Well, If There Is Money To Be Made.....

If you thought the whole Utah mine situation couldn't get any worse, you thought wrong. You have to read the whole article here to see what I'm about to get at.

Families Outraged After Utah Mine Official Says Miners May Not Be Found

HUNTINGTON, Utah — Officials said six trapped coal miners may never be found, outraging family members of the men who say their loved ones are being left for dead.

Searchers were grim Sunday after receiving air readings from a fourth hole drilled more than 1,500 feet into the mountainside. The readings detected insufficient oxygen to support life.

Repeated efforts to signal the men have been met with silence.

"It's likely these miners may not be found," said Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy Corp., co-owner of the Crandall Canyon Mine.

Mine officials had sustained hope for two weeks that the miners would be brought out alive, even after three rescuers were killed and six more hurt in another "bump" inside the mountain.

Family members of the six miners trapped in the initial Aug. 6 collapse accused the mine's owners and federal officials of abandoning their loved ones.

"We feel that they've given up and that they are just waiting for the six miners to expire," said Sonny Olsen, a spokesman for the families, reading from a prepared statement Sunday night as about 70 relatives of the trapped miners stood behind him.

"We are here at the mercies of the officials in charge and their so-called experts. Precious time is being squandered here, and we do not have time to spare," Olsen said.

The families demanded that rescuers immediately begin drilling a 30-inch hole into which a rescue capsule could be lowered. Olsen said the families believe it is "the safest and most effective method to reach" them.

Moore had been far more upbeat earlier in the weekend, but on Sunday he said oxygen readings and video images taken from the fourth hole had changed his mind about the miners' probable fate. Oxygen levels in the hole are just 11 to 12 percent, incompatible with life. Normal oxygen levels are 21 percent.

Workers started Sunday on a fifth borehole into the mountain, more than 2,000 feet down, but Moore said he expected to find insufficient air there, too.

"Our thoughts and our prayers and our deepest sympathies go out to the families — for all those families involved in the two tragedies here," he said.

If tunneling doesn't restart, part of the mine will have been turned into a tomb. Despite that, Moore said there is recoverable coal in other parts of the 5,000-acre mine, and the company expected to resume operations at some point. He said he didn't discuss that prospect with family members.

Let me start off by saying that I understand what these families are thinking. They're still believing that their family members are alive because for the last two weeks that's what they've been told. They've been lied to time and time again. They've been given false hope thanks to the mine owners and the other idiots in charge here. Now, two weeks later they still think they are alive and can be rescued. I know it's difficult to accept. But the reality is, they're deceased. If they survived the initial collapse, they most likely didn't survive much longer due to the lack of oxygen in the mine. The families don't want to accept that, and that's their business. That's their right. I also understand their desire to be able to bury their loved ones if their bodies are ever recovered. Who wouldn't want that?

But that's not the part that pissed me off. If you read down to the bottom of the article, you'll see what I'm talking about. This son of a bitch Rob Moore offers his thoughts, prayers, and sympathy to the families in one breath, and talks about making money in the next breath. He says that there is "recoverable coal in other parts of the mine". He goes on to say that the "company is expected to resume operations at some point". To that I ask, what fucking idiot is going to be willing to go back into that mine to recover your coal for you? Nobody!! Especially not after this debacle here. Nobody in their right fucking mind is going to risk their lives so that Robert Murray, Rob Moore, or anyone else can make yet another buck at the expense of others. Oh, and who the hell would allow that mine to be reopened for business ever again? If that mine is reopened, these bastards should be charged with murder if anyone gets killed.

Talk about dancing on the grave of someone. These bastards don't even have the balls to tell the families about their plans to resume work at the mine. We all know why that is. If they did tell these families that, I guarantee you that Rob Moore, Robert Murray, and others would either be seriously injured or dead because these families would beat the shit out of them or kill them.