Buried alive, but carbide drills at core of Chile miners' rescue

The dramatic events surrounding the Chilean mine rescue were presented in real time for an international audience riveted by the high-adrenalin situation playing out in front of the TV cameras. Never before had such a hazardous mining operation had to cope with such pressure. The starring role of the sintered carbide tooling critical to the success of the mission has only latterly emerged. Ken Brookes shines a bright light onto the technical inside track of a great story…