On Thursday, January 26, 2017, a 42-year-old miner with 23 years of mining experience was fatally injured when he contacted a moving drive roller for the section belt. The victim was positioned between the guard and the conveyor belt drive when he came in contact with the shaft of the belt drive roller.
- Before working on equipment, de-energize electrical power, lock and tag the visual disconnect with your lock and tag, and block parts that can move against motion.
- Keep guards securely in place while working around conveyor drives.
- When working around moving machine parts, avoid wearing loose-fitting clothing such as shirts or jackets with hoods. Secure ends of sleeves and pant legs, as well as loose items such as personal light cords.
- Guard shaft ends such as protruding bolts, keyways or couplings.
- Establish policies and procedures for conducting specific tasks on belt conveyors.
- Train all employees thoroughly on the dangers of working or traveling around moving conveyor belts and their associated components,
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).
On December 2, 2016, a technical representative for a shield manufacturer, with 13 years of experience, received fatal injuries while adding components to the hydraulic system of a longwall shield. The victim was positioned inside the shield near the hinge point when the shield collapsed and crushed him.
On December 21, 2016, a 39-year old contract truck driver, with 11 months of mining experience, was injured on the surface of an underground gold mine. The victim was hauling gold ore in an over-the-road truck from the mine to the plant. While descending the roadway from the mine, the victim lost control of his truck. He traveled up an embankment and over an approximate 20 foot drop, landing back in the roadway. The victim was transported to the hospital and died from his injuries several days later.
On October 9, 2016, a 61 year old Equipment Operator, with 3 years of experience, was fatally injured at a sand surface mine. The victim was attempting to attach a screen plant to a front-end loader by hooking them together with a steel cable when the equipment moved pinning the victim. The victim was later discovered injured and leaning against the loader bucket. The victim died of his injuries the following day.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration announces a final rule that will enhance the quality of working place examinations in metal and nonmetal mines. The final rule improves miners’ safety and health by requiring mine operators to: (1) conduct working place examinations to identify hazards before work begins in an area, (2) notify affected miners of hazardous conditions that are not corrected immediately; and (3) record the locations examined, the adverse conditions found, and the date of the corrective action.
On December 19, 2016, a 62-year old Front-end Loader Operator with 6 years of mining experience was fatally injured at a sand and gravel surface mine. The victim was engulfed by sand when entered a hopper to remove a blockage.
On September 15, 2016, a 60 year old Mechanic, with 28 years of experience, was fatally injured at a Magnesite facility. The victim was seriously injured when he fell while dismounting a front end loader. The victim was hospitalized and died on September 26, 2016.
On September 21, 2016, a 52 year old contract drill operator / mechanic, with more than 30 years of experience, was killed at a limestone mine while performing maintenance on a truck-mounted rotary drill. At the time of the accident, the victim was attempting to remove the spindle cap from the top of the drill head while standing on the drilling deck. The victim was using a modified pipe wrench in an attempt to loosen the spindle cap using the machine’s drill rotation hydraulics by reaching into the operator’s compartment. As the victim activated the drill rotation lever, the wrench swung and struck him. The force of the impact knocked him against the operator’s cab, denting the frame and breaking the side window while the rotating wrench pierced his abdomen. As the victim attempted to climb down an adjacent step ladder, he was observed falling to the ground and striking his head. The victim was transported to a local hospital and died later that day as a result of his injuries.
On September 8, 2016, a 58-year old Haul Truck Operator with 23 years of experience was killed at a granite mine. The victim was operating a Caterpillar 773E haul truck and was returning to the pit to be loaded with shot rock. The truck veered from the right side of the haul road to the left and traveled over the berm at the top of the highwall. The truck landed upside down approximately 150 feet below. The victim was found outside the haul truck.