[acropolite (Phil)]

I've been down to about the level that they were at. The first 375 metres down is by a cage/lift which doubles to take the ore out. From there down there is a spiral tunnel (big enough to drive a truck down) which from memory spirals down to about 1200m level. At 375 metres the temperature is a balmy 25 degrees C, at the deeper levels around 35 degrees C. The biggest annoyance at those levels is the noise, the ventilation fans are deafening, even with hearing protection. As I said safety is first & foremost, a seismic monitoring system was recently installed to give forewarning of tremors that are likely to cause rockfalls, there are safe areas to gather in the event of emergencies and emergency phone points as well. I can't imagine what more anyone could do to prevent or minimise the outcome of such a fall.