Tom, your idea that its merely the Mexican Government playing a bit of one- up-man-ship seems to have a factual base. From this link http://tinyurl.com/29xrr I have copied the following:

"Relations with Britain are already sensitive because of allegations Britain helped the United States spy on Mexico's U.N. mission in the run-up to the Iraq war"

I would have thought any ideas on mining would quickly be forgotten when you take a look at their weather. About 4000mm of rain a year! Take a look http://tinyurl.com/3gjrw
(On the survival/adventure theme, the "expedition reports" make good reading.)
As you said we live in wacky times.
Martin

It is possible that the cavers were carrying equipment to monitor radiation levels. There have been issues in UK caving with potential Radon gas exposure (caused by build up of gas from the radioactive decay of trace amounts of Uranium in the limestone).

Link to information at Radon: The end of the beginning - where next?

You can also see a coverage from the expedition at Cuetzalan Tiger 2004

Regards,
Stephen.

Greetings everyone: First, I would like to mention for clarity...I am not a geologist, nor do I play one on TV. I am however, a caver, or spelunker.

I too, seriously doubt the British team was looking for Uranium. The entire team seemed to be explorers on a "trip of a lifetime" so to speak. They may have, or may not have, previously visited the caves near the area. Either way, amongst cavers, visiting a cave and not making a map is considered taboo. Most of their equipment (e.g. laptops) appears to be related to mapping. Those tools can be viewed as suspicious to the untrained layman. I speak from experience when I say this…Cave mapping is very tedious, time consuming and very challenging. The results though are definitely worth it.

Being prepared like the group was is not uncommon either. Preparations are very similar to those mentioned and can be the envy of some posters to this forum. Keep in mind that Cavers do one thing most others do not. Explore underground, in the dark, with limited visibility, usually provided by individual light sources.

Getting rescued in these conditions is a very long wait and usually involves an injury of some description; very rare is the “trapped cavers.” More often than not a cave rescue involves a “body recovery!” Next to injuries, Hypothermia is the most common major concern, followed by dehydration and exhaustion. Rescues are done with no common rescue resources such as the Halogen lighting set that would commonly be found on a rescue truck. Doing the rescue is far worse than one can imagine. Communication is very poor and normally dependent on visualizing another rescuer and using hand signals. The actual cave interior also contributes to the rescue. Cool temperatures, which effect the rescuer as well; adds to the overall difficulty. If you are thinking confined space rescue then you are getting close. A cave takes this type of rescue to a whole new extreme. Suffice it to say a cave rescue is a lot like a combination of structure collapse, earthquake rubble, flooding, confined space and a hazardous environment. Did someone say bat guano? The only thing that even closely compares to this, would be the mine, or tunnel rescue. Now compound this rescue by making it underwater!

Limestone caves are the best for exploration period! They offer the most in cave fauna, flora and biology. The geology is a major reason for this type of exploration. For more information logon to these websites: www.cavers.org and www.caves.org

Summation: The British cavers were experienced, prepared and uninjured, as near as I could tell. They managed to get radio communications to other cavers. It is always a shame that political agendas override the basic rules of “common sense.”

Stargazer NSS member # 50961

ASAP = Always Suspicious, Always Prepared