If you are invested in precious metals-mining company Mandalay Resources (TSX:$MND), prepare for a bumpy ride for the next couple of months. Chile’s Cerro Bayo, owned and operated by Mandalay Resources, is now fully flooded with two missing miners trapped inside, according to an office searching for the miners. Cerro Bayo is located in one of the country’s least populated regions, the Aysen region. Last year, the mine produced around 14,000 ounces of gold and 1.7 million ounces of silver.
The two miners, Enrique Ojeda and Jorge Sanchez, are believed to be trapped near section two of the Delia mine ever since the mine flooded on June 9.
Head of the rescue team, General Fernando San Cristobal, told the EFE news agency that a drilling probe — originally used to try and locate the two missing miners — found water at level 55 of the mine, where the emergency shelter is located and where the two miners are suspected to be.
A waterproof camera should reach that same area on Monday, General San Cristobal said. The camera will allow searchers to actually see the conditions where the miners were believed to be at the time of the accident and hopefully aid in making contact with Ojeda and Sanchez.
As such, a remote-controlled submarine robot, a drilling expert, emergency services, as well as government resource have all been at work to locate the two miners, but no one has made contact with them so far. In addition, heavy snowfall from last week as well as the gelid waters from a surrounding lake has made rescue efforts a bit more difficult. A handful of experts have predicted that Ojeda and Sanchez have about only 24-hours of oxygen left, assuming that the emergency shelter is not flooded.
The situation is now so dire that NASA has offered a robot that can explore the seabed. It will allow the search team to get to areas that are covered in mud. Local radio station Bio Bio reported that NASA would not charge for the robot, but Chile (or perhaps, Mandalay?) would have to pay for the robert’s logistics and transportation, as well as the hotel charges for experts that control the robot.
Since it closed at June 8 at Canadian$0.56, Mandalay’s shares have dropped more than 30% thanks to the flooding of the mine. On Friday, June 16, 2017, shares closed at Canadian$0.41. On Monday morning, June 19, 2017, shares dropped to Canadian $0.40 by 1.23%.
Featured Image: twitter