On January 11, 2015, a 53-year old contract shaft miner with 35 years of experience was killed at an underground gold mine. The victim was positioned on a work platform on top of a skip traveling up the ventilation shaft. He struck a steel cross member on a beam in the shaft.
Best Practices
- Train all persons in hazard recognition, awareness of their surroundings, and safe positioning when riding skips.
- To prevent hazard exposure, require safe positioning for personnel who ride skips.
- Monitor all persons for safe positioning when riding skips.
- Place warning signs on skip platforms to remind persons to keep body parts inside the handrails.
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).