http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/27/us-italy-mine-idUSBRE87Q0EO20120827
(Reuters) - Up to 100 Sardinian miners armed with hundreds of kilograms of explosives have barricaded themselves nearly 400 meters underground in Italy's only coal mine to put pressure on the Rome government to protect its survival.
The miners from a 460-strong workforce seized 350 kilos of company explosives and locked themselves inside the Carbosulcis mine west of Cagliari overnight on Monday, one of them said, ahead of a government meeting this week to discuss the pit's future.
"We are worried that the mine may close. We are afraid for our jobs," said Sandro Mereu, 54, a miner who has worked there for 28 years.
"We are prepared to stay here until we hear a response from the government that secures the future of the mine. We will stay here indefinitely," Mereu told Reuters by telephone.
The miners want the mine to be diversified into a combined mining and carbon capture site to protect its future. Carbon capture is the storing of polluting emissions underground to mitigate global warming.
Carbosulcis was estimated to have 600 million metric tons of coal reserves in 2006 but has struggled to stay productive. It was previously occupied in 1984, 1993 and 1995, when protesting workers stayed in a tunnel for 100 days.
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27 August 2012 Last updated at 18:45 ET
The miners say they intend to stay underground until a meeting is held on Friday
Italy miners in underground protest at Sardinia pit
The miners say they intend to stay underground until a meeting is held on Friday
About 100 protesting miners on the Italian island of Sardinia have barricaded themselves in a pit, with hundreds of kilograms of explosives.
They are trying to prevent the country's only coal mine from being shut down, leaving them without jobs.
The miners occupied the Carbosulcis mine on Monday and are now holed up some 400m underground.
They plan to stay there until meeting with the government to discuss the mine's future is held.
"I think anyone would protest like us, anyone who is losing their job is prepared to do anything," one miner told reporters.
"It's really serious, everything is closing in this country - it feels like the end of the world."
According to reports, the miners want the pit to be diversified into a combined mining and carbon capture site.
State funding is potentially available for carbon capture - a process of storing polluting emissions underground to help prevent global warming.
The miners have mounted similar protests during labour disputes in the past. In 1995 they occupied the pit for 100 days.
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