Alexei Barrionuevo: Chilean president gambles on successful mine rescue mission

Chile is sparing no expense or attempted innovation in trying to rescue the trapped miners, fully aware that the country - and the world - is closely watching their ordeal.

No fewer than seven government ministers were roaming the dusty brown dirt of the makeshift camp outside the mine in Chile's Atacama desert this week, not to mention the countless politicians, millionaire donors and observers who almost outnumber the family members camping in tents to keep vigil.

With his popularity already ebbing, recently installed president Sebastin Piera has staked his reputation on rescuing the miners, and is constantly briefing the press in a move that reflects both his background as the billionaire former head of a media empire and the strategy that helped get him elected.

"With a conviction that seemed to border on political suicide, the authorities bet all or nothing, and this time the returns will have incalculable reach," Max Colodro Riesenberg, a professor at the University Adolfo Ibez, wrote in a Chilean newspaper column this week.

What the trapped men do not know is that the mining company that hired them is doing nothing towards their rescue. The San Esteban company has said it can't afford to pay their wages and may go bankrupt. San Esteban is in such bad shape that it has neither the equipment nor the money to dig the men out; Chile's state-owned mining company is going to drill the escape tunnel, which will cost about ?1.1 million.

In the days after the tunnel collapse at the gold and copper mine, company leaders defended their safety measures, but have since gone silent.

This week, the first of many expected lawsuits against San Esteban and the government were filed, and a judge ordered the retention of 1.2m of company money in anticipation of future lawsuits.

Despite advances in technology and increased emphasis on safety - at least publicly - mining remains a dangerous profession in this South American country.

Since 2000, about 34 people have died every year on average in mining accidents in Chile alone, reaching a high of 43 mine deaths in 2008, according to official data.