Mine operator: Drill hole should reach miners Thursday evening*

    * Story Highlights
    * NEW: A 2½-inch hole could be open by Thursday evening, mine
operator says
    * Small hole would enable communication, supply of miners
    * Opening tunnel to trapped miners could take about a week, CEO says
    * Relatives of one trapped miner complain about treatment

HUNTINGTON, Utah (CNN) -- A 2½-inch drill hole should reach six trapped
Utah coal miners Thursday evening, the mine's operator said at a
lunchtime news conference.
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Rescuers work near the underground blockage in the Crandall Canyon Mine
on Wednesday.
more photos »

"We should arrive in the cavity in six hours," said Robert Murray, CEO
of Murray Energy Corp., the parent company of the Crandall Canyon Mine.

Murray said that the drill hole, made by a helicopter-borne drilling
rig, had gotten through 1,530 feet of earth by 11 a.m. MT ( 1 p.m. ET)
Thursday.

"They know we're on the way," Murray said of the men trapped in the mine
since Monday. "Those men probably can hear that drill rig right now, if
they're alive."

Murray said the trapped miners likely would use a piece of metal to tap
on bolts sunk into the mine's roof to let rescuers know where they are.

Mine officials said they had audio and visual equipment on site to put
into the hole to help find the miners.

Besides communication, the 2½-inch hole made by the rig placed atop the
mine would enable authorities to get the miners air, water and food,
buying time for an underground rescue.

That effort, which would establish an opening large enough to get the
miners out, will take six to seven days, Murray said Thursday.

Murray cautioned again at Thursday's news conference that that the
helicopter-borne drilling effort might not be successful.

Because there are no roads to the area above the mine, which is about
140 miles south of Salt Lake City, a helicopter guided by global
positioning system data dropped the drill into location.

But he said the 2½-inch drill could bend at the depths it is now being
used, and possibly miss the cavity where the miners are.

If that turns out to be the case, "we would have to start drilling
again," he said.

While the mining company has not released the miners' names, family and
friends have confirmed to CNN the identities of three of them as Kerry
Allred, Carlos Payan and Manuel Sanchez.

Relatives of Sanchez -- a coal miner for 17 years -- have complained
about Murray's treatment of them since the collapse. Video Watch how
some relatives say they feel left in the dark »

His sister, Maria Buenrostro, said it has been difficult for her family
to get accurate information about the fate of her brother.

Buenrostro said that Murray stormed out of a meeting after family
members started asking hard questions.

"We get upset and he gets angry and he leaves," Buenrostro said. "That's
wrong."

She said it was made more difficult because not everyone speaks English.
Murray said he has taken steps to make sure information also is given to
relatives in Spanish.

Besides the 2½-inch drill, Murray said a second drill -- more than 8
inches in diameter -- began boring Wednesday morning. It was expected to
reach the miners' cavity Friday evening, he said

Its start was delayed because rescuers first had to build 8,000 feet of
road so that the massive piece of equipment could be taken to the site.
In addition, the rig had to be positioned on the mountain at a 23-degree
angle. See where the miners are trapped »

Murray has said that seismic activity from a magnitude-3.9 earthquake
caused the cave-in. That opinion was not shared by geophysicists, who
said the seismic activity they measured appeared to have been caused by
the collapse of the mine itself.

Murray denied reports that the men had been involved in "retreat
mining," a dangerous practice in which pillars of coal holding up the
ceiling of a mine are destroyed in an effort to dislodge more coal.
"Retreat mining has absolutely nothing to do with the situation," he
said. "This was introduced to the media by individuals who have no
knowledge of what's going on." Photo See the rescue efforts outside the
mine »

About 50 representatives of the Mine Safety and Health Administration
are on site, said Richard E. Stickler, assistant secretary of the
Department of Labor for mine safety and health.

He said the mine is in compliance with federal laws.
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Inspectors cited it for 30 violations this year, Mine Safety and Health
Administration records show. Recommended fines in the 10 cases involving
penalties ranged from $60 to $524.

In the past three years, the mine was cited at least 300 times -- with
118 of those citations for violations serious enough to cause death,
records show.