新西兰英语 387 Pike River Coal Mine will be closed
The police said today that the Pike River Coal Mine will be closed and sealed – perhaps forever – and the bodies of the 29 miners will never be recovered. This is bad news for the families of those men.
The reason for closing the mine is that it is too difficult to make it safe. The fire that is still burning in the mine and the high level of methane gas mean that no one can enter. The mine company has been using a machine from Australia to pump carbon dioxide and then nitrogen into the mine. They hoped this would take a few hours but after 35 days, the mine is still not safe. The machine has to go back to Australia. The police and the Prime Minister said that money was not the reason for stopping the work.
Because this mine is now in receivership owing money to creditors, the receivers – Price Waterhouse – will now decide what happens to the mine. The coal is valuable. It is worth millions of dollars. The creditors want their money back but it now seems that it impossible to operate this mine safely. Listen to Dec 16th 2010 for more about these money problems.
Meanwhile, 50 miners from the West Coast have got mining jobs in various parts of Australia.
Question
The Police Commissioner said that it is now time to focus on the living and to respect and remember the men who are dead. Do you agree?
