From what I hear on BBC Radio4 the reason that it will take so long is that they have to drill though granite most of the way. This is not a coal mine, most of which are in relatively soft rock.

I would have thought that NASA woild be interested in the situation as some of the problems involved here are the same as on a Mars mission with a group of people stuck in close proximity for such a long period in a rather dangerous predicament. There certainly should be some lessons to be learned by the end of their time underground.