On 13th October, Chile celebrated on seeing 33 miners surge from deep underground; 33 miners that were trapped for 70 days, 700 metres underground.

The drama began on 5th August, when a collapse in a mine made us fear for the lives of these people. We went from desolation and little hope to exuberant joy at the moment we learned they were all still alive. Some people said the rescue was a miracle. Others said it was professionalism, both of the miners and of the rescue teams working in the area. Whatever the case, when the miners resurfaced, we celebrated the mammoth achievement.

It is true to say it was a huge achievement and the joy of it should remain. However, we must also not forget the reasons why these miners were trapped in the first place.

Chile is a traditional mining country where you can find two main ways of working. On the one hand, there is the world class Chilean mining carried out by the big, national and international companies of the sector. On the other hand, there is the more humble and traditional domestic mining, ranging from small-company exploitations to the traditional “Pirquineros” (artisan miners). The reality of the mining undertaken is very different in each scenario.

While the big mining companies invest an important percentage of profits to maintaining high standards of health, safety and labour, there is another reality where these concepts are not given sufficient attention, to the point of failing to meet regulations. Implementation is not easy for contractors, who are frequently forced to cut costs or lose business. The state organisations in place to watch over compliance do not have the capacity to deal with the overwhelming demands of the industry, and as a result many companies get away with sub-standard operations – until disaster strikes.

In San José alone, the lack of compliance in these matters has affected not only the 33 miners, happily safe now, but also another 300 workers, staff and contractors, that are now unemployed due to the closure of the mine. Thousands more are working in similarly precarious conditions.

More than ever, the importance of compliance in health and safety regulations is clear – it must be a priority. Furthermore, the state of Chile must be the guarantor, along with the other stakeholders. The whole mining industry must take charge of this situation, no matter what size or history.

There are sufficient industry tools available to do this, developed to specifically manage and monitor health and safety standards in the mining industry, and there are sufficient experts on the subject in the market. The regulations are already in place – now the state needs to incorporate private companies into the system to ensure they are complied with systematically.

For a whole host of human, technical and economic reasons, we should push this issue up the agenda. Only with effort will we ensure that no mining employees or their families will have to go through the situation these 33 miners had to experience, or face the problem the 300 unemployed workers are facing now.