SOC 3490 Chapter 5: Glasbeek – The Westray Story
8 Feb 2017
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May 9, 1992 westray coal mine exploded, killing 26 miners. Attracted lots of media attention due to the sleazy behavior of the central actors. Politicians deployed taxpayers money and infrastructure utilities to make the opening of a coal mine by private profiteers a risk-free investment. Had been known that the owners committed 52 provincial safety violations before the explosion: government knew about these but did not press charges. 3 entrepreneurs: frame, sultan, and hunt formed a partnership named curragh. Partnership to buy a business named cyrus anvil mining: each partner entitled to 1/3 of the profit and personally responsible for all the obligations incurred by this partnership, had themselves bought out by ontario inc. Changed named to curragh resources inc. , with a ceo making ,000. Other more experienced mining companies rejected this mining opportunity due to the difficulty caused by the terrain.
