Investigators believe they have confirmed the cause of a potash mine fire that forced 20 workers to hole up underground for the better part of a day. No one was hurt when the blaze erupted at Potash-Corp.'s mine near Rocanville last month. But it was 18 hours before the workers could leave stations and safely return to the surface. Damage was minimal. The company says a wooden cable spool overheated as it was dragged through the mine. Spokesman Bill Cooper says the company is deciding whether to switch to steel spools or change how they're transported through the mines. "We believe the cause was friction between a skid plate carrying the cable reel and the ground," he said. "They get dragged from the mine entrance to where they're stored, which is 16 kilometres underground, and it eventually caught fire."
