Explosives are now being used to rescue the two miners trapped in Beaconsfield Gold Mine in northern Tasmania.
Rescue workers have been forced to use explosives because the rock is too hard to remove using more conventional methods.
It is five times harder than concrete.
However, the miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb remain in good spirits, despite spending twelve nights in cramped conditions.
National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Bill Shorten, says he cannot predict when the operation will be completed.
"The rock that is being encountered is just a lot harder than expectations and the work is painstaking and could take many hours to come yet."