Soudan Mine Fire
The show mine Soudan Underground Mine in Soudan, Minnesota, U.S.A., is temporarily closed after a fire on 13-MAR-2011. It is not clear what actually happened, but it seems the wooden frames of an elevator shaft catched fire. As a result the electricity failed and the pumps went out. The mine and the physics lab were inaccessible and are now closed indefinitely.
The lowest level, level 27 of the mine, is used by a physics lab. This laboratory contains equipment with a value of some 100,000,000 USD. So the first goal was to reestablish electricity for the pumps, which was done 23-MAR-2011. The laboratory is now save from water, but foam from the firefighting has reached the lab and it is unclear if it damaged the equipment.
Both the show mine and the lab tour are closed indefinitely. It seems there is a lot of work to do, to restore the mine. Also officials told they want to investigate the reason of the fire before they reopen the mine.