Quoted:
US technology is about to fish them out in the next couple of days.  There's a 28 inch diameter hole within just feet of the miners.

In the mean time, they've been operating equipment down there to clear the debris that falls in!

As long as the elevator doesn't get stuck in the shaft, some of them should be out this weekend.

Quoted:
Still trapped and that guy's wife is still waiting for him up top, along with his girlfriend.  

Quoted:
Damn Americans and their new-fangled capitalist technology.

Quoted:


Obama will fix THAT!

Quoted:


Whoops...I guess my estimate was old.  Damn Americans and their new-fangled capitalist technology.

Quoted:


WAT!???


I bet he is praying for a malfunction!

Quoted:
They're still down there, just kinda' Chilean.

Quoted:


WAT!???


I bet he is praying for a malfunction!

Trapped Chilean gold/copper miners could be rescued this month

Chile's mining minister confirms rescue drilling ahead of schedule and the ordeal of the trapped miners could be ending before the end of this month.

Author: Jorge Medina
Posted:  Saturday , 02 Oct 2010

COPIAPO (Reuters) -

The 33 Chilean miners trapped for almost two months could be freed in the second half of this month as rescuers drill closer to their refuge deep below the Atacama desert, Chile's mining minister said on Friday.

The men have been trapped 2,300 feet (700 metres) underground since a cave-in on Aug. 5. Their fight for survival has captivated the country and drawn messages of support from Pope Benedict and World Cup soccer stars.

"The eventual rescue could come in the second half of October," said Mining Minister Laurence Golborne.

Rapid progress by the rescue drills has raised expectations of reaching the miners in October instead of November as first thought.

Rescuers will use metal cages designed by Chile's navy to winch the men to the surface one at a time. Doctors said the workers have started exercising in preparation for the ride back to the surface.

The trapped men, who include a first-time miner, a former soccer star and a Bolivian immigrant, have also started preparing for the trip home by sending up the gifts that have been sent down to them through small ducts over past weeks.

"The capsule is tiny, without space for all his stuff. So he's sending it up bit by bit," Juan Sanchez, father of trapped 19-year-old miner Jimmy Sanchez told state television.

Rescuers hope to free trapped Chilean miners sooner than originally expected

Rapid progress by drills working around the clock to help free the 33 miners that have been trapped for 47 days so far, has improved the chances of reaching the miners in October rather than November

Author: Antonio de la Jara and Jorge Medina (Reuters)
Posted:  Wednesday , 22 Sep 2010

COPIAPO, Chile (Reuters) -

Rescuers could free 33 miners weeks earlier than expected as drills work around the clock to bore an escape shaft to the men trapped underground for 47 days.

Rapid progress by three drills has improved the chances of reaching the miners in October instead of November as first thought, a senior official in the challenging rescue operation told Reuters on Tuesday.

The men have been trapped in a copper and gold mine 2,300 feet (700 metres) below Chile's arid Atacama desert since it caved in on Aug. 5.

Their fight for survival has captivated the attention of the Chilean nation and drawn support from foreign presidents, Pope Benedict and World Cup soccer stars.

"It is likely that the rescue operation will take place in October if we have no delays," said the official, who asked not to be named because he was not allow to speak publicly.

Relatives said they are confident the miners will be back on the surface in early October, but worry about their mental health after spending weeks in the dimly-lit and hot tunnel.

"I want to take him home as soon as possible," said Alicia Campos, mother of trapped miner Daniel Herrera. "But I fear he will not come out of the mine the same person who went in."

Chile's government brought in a team of NASA experts and submariners for advice on how to keep the miners mentally and physically fit during their prolonged confinement in the dark.

Rescuers are in contact with the miners down several small ducts through which they deliver food and water, letters from relatives and even soccer videos.

The men were in high spirits on the weekend when they cheered and clapped as they watched celebrations of the 200th anniversary of Chile's independence on a small video projector linked to the surface by optic fiber cable. They watched singers perform for their relatives near the mine.

Rescuers also lowered them traditional meat pies and soda –– a reprieve from a strict diet aimed at keeping the men healthy, but thin enough to fit through the rescue shaft.

The miners, who range from a former professional soccer player to a first-time miner and a Bolivian immigrant, have exchanged letters and videos with their relatives –– including images of the birth of the daughter of one of them.

The miners keep busy clearing away debris that falls into the mine as the drill bores through the earth above them.

The Chilean Navy is building rescue capsules –– dubbed the "Phoenix" for the mythical bird that rises from its ashes –– that will be used to winch the men to the surface one by one after the bore hole diameter is widened to 28 inches (70 cm).