Executives at Canada-based Trevali Mining Corp said the company was caught unawares by a torrential downpour during the dry season last month in Burkina Faso that left eight men trapped underground in its Perkoa zinc mine.
Rescue efforts are continuing since the flood on April 16, but there has been no communication with the missing miners and it is not known whether any survived.
"It's not only us that have been affected, it's also the communities around us that are affected by completely unexpected rain," he said in an interview with Reuters at the site. While most workers were able to safely evacuate, the eight missing were below Level 520, which is 520 metres from the surface, at the time of the flooding, the company said.
"There's always hope, but we also have to be realistic," Trevali CEO Ricus Grimbeek said in a separate interview with Reuters.