The Miner trapped in a mine of Peñamiller was rescued Saturday afternoon with the assistance from Starcore International Mines’ specialized rescue team. Photo: the State Government of Queretaro.
[Editor’s note: news submitted by Starcore International Mines]
On April 11, 2014 the San Martin mine’s rescue team from Starcore International Mines (TSE:SAM) applied their expertise to help free a 32-year-old miner, Antonio Rincón Trejo, from a collapsed tunnel in a small mine located 70km North East of the San Martin property.
The miner had been trapped for over 40 hours while mining mercury at La Estrella, in the town of Camargo, Querétaro, when the tunnel collapsed and trapped him on the wrong side of the caved in area. While many artisanal mines exist throughout Mexico, it is common that they are not held to the same safety requirements as larger operations due to their scale and that they are usually mined in stagnant periods resulting in infrequent preventive maintenance procedures. In order to help the local miner escape, the area needed to be stabilized and a 3 meter rock was drilled for an opening large enough for him to escape.
The miner was immediately assessed by medical staff upon his return above ground and then reunited with his family. A group of approximately 200 in total, from the family of the miner to volunteers and emergency specialists from the state of had been helping in various ways to help the miner escape.
Antonio Trejo visited the San Martin at a later date to thank Starcore International Mines and the team that helped him. It is the small victories such as this that help define our role in Corporate Social Responsibility as Canadian company operating abroad and in the communities that operate.
