Testing What Matters Most: How One Team Helped Make Underground Refuge Chambers Even Safer
When people think about mine safety, they often picture hard hats, reflective clothing and safety inspections. Those are all important, but some of the most important safety work happens long before an emergency occurs, through planning, testing and preparation.
Recently, a cross-functional team at Resolution Copper completed an extensive heat testing initiative on our underground refuge chambers. The team started with a simple but essential question: If the unexpected happened tomorrow, are these chambers ready to protect our people?
The answer was not just “yes.” The team wanted to understand where the chambers were performing well and where they could be made even stronger.
What Is a Refuge Chamber?
Deep underground, refuge chambers serve as emergency safe havens if miners cannot safely evacuate. Designed to provide breathable air, water and shelter, these chambers are equipped with life-support systems that allow employees to remain safely inside until rescue teams arrive or conditions improve. Strategically positioned throughout underground operations, they provide a critical layer of protection when self-escape isn’t possible. Fortunately, they’re rarely needed. That is exactly why they must always be ready.
Looking Beyond the Standard
This project focused on something many people never consider.
What happens inside a refuge chamber after the door closes?
Working under realistic operating conditions, the team studied how heat, humidity, and air quality changed over time inside the sealed environment. Their goal wasn’t simply to meet a standard. It was to understand every factor that could affect occupant safety during an emergency.
Testing confirmed that without proper cooling and insulation, temperatures inside the chamber could rise more quickly than expected, making thermal management a critical part of emergency preparedness.
By recreating realistic underground conditions, the team gained practical insight into how the chambers perform during the moments when they matter most. The findings reinforced the need to regularly test safety systems and look beyond minimum requirements to identify meaningful improvements.
Turning Results Into Improvements
Working closely with the refuge chamber manufacturer, the team translated their findings into practical improvements. The project helped strengthen cooling performance, improve insulation strategies, and refine acceptable operating temperature limits under different underground conditions.
Every lesson learned makes the system stronger. More importantly, each improvement increases confidence that the refuge chambers will perform exactly as intended if they’re ever needed. This work reflects Resolution Copper’s commitment to learning from real-world testing. By studying how systems perform under pressure, our teams can strengthen emergency preparedness as underground conditions and operational needs change.
Powered by People
While the equipment matters, this story is really about the people behind the work.
Engineers, underground crews, maintenance teams, health and safety professionals and technical specialists all contributed to making this initiative a success. Together, they challenged assumptions, collaborated across disciplines and invested countless hours into strengthening an emergency system that everyone hopes is never needed. That kind of work rarely makes headlines, but it makes a difference every day.
Recognizing the Team
This initiative was made possible through the dedication and expertise of an outstanding group of employees: Mike Oldham, Jason Galino, Wade Boyd, Johnavon Pace, Noah Vaglivielo, Carlos Martinez, Austin Navarrette, Daniel Benally, Johny Wernett, Jacob Pace, Michael Lovett, Leon Prichard, Abe Torres, Matthew Rabago, Josh Zapata, Brandon Anderson, Gerry Malone, Sean Obrien, Bobby Crabb, Christian Stoddard and Robert Ingram.
Their curiosity, technical expertise, and willingness to challenge assumptions continue to make Resolution Copper a safer place to work.
Always Looking for the Next Improvement
Every improvement made through this project strengthens an emergency system we hope is never needed, but one that must always be ready. It reflects the mindset that drives our safety culture every day: keep testing, keep learning, and keep looking for better ways to protect our people.
Because at Resolution Copper, safety is not about checking a box. It is about doing the work early, learning from the results, and helping every person go home safely at the end of every shift. That is exactly what this team set out to do.
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