Newmont gold mine evacuated in northeast Nevada; all 79 miners OK

Gold mine evacuated in Nevada; no one hurt

RENO, Nev. — Dozens of miners safety evacuated a gold mine in northeast Nevada early Tuesday after a flash in the mine’s electrical system triggered the emergency response, the company said.

All 79 of the miners were accounted for and no injuries were reported at the Leeville mine, said Mary Korpi, spokeswoman for Newmont Mining Corp. of Denver. It owns and operates the mine in Eureka County, about 300 miles northeast of Reno.

One of the miners observed the flash about 5:30 a.m. at an electrical load center, or surge protector, for the 480 volts of power running into the mine. The load center is about 1,500 feet below the mine surface.

“It was similar to what you would see with a welding flash,” Korpi said. “The alert miner went and shut down that power source and notified the emergency teams.”

Crews followed standard procedure in releasing a “stench” — a powerful odor to alert miners to report to underground safety bunkers that have communication links to the surface, she said.

Rescue teams then inspected three load centers and determined about 10 a.m. that it was safe for the miners to return to the surface through a mine shaft.

“It really is an example of a safety system that worked because a very alert employee knew what to do,” Korpi said.

Mining operations will not resume until an electrical inspection of the mine is complete, Korpi said. She did not know how long that would take.

Newmont said the Leeville mine employs more than 300 workers.

In 2008, Newmont sold 2.2 million ounces of gold from the nine open pit and five underground mines it owns in Nevada. Leeville became the company’s first underground mine in Nevada accessed by a mine shaft when it opened in 2006.