Teams have been underground for over a week, exploring areas near where the fire occurred, said Thomas Hoffman, Consol’s vice president for investor and public relations. The use of the specially modified GAG-3A jet engine allowed teams to re-enter the mine months earlier than they would have been able to.
They are identifying areas where there have been roof falls and where there is water and trying to cool off hot spots. Their findings will be used to draft a plan to rehabilitate the mine.
Thirteen Australian engineers and technicians from the Queensland Mines Rescue Services began blasting carbon dioxide and nitrogen into the mine to displace oxygen on April 6. They left April 20 to return home.
"We think the jet worked pretty well. We still have this very hot coal, however, where the teams are keeping the atmosphere inert," by not re-establishing ventilation to those sections, Hoffman told Associated Press.
