1.   British mines operate at far greater depth than in America.

2.   Also, the three vermiculite mines currently operating in the United States will receive additional scrutiny from the EPA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration, officials said.

3.   But Frank D. Duval, president of Sterling Mining in Spokane, Wash., said experts had determined that the mine could operate without environmental harm.

4.   He insists that the mine will operate safely and that after it is closed, the site will be returned to its natural state.

5.   The suit also alleged thousands of violations by a sanitary sewage system at a port the mine operates on the Chuckchi Sea, north of the Arctic Circle.

6.   This will require an extension to the indenture between WMC and the state of South Australia under which the mine operates.

7.   But many mines still operate, often with the collusion of local officials.

8.   He said the mine was operating in full compliance with state environmental standards.

9.   Jose Rodriguez Correa, a spokesman for Mexicana de Cananea, said the mine operated inefficiently when it was government-owned.

10.   MISNA said the massacre was in retaliation for an attack by pro-government forces on a convoy heading to Kamituga, where several gold and tin mines operate.