The extraction of 33 miners trapped underground in Chile for 66 days will probably begin on Wednesday, after an inspection revealed that the new hole is almost strong enough to enable them to escape safely.
Engineers finished drilling a nearly 2,050 foot-long (625-metre) shaft just wider than a man's shoulders to evacuate the men yesterday, and the miners used explosives to make room for a special capsule dubbed "Phoenix" that will hoist them one at a time to the surface.
The final phase of the rescue has been rigorously planned, according to government officials and rescue workers.
President Sebastian Pinera said hoped the men would be rescued next week.
"I hope the rescue comes next week. If it's Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, it doesn't matter. What matters is to rescue them alive and rescue them safely. And for that we'll spare no effort," Pinera said at a news conference in Santiago.
After the cave-in, engineers initially bored narrow shafts the width of a grapefruit to locate the men. When they were found 17 days after the accident, miraculously all still alive, celebrations sprang up across Chile.
Rescuers then passed high-energy gels, water and food down the narrow ducts to keep the miners alive. Images caught on a video camera lowered down the bore hole showed the bearded men bare-chested to cope with heat and humidity deep in the small mine in Chile's mining heartland.
Trapped for 65 days so far, the men have set a world record for the length of time workers have survived underground after a mining accident. They are in remarkably good health, though some have skin infections.
In one of the most complex rescue attempts in mining history, it will take days to winch them to the surface one at a time in special capsules just wider than a man's shoulders.
Rescuers, including a mining engineer and a paramedic, will descend the escape shaft in a caged rescue capsule designed by the Chilean navy, briefing the men and carrying out final medical checks.
The rescue capsules are 13 feet tall (3.95 metres) and weigh more than 1,000 pounds (460 kg) and each comes equipped with harness, oxygen and headset for continuous communication with the surface.
The ascent, which could take 45 minutes for each miner, will be monitored by audio and video equipment inside the capsule.
The most able-bodied miners will be the first to ascend, given the possibility the capsule could become trapped during the escape. Government sources say the Bolivian citizen trapped with the 32 Chileans may be among this first group.
The weakest and sickest men will be the next to ascend, leaving the most psychologically stable men to the end.
On arriving at the surface, the men will be accompanied by doctors and paramedics to a critical care and stabilisation unit erected at the mine entrance. If they are found to be healthy, they will be taken to another tent to visit with family members.
From there, the miners will be flown by helicopter to a hospital in nearby Copiapo, where they will be tended to for at least 48 hours.