Pike River Mining Disaster – A Case Study
On the 19th of September 2010, what was to become known as the Pike River Mining Disaster began in the close proximity to the town of Greymouth. At an occupied mine of 31 miners and contractors, an initial explosion occurred in the West Coast Region of New Zealand’s South Island at approximately 3:44pm. Two were fortunate enough to walk away from the scene and were treated for moderate injuries at hospital, then later released the next day.
It was believed that the remaining 16 miners and 13 contractors were 1500m from the entrance of the mine.
A second large explosion occurred on November 24thand all hope was lost that anybody remained alive. “Based on the expert evidence that I’ve been…show more content… * KiwiRail’s net profit fell by 83% * The family of the deceased miners will be greatly affected by the loss of income and the loss of a family member. Financial and emotional difficulty is inevitable in the case of such a disaster but a relief fund was launched to help provide assistance to the dependents of the dead men. * An impact of the disaster is the opportunity created to the mining community to review it’s handling of accidents and the safety of mines. * The West Coast’s economy was impacted after the accident due to the [temporary] closure of the mine. It is estimated that the Pike River Mine has pumped approximately 80 million dollars into the economy, $13 million of that being in wages alone. However, the economy before the opening of the mine was strong and it was said that the closure would just lead to the economy returning to pre-mine levels. * Contractors involved with the Pike River Mine are bound to be affected, the smaller companies more than the larger.
Internal changes * Closure, whether it be temporary or permanent, of Pike River Mine until the results of the inquest are delivered. * Pike River Coal were that they were unable to pay back debts before their deadlines * Future of the mine remains unknown
