SUMMARY OF CASE STUDY –LEADING THE RECUE OF THE MINERS IN CHILE

MASTER OF ARTS PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

LDP 604: Project Planning Design and Implementation

BY

MWAURA CAROLINE GATHONI

L50/82458/2015

A Term Paper Submitted in the Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Masters Degree in Project Planning and Management

University Of Nairobi

October 2015

INTRODUCTION:

The case study is an account of the rescue crew’s efforts of 33 miners, trapped in a medium sized copper and gold mine in Chile. The narration is derived from interviews that the authors conducted with various people who played key roles in the rescue mission.

Mining in Chile is not a novelty; it is a country rich in mineral resources and the world’s largest producer of copper. Mining accidents had been recorded in the past some of which ending in tragedy. The locality in which the mining disaster occurred – The Atacama Desert region alone hosted 884 mines.

The events relayed in the case study commence on August 5, 2010 to October 13th 2010, when the operation was crowned with a victorious. The sheer tenacity and preciseness of the rescue team led by the Chilean mining minister Laurence Golborne has been compared to that of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’S) efforts in April 1970 when they successfully returned the damaged spacecraft, Apollo 13 to Earth after the near fatal explosion of an oxygen tank.

The case study vividly relays the critical leadership decisions, political dilemmas of the cabinet and political elites; it explores the emotions, fears and hopes of the miner’s families. Despite the sad events that surround the case study, the study portrays human beings at their best; people of all backgrounds and creeds coming together for a common good.

LEADING THE RESCUE OF THE MINERS IN CHILE

Thursday 5th August 2010

The disaster struck on the 5th August 2010. 33 miners, drilling 700 meters (2,300 feet) below the surface, were entombed by a massive cave in, at a mine they were working at in the city of Copiapo in Chile.

The trapped miners were located in the lowest section of the mine when the tunnel collapsed. The crew foreman Urzua appreciating the gravity of the situation and the near impossibility of a quick rescue, gathered his crew in a secure area organising the men and rationing their scarce resources to ensure survival.

Despite the obvious realisation and affirmation by the Urzua; that the miners had little chance of survival they choose to fight to stay alive.

Democratically making decisions on all issues affecting them, the miners managed to work as a team, looking for escape routes, and keeping up morale.

The miners made many attempts at escape; initially trying to escape through a ventilation shaft system, this attempt failed as the company had not installed ladders though required as a condition precedent for restarting operations after the mine had been shutdown between 2007 and 2008.

The miners rationed their food and shared tasks collectively reinforcing positive conviction.

On the surface; the cave in sent a deafening roar and cloud of dust out of the mine’s surface entrance the mine superintendent dispatched a team down the mine only to discover an impenetrable rock wall.

All the requisite government officials, following laid down procedures were informed of the accident and together with the miner’s families descended on the mine.

Friday August 6

The regional secretary of mining – Wagner accompanied by the Chilean labour minister Merino arrived at the site and found the mine superintendent who had taken charge of the rescue efforts ,assembling a volunteer rescue team with experts drawn of necessity from other mines in the region.

The rescue team having explored the mine had established that the mine was completely impenetrable.

The Chilean mining Minister Laurence Golborne and the President Sebastian Pinera, were both in Ecuador for a state visit when the incident occurred.

President Pinera, who was undoubtedly, considered well read, intelligent, and possessing a wealth of experience, was facing one of the biggest challenges of his political career.

He approved Golborne return to Chile, a place of political risk but also one with an opportunity to save 33 lives. Golborne amidst travel challenges travelled back to Chile via a commercial flight through Lima.

On arrival Golborne was faced with his first political dilemma; with his chief of staff Luz Grainer, advising him against going to the site, drawing from the experiences of his predecessors, the political risks and possible legal implications presented and his own self doubts brought about by his lack of experience in the mining industry, versus his duty as the minister of mining. Although he did not have much experience in the mining world his management experience gave him the confidence to proceed to the site.

Saturday, August 7

Golborne arrived at the site on the 7th August, he was met by the look of hopelessness among the eyes of the trapped miner’s families, some gathered in small groups around bonfires while others sat quietly in prayer.

After Golborne had been informed of the progress of the rescue, he proceeded to meet the families of the miners; informed them of the progress, proposed rescue efforts and assured them of all communication, of any steps taken towards the rescue operation.

After a call from Golborne, President Pinera while in Bogoto abruptly departed for Chile.

Later, Golborne joined in a meeting organized by the Intendente de Atacama, the highest government authority in the region, with police , the local representative of Chile’s National Emergency Office ,rescue team leaders ,one of the mine owners, the ,the top Chilean Army officer in the region, the investigations Police of Chile and others. The meeting was marred with a lot of confusion and taking control Golborne assigned different people different tasks aimed at verifying the basic facts.

As the leader of the operation and well aware of his inexperience and lack of expertise in the area of mining, Golborne decided to consult the experts and let them make the final decisions, while shaping the dialogue in the weeks that followed.

With optimism about the rescue spreading, Golborne faced a whole new set of issues ranging from family morale to miner health. With hope that the miners would be freed during the day the rescue teams organised themselves, with some charged with taking care of the health of the families and another team with the health of the miners once freed.

The rescue efforts were dashed on this day at 3 pm when the lead rescuers, came back to the surface with the news that a fresh cave in had blocked the ventilation shaft, making it impossible to reach the miners.

Golborne remembering his pledge of transparency went out to meet the miner’s relatives. As Golborne told them of the new cave in, the tears on the two daughters of one of the miner’s; made him breakdown, only to be reminded by one of the relatives, that he was their pillar of strength.

The President on arrival in Chile decided to go to the mine despite the advice of his political advisors who feared the worst. The President and his wife on arrival met with the miner’s relatives and rescue team who apprised them. Pledging to do his best to ensure that the miners were freed; the President swore to look for the trapped miner’s like he would his own children.

The President’s meeting with a chosen group of the relatives proved turbulent with the relatives lamenting about the government’s failed efforts and lack of support from the government. The relatives proposed for a local geologist, Miguel Fort, to join the rescue team whom the President approved while the government took full charge of the operation with Golborne remaining the final authority on the scene.

Sunday, August 8

Golborne and his team discussed the possibility of drilling boreholes and embarked on locating the right equipment for the job. On this day Gaborone was met with the challenge of quelling egos, with a valued member of the team Contador, threatening to leave the scene because he was upset nobody was paying attention to him.

It became necessary to have an expert in the mining industry take charge of the technical aspects of the operation, and after consultation with the requisite members of the rescue team ,they agreed to ask Codelco ,Chile’s largest corporation to take charge of the technical aspects of the rescue.

Meanwhile Golborne, met with the families every two hours, and after listening to the demands of the families, regarding better living conditions ,took charge of the mushrooming human settlement ,leading to the creation of Campamento Esperanza(camp hope).

The camp became home to the relatives providing for their basic needs and privacy from the press.

Monday, August 9

The drilling equipment arrived on this day. Despite the rescue team’s readiness for the equipment, the drilling had its own set of technical and social challenges associated with the structure of the mine and the process of drilling the actual boreholes.

Following the growing pressure from the relatives, the team in order to calm them, was forced to start drilling despite not having an actual plan as to the direction the drill would go.

With competing demands from families and reporters, Golborne came up with a standard procedure of communication, the families first then the press which became the standard mode of communication throughout the operation.

The president returned to the mine accompanied by Nelson Pizarro a respected mining expert, Sougarret from the Coldelco who had been appointed to head the technical aspects of the operation and Aguilar a psychologist who proved invaluable in managing the team’s relations whom he introduced to the families.

Tuesday, August 10

Sougarret took charge of the technical side of the rescue creating two teams one of which he headed. His proposed rescue strategies were met with opposition by other members of the rescue team citing the dimensional problems related to the structure of the mine.

The drilling process was marred with mishaps all of which Golborne communicated to the families in line with his pledge of transparency.

The President consulted different countries requesting technical assistance .Australia were the first to respond, with the diamond core drilling technology although complex in technique, this technology however, did not work.

Wednesday, August 11

On this day Golborne returned to Santiago for a meeting with the president amidst a political atmosphere that had turned gloomy. With a majority of the political leaders allied with the government preferring that Golborne relinquish his duties to Codelco to take charge .This way shielding the government in the event of a tragic end, which was Golborne had anticipated in a television interview.

Thursday, August 12

Golborne returned to the mine and convinced that the trapped miners had enough water and could survive for days without food his concern became the quality and supply of air a concern that was soon allayed on the realisation that the mine was full of holes.

In the days that followed, the borehole drilling continued through not without frequent setbacks. As promised Golborne held frequent meetings with the relatives and press each meeting giving rise to new suggestions and endless speculation.

The appointed representatives became too adversarial and it became necessary to elect leaders who were optimistic rather than pessimistic.

Thursday, August 19

The day was characterised by two setbacks. Firstly, when the rescue team got to the level they had assumed the miners were they were devastated when they did not encounter the miners.

Further the rock’s pressure was cracking the walls, opening fissures forcing the rescue workers to close the mine. The miner’s relatives were infuriated and demanded to enter the mines despite the obvious dangers.

Golborne who had travelled to Santiago for his son’s birthday was forced to return and quell the rebellions.

Sunday, August 22

This day brought with it a ray of hope after days of drilling the rescue workers reached a depth of 688 meters and rescue workers heard faint tapping on the drill. One of the borehole drills had final reached the trapped miners.

Despite’s the death of the president’s father in law, and opposition from Golborne, he insisted to travel to the mine. With a video camera lowered to the trapped miners everybody imagined the worst and hoped for the best. The footage of the miners in a far better condition than they had expected brought elation to the country.

The days that followed saw the team intensify their drilling with elaborate plans and new found hope.

The president continued to restore hope in the families of the miners and the sympathetic nation as a whole. Giving tentative dates but no particular date of the expected rescue avoiding to relay false hopes to the miner’s relatives. During this period the President in an attempt to avoid a similar incident fired five top mining regulators and created and an investigating commission.

The physical and psychological well being of the miners was primary and the government worked round the clock to ensure their well being while the trapped miners jogged, skipped with ropes, and stretched to maintain their health. At the surface the site of the mine had become a hive of activity.

THE FINAL RESCUE

This was a delicate part of the rescue exercise to ensure that the debris did not injure the miners while ensuring they were eventually rescued.

The government had spent enormous amounts on the rescue but their efforts were crowned at 8.55 pm on October 13, when Ursula the last of the miners, reached the surface, capping off flawless extraction.

The whole exercise was a show of great leadership qualities and unity. Although coupled with challenges and a law suit by the government suing the mining company, who eventually filed for bankruptcy, this was probably Chile’s strongest period in history.