama Desert, a small copper and gold operation owned by the San Esteban Mining Company. The company had been fined 42 times between 2004 and 2010 for breaching safety regulations, and eight workers had died at the si...

2010 Copiapo Mining Accident: Sixty-Nine Days Below

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The miners rationed two days' worth of emergency food over more than two weeks, each man surviving on roughly two spoonfuls of tuna, half a biscuit, and half a glass of milk every 48 hours. They organized themselves under the leadership of shift foreman Luis Urzua, establishing w...

2010 Copiapo Mining Accident: Three Plans, One Race

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The rescue demanded a feat of precision drilling that had never been attempted. Three separate plans ran simultaneously. Plan A used a Strata 950 raise borer to widen an existing borehole. Plan B employed a Schramm T130XD drill, originally designed for oil exploration and brought...

2010 Copiapo Mining Accident: Operation San Lorenzo

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The capsule was called Fenix 2 -- a steel cylinder 54 centimeters in diameter, painted in the red, white, and blue of the Chilean flag. On October 12, the rescue began. Dubbed Operacion San Lorenzo after the patron saint of miners, the operation sent rescue worker Manuel Gonzalez...

2010 Copiapo Mining Accident: Aftershocks Above Ground

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

President Sebastian Pinera dismissed top officials from Chile's mining regulatory agency immediately after the collapse and ordered a comprehensive overhaul. The accident produced 30 reform proposals covering everything from mine hygiene standards to coordination between regulato...