The 2010 Copiapó mining accident , also known then as the `` Chilean mining accident '' , began in the afternoon of Thursday , 5 August 2010 as a significant cave-in at the troubled 121-year-old San José copper-gold mine .
The 2010 Copiapó mining accident was a mining accident that happened on August 5 , 2010 , when the copper-gold mine of San José , located near Copiapó , Chile , collapsed .