Three U.S. companies showcased their engineering expertise as the world watched the dramatic rescue of 33 Chilean gold and copper miners trapped nearly a half-mile underground for more than two months. The miners miraculously survived an Aug. 5 shaft collapse at the San Jose mine in the Atacama desert about 500 miles north of Santiago.
Layne Christensen Co., a Mission Woods, Kan.-based firm ranked 18th on ENR’s Top 200 Environmental Firms list, worked with its Chilean affiliate Geotec Boyles Bros. S.A., Santiago, to drill the 2,300-ft-deep shaft, which reached the trapped miners before those being drilled by two other companies.