EHS & Safety Director Barry Nabess (left), miners Kevin Coumbs, Jesse Chubaty and Darien Maduke, and President Dwayne Ross in front of the helicopter taking them home following their safe return to the surface after the Red Chris Mine ground fall incident.HO/The Canadian Press
It was Thursday night and Bernard Wessels was in the final stages of executing a meticulous plan to save the lives of three men trapped 284 metres underground.
Mr. Wessels was one of the leaders in charge of the high-stakes rescue mission at Red Chris Mine, with includes a gold and copper site located in the heart of Northern B.C.’s Golden Triangle, close to the Alaskan border. Mr. Wessels is global head for health, safety and security for the mining giant Newmont.
Two and a half days earlier, a collapse of the only entry and exit point trapped three workers behind a mountain of rock two-storeys high and two semi-trucks long.
Falling rocks is an ever-present risk in mining, he said. But a collapse of this magnitude − especially one that encloses three men in a cavern more than 900 metres from the exit − was exceptional.
It came as a complete surprise. The area has no historic record of seismic activity. Newmont had used the tunnel since 2023, with no other serious incident. Routine inspections had found nothing suspicious.
But how the collapse happened was a question for another day. For now, the priority was getting the men to the surface safely. And the last time Newmont had heard from Kevin Coumbs, Darien Maduke and Jesse Chubaty was days before.
Mr. Wessels, along with previously published accounts and company statements, helped tell the story of the rescue.
The three men − diamond drillers from contractor Hy-Tech Drilling − were underground when the first fall of ground happened. It was 7:47 a.m., local time. Command radioed the men and told them to take shelter in a refuge chamber while crews investigated. Refuge chambers are steel boxes scattered around underground mines. They come stocked with water, breathable air, food and toiletry facilities.
The men arrived at the shelter and informed mine management via radio.
And then the second collapse happened at 10:30 a.m. It fully blocked the exit and broke the communication system.
Bernard Wessels, the global safety chief for the mine's operator, Newmont Corp., said on Friday there were 'goosebumps and happiness' when the contractors emerged from the mine.
The Canadian Press
Every single worker who descends into a Newmont mine has received extensive training on what to do in these situations, said Mr. Wessels. The rules are clear: Stay inside the refuge chamber until rescue teams arrive.
But mental health is another thing, he said. Trapped in a steel cage, a human might forget their training. They might try to escape, especially if they have no contact with crews on the surface and do not know when and how help is coming.
This is what concerned Mr. Wessels as he drew up plans for the rescue.
“We just didn’t know … if we could just say stay put, we are on our way, we will get there.”
The news of a mining collapse spread across the industry. Emergency response teams arrived from Newmont’s nearby Brucejack Mine. Experts and rescue teams from other mining companies arrived on site, including Nutrien, Thyssen, Redpath, New Gold, New Afton, The Tunneling Company, Barminco and Timberland Equipment.
Specialized drones were sent in to assess the geotechnical stability underground. The drones confirmed that there was naturalized air flow. Oxygen deprivation was not a problem. And the drones measured the size of the muck pile − an industry term for debris.
A remote-control line-of-sight scoop worked around the clock to make its way through the rubble. Digging out a collapsed mining tunnel is painstakingly methodical work: Crews need to constantly monitor stability.
“The planning had to be meticulous,” Mr. Wessels said. “You need to get the details right. You need to plan and inspect, plan and inspect.”
At 8:30 p.m. on Thursday night, the scoop cleared the muck.
At last, the way was clear.
A Newmont specialized rescue crew of two men went down into the tunnel. They boarded a vehicle reinforced to withstand falling rock and drove 20 metres across what was the collapsed area. It took between two to three seconds to clear the area.
Once clearing the danger zone, they got out of the protected vehicle and walked 700 metres toward the refuge station.
They carried radios and checked in every 150 metres.
They approached the refuge chamber and knocked on the door.
Back at command you could hear a pin drop, said Mr. Wessels.
One of the men opened the door.
“Are you okay?” asked the rescue crew.
“Well, we got to catch up on some sleep,” Mr. Wessels recounted the men inside answered.
The entrance to the Red Chris mine near Iskut, B.C., on Wednesday. Three workers have been rescued after being trapped inside the mine for more than 60 hours.Dave Middleton/The Canadian Press
All five men climbed into a truck outside the refuge chamber (the workers had parked it there on Tuesday) and drove to the site of the collapse. One by one they got into the reinforced vehicle and crossed the fall zone.
Once on the other side, an ambulance picked them up and drove the men 200 metres out of the mine and into the Northern B.C. night.
It was 10:40 p.m., more than 60 hours since they’d taken refuge in the shelter.
Lots of questions remain. Newmont is launching a comprehensive investigation into how the tunnel collapsed. Lessons learned will be shared with the industry to prevent this from happening again.
But to Mr. Wessels, an important lesson has already been learned.
“We keep to the rules. We keep to the protocols that have been designed. And your chances of being safe is significantly improved. And yesterday and last night showed that.”