The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has praised Alrosa’s efforts to rescue the eight miners trapped underground at the Mir diamond mine in Siberia. Alrosa announced Saturday (August 26) that the search and rescue operation at the Mir Mine is discontinued, as 37,400 cubic meters of water accumulated in the mine’s quarry pit. According to Alrosa, quoted by Rough & Polished, “the threat of an abrupt and uncontrolled breakthrough of such a quantity of water into the underground mine makes it impossible to conduct any underground works”.
WFDB President Ernie Blom said: “Firstly, our hearts and prayers are with the families of the miners who have been hoping against hope since this catastrophe happened […] ALROSA and other authorities are moving quickly and with a minimum of bureaucracy […] I would also like to praise the speedy response by ALROSA which allowed 143 miners to be rescued quickly, and the way in which it rapidly put the rescue operation into place […] We bow our heads to the memory of the miners, but we also need to be proud of the rescue efforts and the way the worldwide industry has come together to show its concern for the men”.
The search and rescue operation at the Mir Mine lasted a total of three weeks, engaging 320 people. According to Alrosa, the miners and rescuers spent a total of more than 360 hours under the ground. The search was conducted at a depth of 550 and 600 meters.
