Compañía Minera San Esteban Primera Compañía Minera San Esteban Primera Compañía Minera San Esteban Primera (San Esteban Primera Mining Company) is a Chilean mining company, dedicated to the production of copper and gold concentrates. San Esteban's headquarters are located in Providencia, Santiago Metropolitan Region. San Esteban also owns the San José Mine in Copiapó, Chile, where 33 miners were trapped underground for 69 days after a mining accident on August 5, 2010. Chile has a long tradition in mining, which developed during the 20th century and made the country the world's top producer of copper. Since 2000, an average of 34 people have died every
Vorkuta mine disaster million tons of coal and making up 27% of the company's output. On 25 February 2016, two explosions occurred within the mine, setting off a partial collapse of the mine and killing four miners while trapping twenty-six; eighty-one other miners were evacuated safely with minor injuries. The explosions, occurring about below ground and occurring about an hour apart during the afternoon, were believed to have been started by the ignition of a methane gas leak. Rescue efforts for the trapped miners began promptly, with at least 500 people involved. Efforts were hampered by Vorkuta's remote location within the Arctic Circle,