Colorado officers ordered the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine to stop and desist operations on Wednesday a few week after a tour information was killed and 23 individuals trapped underground when an elevator malfunctioned.
The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Security despatched a stop and desist letter dated Wednesday to Dennis Lanning, the proprietor of the vacationer vacation spot close to Cripple Creek, ordering him to cease all excursions and prohibit all public entry to the mine besides to native regulation enforcement and different authorities companies, in response to a Thursday information launch.
One mine worker, 46-year-old tour information and Victor resident Patrick Weier, was killed on Oct. 10 when a mine elevator malfunctioned whereas reducing 11 individuals down the shaft. The group within the elevator was rescued a short time later, however 12 individuals already within the mine have been trapped 1,000 ft underground for practically seven hours.
Oct. 10 was one of many mine’s final days of season, in response to Teller County officers, and mine house owners on Friday introduced on the corporate’s web site that the power can be closed till additional discover.
The mine is prohibited from reopening till the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Security completes a evaluation of the operation, state officers stated in a information launch Thursday.
Earlier inspection experiences for the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine have been “passable” earlier than the elevator malfunction, with “no noticed violations or hazards,” state officers stated. It was final inspected Aug. 29.
State regulation additionally requires mine operators to conduct each day security inspections, and people data are saved by the mine house owners, company officers stated.
JHB requested inspection data for the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine from the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Security on Thursday, however the company has not but launched the data.
Company officers stated the delay in releasing the data is as a result of some inspection experiences needed to be pulled from state archives and scanned to create an digital model.
Within the information launch Thursday, state officers famous the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine is the one Colorado vacationer mine with an elevator and that the vacationer mines have “wonderful security data.”
The incident can be being investigated by the U.S. Occupational and Security Well being Administration and the Teller County Sheriff’s Workplace.
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