This article is from back in 2008. It was arguably reasonable to close the mine site back then, but now it's six years later and to my knowledge the site is still closed. The situation should have been dealt with in a matter of months and yet it's dragged on for years. What is wrong with the park service? Why can't they get things taken care of in a timely manner?
The closure of the Keane Wonder mine coincides with a recent Department of Interior report on abandoned mines in the western states. The report cites many deaths at abandoned mines that have occurred over the years as people fall into shafts or are asphyxiated in mines with bad air. According to the DOI report, 33 people died in abandoned mines across the West between 1999 and 2007. Many deaths occurred when people fell in to vertical shafts that the DOI calls ant traps.
LINK: http://www.sierrawave.net/1183/popular-abandoned-mine-in-death-valley-closed/