Aries Industries Supplies Camera System to Help Locate Chilean Miners

Aries Industries, a Waukesha, Wis.-manufacturer of pipeline inspection and rehabilitation equipment for water, wastewater, natural gas, oil and disaster recovery services, has supplied the camera system to the Chilean government to locate the miners underground.

The specialized camera is used around the world for many purposes, mainly underground inspection of pipeline walls. The camera system from Aries Industries, CCV Division, was used to find the miners trapped beneath the ground at 700 m, or 2,200 ft. The camera system is only 1.375 in. in diameter and can go to lengths of 5,000 ft.
Aries Industries manufactures a mine disaster camera system that has been used many times in the Virginia coal mine disasters. However, the borehole drilled in Chile was not large enough for the inspection to take place. Aries Industries-CCV Division sent a smaller diameter camera system down to Chile to fit into the hole drilled. That is when the excitement occurred when the actual miners, all 33 of them, were found alive and well; underground since the disaster occurred Aug. 5.

“We are very pleased to be able to offer our assistance in helping the families of these miners offer some hope in knowing that they are ok and that hopefully will be getting them out in a safe manner,” said Aries Industries president and CEO Jim Lenahan. “It makes us feel really good to know we are helping save the lives of others in a very difficult underground environment through our technological developments.”

Aries Industries is a leader in specialized camera systems used for pipeline inspection and rehabilitation around the world. Aries Industries has offices and manufacturing facilities in Waukesha, Wis.; Fresno, Calif.; Pompano Beach, Fla. and Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, with distributors worldwide.