CHILE: Poor Mine Safety Standards Charged In Lawsuits.

G.POST/ Pascale Bonnefoy/      This blog's purpose is to cover the less noticed news, usually ANYTHING about Eastern Europe or South America. That was the case with the Chile gold mine collapse. We followed it during the dark days when the 33 miners were feared dead...and the families waited. That all changed with the "milagro" at San Jose. Now EVERYONE is following it. So this blog will refrain from covering it UNLESS there is a different angle.
   The capable Pascale Bonnefoy supplies one with her latest post on Chile's lax mining inspections.
“Chile has one of the strictest mining safety standards in the world, especially in large mining operations, with specific codes and its own regulatory agency,” said mine engineer Agustin Holgado. “The problem is enforcement, especially in medium to small-size mines. I have been manager of mines the size of San Jose and I’ve never seen workers exposed to such extreme risk as in that mine.”

CHILE: Quake Pays Off For President Pinera's Pals.

GLOBAL POST/ Pascale Bonnefoy/    "Pinera has haphazardly tapped into the business world to fill in government positions, because, he says, that’s the only way to get people with expertise and experience. However, in doing so, he has disregarded the potential conflicts of interest his appointees are dragging in with them, especially those who will have a hand in the reconstruction effort."