Officials from China were in Saskatchewan in late February to study the safety practices of several of the province’s mines, including the K2 underground potash mine, 210 km northeast of Regina, where 72 miners survived a substantial underground fire by seeking refuge in safety stations outfitted with food, beds, communications equipment and a 36-hour supply of oxygen.
Situated near the town of Esterhazy, Sask., the K1 and K2 complex is the world’s largest underground potash mine, boasting 4,800 km of tunnels. The K1 and K2 mining complex is owned by New York-listed fertilizer giant Mosaic, which is based in Minnesota.
The two Chinese officials — Chen Ming, counsellor for science and technology, and Zhe Su, first secretary of the Chinese embassy — were looking for ways to reduce the number of deaths in China’s mines, especially underground coal operations.
The official number of deaths in Chinese mines is in the neighbourhood of 6,000 per year, but some peg the unofficial total at significantly more.
Meanwhile, Davitt McAteer, who was appointed by West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin to investigate the Sago coal mine disaster in January, which killed 12 miners, has said that he wants to visit the K2 potash mine and its safety stations.
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