Wednesday July 23, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC [Updated July 24, 2025]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Update July 24, 2025 – 10:45 pm PT: The three trapped miners have been rescued. They have been returned to the surface. The three personnel are all contractors for Hy-Tech Drilling: Kevin Coumbs, driller (of Ontario); Jesse Chubaty, driller (of Manitoba); and Darien Maduke, driller’s helper (of BC). See notes from July 25, 2025 press conference.
Update July 24, 2025 – 5 pm PT: The three trapped miners are in a refuge space behind 20 to 30 metres of rock. The refuge area has air, water, food and a small toilet. The miners are one each from BC, Manitoba and Ontario. All operations at Red Chris Mine have ceased so that all efforts can be focused on the rescue mission.
B.C. Premier David Eby has confirmed three miners are trapped underground in a mine in northern B.C.
He addressed the incident during the meeting of Canada’s Premiers in Huntsville, Ontario this morning.
The miners work at the Red Chris mine on Talhtan Nation territory near Dease Lake, B.C., about 420 kilometres west of Fort Nelson, B.C.
The Red Chris mine is an open-pit copper and gold mine that has been operating since 2015.
Eby said the mine is working with “our world-leading mining rescue teams.”
“B.C. miners are the best in the world, our rescue teams are exceptional and they will be working overtime to bring these workers home safely to their families,” said Premier Eby today.
Miners from BC and Ontario:
Two of the miners are from B.C. and one is from Ontario, the premier said at the Council of the Federation meeting today.
As reported by CBC, a spokesperson for Newmont Corp (the mine’s operating company and majority owner) said there were “two fall of ground incidents” in the access way to an underground work area Tuesday morning.
Fall of ground is a type of rock failure that is significant when persons are injured, and/or when there is damage to mine workings, equipment and/or material.
The incident:
“At the time of the initial incident, three business partner employees were working more than 500 meters beyond the affected zone and were asked to relocate to a designated refuge station before a subsequent fall of ground blocked the access way,” the Newmont spokesperson said in a statement.
“Following the first event, contact was established with the individuals and confirmation was received that they had safely relocated to one of multiple self-contained refuge bays. The refuge stations are equipped with adequate food, water and ventilation to support an extended stay.”
The second fall of ground event restricted communication, so a “standdown of operations” at Red Chris is now in place to focus on the response, according to the company.
The second cave-in reportedly restricted communications with the three trapped miners so the rest of the mine operation was shut down to allow staff to focus on the rescue efforts.
Emergency response:
“All appropriate emergency response protocols were activated immediately. Newmont is actively assessing all methods and technologies available to restore communication and safely bring our team members to surface. Our priority remains on ensuring the safety of the three individuals and of the emergency response teams supporting this effort,” the spokesperson said.
===== RELATED:
- Three drilling consultants have been rescued from Red Chris mine (July 25, 2025)
NEWS SECTIONS: MINING & CRITICAL MINERALS | COUNCIL OF THE FEDERATION