That Sinking Feeling

The hazards of old, worked-out operations came to the fore again last month, this time in Montana. The Daily Interlake reports that a sinkhole opened up in an old but recently reactivated mine on the order of 100 feet from where miners were working.

"In his report, the [State] inspector noted that two miners happened to be in an underground tunnel when the collapse occurred 'with enough noise that two miners at the power magazines ran eastward about 100 feet to see what the noise was about.'

"What they found was a fan of rock debris that had entered an old mine room, just about 250 feet below the surface.

"The inspector noted that 'a shallow collapse feature' was discovered on the surface next to a road leading to a mine entrance on May 1.

"'The collapse feature deepened and by May 6, 2005, it was approximately 50 feet deep and 30 feet across,' he said."

See full story at:


http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2005/06/07/news/news04.txt

MSHA has this on the mine:

2401467
Operator: Genesis Inc.
Mine Name: Genesis Inc., Troy Mine
Controlling Company: Revett Silver Company
Ownership Date: 10/14/1999
Mine Status: Active
Status Date: 1/18/2005
Mined Material: Copper Ore NEC
Type of Mine: Underground
Location: Lincoln County, MT
Address of Record: 18 Miles S of Troy on Hwy 56 P.O. Box , Troy, MT 59935

...but nothing about any accident investigation this year. The fall apparently was in a mined-out area.