Mining Fatalities

MNM Fatality – 11/23/20

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On November 23, 2020 (at a mine in Houston, TX with 12 employees*), a (39 year old Maintenance Mechanic with 1 year 7 weeks experience*) was electrocuted while troubleshooting a disconnect box for the classifier drive motor. The victim had the electrical disconnect box open and the main power supply was not deenergized.

Best Practices: 

  • Ensure electrical circuit components are properly designed and installed by qualified electrical personnel.
  • Ensure electrical troubleshooting and work are performed by people with proper electrical qualifications. Positively identify the circuit on which work will be conducted.
  • Before performing electrical work, locate the visual disconnect away from an enclosure and open it, lock it, and tag it, to ensure all electrical components in the enclosure are de-energized. Verify by testing for voltage using properly rated test equipment.
  • Wear properly rated and well maintained personal protective equipment, including arc flash protection such as a hood, gloves, shirt and pants.
  • Train miners on safe work practices for electrical equipment and circuits.

Additional Information: 

This is the 26th fatality reported in 2020, and the second classified as “Electrical.”  (* Italicized details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

Coal Fatality – 11/23/20

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On Nov. 23, 2020, (at a mine in Dawes, WV with 154 employees*) a (20 year old*) miner (with 1 year and 8 weeks mining experience*) was fatally injured when the battery-powered scoop he was operating ran over a section of pipe in the roadway. The four-inch plastic pipe entered the operator’s compartment and struck him.

Best Practices: 

  • Conduct thorough examinations of roadways and remove material that could pose a hazard to equipment operators, passengers, or other miners.
  • Keep roadways free of excessive water, mud, and other conditions that reduce an equipment operator’s ability to control mobile equipment.
  • Secure loads on haulage vehicles to prevent them from falling off into roadways.
  • Install substantial guarding to prevent material from entering the operator compartment.
  • Establish safe operating procedures for mobile equipment and a maintenance schedule for roadways.

Additional Information: 

This is the 25th fatality reported in 2020, and the seventh classified as “Powered Haulage.” (* Italicized details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

MNM Fatality – 11/8/20

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On Nov. 8, 2020, (at a mine in Round Mountain NV with 864 employees*) a (58 year old*) bulldozer operator (with 41 years mining experience*) was killed when his bulldozer backed over the edge of a highwall (and came to rest over 300 feet downhill*).

Best Practices: 

•    Install and maintain lights to illuminate working places during the night and early morning hours.
•    Install berms, signs or devices to identify the edge of working benches and to allow equipment operators to maintain control of equipment.
•    Train equipment operators to identify dangerous conditions and to keep the dozer blade between the operator and the edge when near drop-offs.
•    Develop and enforce policies requiring safety belts when operating machinery.

Additional Information: 

This is the 24th fatality reported in 2020, and the eighth classified as “Machinery.” (* Italicized details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

Coal Fatality – 10/27/20

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On Oct. 27, 2020, a miner (age 37 with 1 year 40 weeks experience*) was digging a hole (in an underground mine in Williamstown, PA with 8 employees*) to install a wooden post for roof control when a section of the roof fell on him.

Best Practices: 

  • Thoroughly examine the roof, face, and ribs where people will be working and traveling, including sound and vibration testing where applicable.
  • Scale loose roof and ribs from a safe location. Prevent access to hazardous areas until appropriate corrective measures can be taken.
  • Set temporary support before installing permanent support.
  • Be alert for changing conditions and report abnormal roof or rib conditions to mine management and other miners.
  • Know and follow the approved roof control plan and provide additional support when cracks or other abnormalities are detected. Remember, the approved roof control plan contains minimum requirements.
  • Propose revisions to the roof control plan to provide measures to control roof hazards.

Additional Information: 

This is the 23rd fatality reported in 2020, and the first classified as “Fall of Roof or Back.” (* Italicized details added by safeminers.com)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

MNM Fatality – 10/19/20

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On October 19, 2020, (at a Littleton, CO mine with 2 employees*) an excavator’s bucket struck a plant operator (58 years old with 8 weeks of experience*) who was standing on the cross beam of a grizzly hopper screen.

Best Practices: 

•   Never swing buckets over work areas or operator’s compartments.
•   Maintain communication between equipment operators and miners on the ground.
•   Maintain control of equipment while it is in operation.
•   Train miners to safely perform their tasks.Additional Information: 

This is the 22nd fatality reported in 2020, and the seventh classified as “Machinery.” (* Italicized details added by safeminers.com)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

MNM Fatality – 8/21/20

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On August 21, 2020, a (customer*) truck driver (at a Gilmore City, IA mine with 32 employees*) sustained fatal head injuries while he was deploying the automatic tarp on his fifth-wheel side-dump trailer.

Best Practices: 

  • Install and use constant pressure electrical switches to deploy/retract automatic trailer tarps.
  • Inspect and maintain tarping systems routinely to ensure tarping systems function properly.
  • Install signs warning of the hazard of standing near trailers while automatic tarps are deployed/retracted.
  • Train miners on proper tarping techniques to understand the hazards associated with the work being performed.

Additional Information: 

This is the sixth fatality classified as “Machinery” in 2020. (Fatal Alert posted by MSHA 11/30/20.* Italicized details added by safeminers.com)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

MNM Fatality – 10/14/20

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On October 14, 2020 (at a South Carolina mine with 49 employees*), a lead person (61 years old with 17 years experience*) was killed when his pickup truck was struck by a haul truck.

Best Practices: 

  • Install and maintain collision avoidance/warning systems.
  • Equip smaller vehicles with strobe lights and flags positioned high enough to be seen from the cabs of haulage trucks in all lighting conditions.
  • Establish and follow communication protocols that require verbal verification for all mobile equipment operators.
  • Design haul roads to minimize congested areas and maximize visibility.
  • Do not drive smaller vehicles in a large truck’s potential path.
  • Train miners on mobile traffic patterns and policies. Do not rely on training or other administrative controls alone to prevent powered haulage or other accidents.

Additional Information: 

This is the 20th fatality reported in 2020 and the fifth classified as “Powered Haulage.” (Italicized details added by safeminers.com)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

Coal Fatality – 10/13/20

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On October 13, 2020, a miner died after being struck by a battery-powered scoop. He had parked his shuttle car in an intersection and was exiting when a scoop went through a ventilation curtain in an adjacent crosscut and struck him.

Best Practices: 

  • Install and maintain proximity detection systems on mobile section equipment.
  • Use transparent curtains for ventilation controls on working sections.
  • Communicate your presence and intended movements. Wait until miners acknowledge your message before moving your equipment.
  • STOP and SOUND an audible warning device before tramming equipment through ventilation curtains.
  • Avoid areas where equipment operators cannot readily see you.
  • Wear personal strobe light devices to increase visibility.

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

Coal Fatality – 10/9/20

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On October 9, 2020, a contractor was changing the nozzle on a hydroseeder and accidentally engaged the hydroseeder’s clutch while the nozzle was pointing towards him.  The material sprayed from the nozzle struck him, causing him to fall backward and strike his neck on the hydroseeder handrail.

Best Practices: 

  • De-energize equipment while changing accessories until the equipment is ready to use and the operator is properly positioned.
  • Position yourself to avoid hazards resulting from a sudden release of energy.
  • Identify and apply methods to protect personnel from hazards associated with the work being performed. This includes all applicable personal protective equipment for identified hazards.
  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work and ensure those procedures are followed.

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

Confined Space Safety Alert

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Between 2017 and 2020, three miners were fatally injured after entering confined spaces to clear material and obstructions. These confined spaces included a sand and gravel bin, a sand-filled hopper, and a cone crusher. All three miners were engulfed by falling material.

Best Practices: 

  • Operators should identify and eliminate or control all hazards before miners begin work and when clearing blocked material. Miners should be trained in these practices.
  • Lock-out, tag-out. Never enter a confined space until the supply and discharge equipment is locked out.
  • Never lock-out using the start and stop controls. These do not disconnect power conductors.
  • Assign a safety harness and lanyard to each miner who may work at material supply and discharge areas or any areas where an engulfment hazard exists. Do not use lanyards that depend on free-fall speed to lock.
  • Place warning signs:
    • “Fall Protection Required Here”
    • “Confined Space – Engulfment Hazard” warning signs at all access points to hoppers, bins, and chutes.

Click here for: MSHA Confined Space Safety Alert (pdf); Safeminers EZ Compliance Helper: MSHA on Confined Spaces (pdf).