A silver ore mine in Idaho was shut down for the time due to 7 miners being injured on site. The Lucky Friday Mine has been the site of three mishaps this year including the last one this week. This led to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration closing the mine.
Amy Louviere of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said that they had issued a closure order so the entire mine was shut down. They would be conducting a thorough investigation and they would not allow it to reopen until they were sure it was safe. She was unable to say how long the process would take.
Melanie Hennessey, Vice President of the mine owner Hecla Mining Co, said that the accident in the mine on Wednesday night injured 7 miners but none were fatally injured. She added that all of them were rescued to the surface within an hour of the rock burst. The most serious injuries included a miner with a broken pelvis and another miner with a broken arm.
The cause of the rock burst which occurred at about 7.40 at night in the mine is as yet unknown. As there has been no blasting activity in the mine during the 24 hours before the accident the rock burst does not seem to have been caused due to mining activities. Ms Hennessey said that rocks burst also happened due to natural seismic activity.
The Lucky Friday Mine has been operational for more than a century producing lead, zinc and silver. It is amongst the deepest mines in the US and is located near the town of Mullen. The Idaho mine is 90 miles to the east of Spokane, Washington and employs 300 people. The mine is a source of good wages in an area otherwise struggling with depression.