On August 18, 2020, a miner (21 year-old laborer in California with one year and twelve weeks of experience*) was killed while attempting to clear a material blockage (at a sand and gravel mine with 20 employees*). The miner entered the cone crusher to begin work when the material shifted and engulfed him. He was extracted from the crusher and taken to a hospital, where he died the next day.
Best Practices:
- Properly design chutes and crushers to prevent blockages. Install a heavy screen (grizzly) to control the size of material and prevent clogging.
- Equip chutes with mechanical devices such as vibrating shakers or air cannons to loosen blockages, or provide other effective means of handling material, so miners are not exposed to entrapment hazards by falling or sliding material.
- Establish and discuss policies and procedures for safely clearing crushers.
- Train miners to recognize and safely remove all potential hazards before beginning work and when clearing blocked crushers.
Additional Information:
This is the 13th fatality reported in 2020, and the second classified as “Fall of Material.” – * (Italicized details added by safeminers.com)
Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).