People/miner, victim

Mario Gomez

Mario Gomez, miner, victim, from Chile. Linked to copper, gold.

The lucky break

The eldest of the 33 trapped miners, aged 63 in 2010, he wrote the note tied to the rescue probe on 22 August 2010 saying 'Patience and faith'.1

The downfall

Trapped with 32 others in the San Jose mine, Chile, from 5 August 2010.1

Legacy

His handwritten note was read out live on television by President Pinera.1

Story cards

Timeline

  1. 2010Copiapo San Jose mine collapse and rescue2
Drag to turn the globe

Where next

Events

Worked atCopiapo San Jose mine collapse and rescueEldest of the 33 trapped men; wrote the note tied to the rescue probe.1

Sources

  1. Chilean miners found alive - but rescue will take four months The Guardian (Haroon Siddique and agencies, 23 Aug 2010)
  2. Chilean miners: families camp at Camp Hope (25 Aug 2010) The Guardian

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Haul trucks by Lechhabmed, CC BY-SA 4.0; Drilling and blasting by Siim Roov, CC BY-SA 4.0; Chuquicamata from the ISS by Alexander Gerst (ESA), CC BY-SA 2.0. Pictures: Escondida Mine, Chile, NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (Public domain (NASA media, no copyright)).