Hong Kong – Six university students China Wednesday, Wednesday after falling into a flotation reservoir while visiting a mine in the country’s inner Mongolia region.
The students of the Northeastern University in the province of Liaoning observed the flotation process when a grid plaque on which they stood suddenly gave in, making them fall into the reservoir, according to Xinhua, the Chinese news agency managed by the State.
“Despite the rescue efforts, the six students were confirmed after being withdrawn from the reservoir. A teacher was also injured,” said Zhongjin Gold, a subsidiary of the China National Gold Public Group who operates the mine, in a company file.
Flotation tanks are used to separate different types of small mineral particles, said Richard Williams, director and vice-chancellor of Heriot-Watt University based in Scotland, which has mineral engineering training.
Anyone who falls into the tank could cross the thick foam on the top “and then find yourself in a mixed suspension or in contact with the mixers’ blades,” said Williams in comments sent by e-mail.
“These types of accidents are rare. But mine security remains a global challenge due to the nature of the work,” he said.
Zhongjin Gold, who is registered on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, dived at the opening of Thursday and ended the day down 4.41%.
Calls to the Northeast University remained unanswered on Thursday.
The flotation workshop had carried out technical upgrading projects, in particular to replace the floor network panels on the second level platform to combat security risks on site, according to an article according to which the national China Gold Group Inner Mongolia Mining Co. published in February on its official WeChat account.
“In 2024, the flotation workshop reached no impact on safety, the environment or professional health, achieving the safety objective of” zero accidents “, said the article.
Another article published in July 2020 described the flotation workshop during the summer as a “giant steam boat”, where workers were soaked in sweat.
The two articles, seen by NBC News, were deleted Thursday afternoon after being cited by several media.
The accident was a topic of leading discussion on social networks in China, which is one of the world’s main producers of many major minerals and has a long history of mine safety problems.
In January 2024, the Chinese government said it introduced strict measures to “slow down frequent events” of mining accidents. The previous year, there were 120 mines accidents in China, which resulted in more than 250 deaths, according to the official network of the country’s mine security accidents.
