Powered Haulage

Coal Fatal – 12/18/25

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On December 18, 2025, a miner died after a tractor pinned him against the rib.

Best Practices

  • Stay out of “red zones” and pinch point areas.
  • Maintain effective traction on the slope.  Control or remove excessive water, mud and other debris.
  • Obtain proper clearances from the dispatcher prior to starting down the slope to ensure the travelway is clear.
  • Communicate your presence and intended movements when working around mobile equipment and wait for acknowledgment before moving.
  • Minimize pedestrian traffic in known haulage routes.

Additional Information

This is the 32nd fatality reported in 2025, and the 13th classified as “Powered Haulage.”

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf)

Coal Fatal – 11/6/25

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On November 6, 2025, a miner died when the scoop he was operating was struck by the lead locomotive of a supply trip.

Best Practices

  • Operate mobile equipment at safe speeds appropriate for the grade, load, and track conditions. Select the proper gear before descending grades to maintain positive control.
  • Conduct thorough pre-operational examinations of all mobile equipment. Test brake systems, sanders, and communication devices before use and ensure they work properly.
  • Establish and follow communication protocols that require verification for all mobile equipment operators.
  • Make sure miners communicate their location and intended movements with the dispatcher.

Additional Information

This is the 27th fatality reported in 2025, and the 12th classified as “Powered Haulage.”

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf)

MNM Fatal – 9/29/25

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On September 29, 2025, a miner died when the Load Haul Dump Loader he was operating traveled into an open stope.

Best Practices

  • Do not work or travel near open stopes or holes.
  • Install and maintain signage identifying open holes or stopes.  Ensure signage is highly visible, maintained in place, and understood by everyone in the working area.
  • Install and maintain barricades, berms, or other restraining devices in front of open holes or stopes.
  • Establish and discuss safe procedures to prevent working or traveling near open holes.
  • Ensure miners maintain control of equipment while it is in operation.
  • Ensure that miners are properly task-trained for their assigned tasks.

Additional Information

This is the 24th fatality reported in 2025, and the tenth classified as “Powered Haulage.”

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf)

MNM Fatality – 9/8/25

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A contract haul truck driver was injured while dumping a load of material at the top of a stockpile. The ground under the truck failed causing the truck to overturn onto its cab. The driver died later from his injuries.

Best Practices

  • Construct substantial berms, bumper blocks, safety hooks, or similar impeding devices at dumping locations where there is a hazard of overtravel or overturning.
  • Conduct workplace and ground condition examinations before beginning work in an area.
  • Always dump material from a stable and safe location.  If examinations indicate the ground conditions are not reliable, dump loads at a safe distance and push the material over the edge using a bulldozer.
  • Never load material from the toe of a stockpile that is below an active dump point.  This typically leads to a slope that is unstable and too steep.
  • Maintain stockpile slopes no steeper than the angle of repose.

Additional Information

This is the 22nd fatality reported in 2025, and the ninth classified as “Powered Haulage.”

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf)

MNM Fatality – 10/28/25

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On October 28, 2025, a miner died after the haul truck he was driving went over a berm along the haul road and into a water-filled pit.

Best Practices

  • Always operate mobile equipment at safe speeds. Consider the roadways, tracks, grades, clearances, visibility, traffic, and type of equipment used.
  • Ensure berms and guardrails are at least mid-axle height of the largest mobile equipment using the roadway.
  • Follow the Surface Mobile Equipment Safety Program at your mine.
  • Always wear a seatbelt while operating mobile equipment. Never attempt to exit or jump from an out-of-control vehicle.
  • Perform pre-operational examinations of mobile equipment.

Additional Information

This is the 26th fatality reported in 2025, and the 11th classified as “Powered Haulage.”

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf)

MNM Fatality – 8/25/25

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On August 25, 2025, a miner died after the haul truck he was driving went over a berm along the haul road, over a highwall, and overturned into water in the pit.

Best Practices

  • Always operate mobile equipment at safe speeds. Consider the roadways, tracks, grades, clearances, visibility, traffic, and type of equipment being used.
  • Follow the Surface Mobile Equipment safety program at your mine.
  • Clearly mark hazards along roadways with signs and signals.
  • Always wear a seatbelt while operating mobile equipment. Never attempt to exit or jump from an out-of-control vehicle.
  • Maintain control of mobile equipment while it is descending, especially around tight turns.
  • Ensure miners are adequately task trained in the safe operation of all equipment they operate.
  • Perform pre-operational examinations of mobile equipment.

Additional Information

This is the 19th fatality reported in 2025, and the eighth classified as “Powered Haulage.”

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf)

MNM Fatality – 8/7/25

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On August 7, 2025, a contractor died after the front-end loader he was operating traveled over the edge of a highwall, falling approximately 70 feet.

Best Practices

  • Maintain control of self-propelled mobile equipment while it is in motion.
  • Never attempt to enter or exit an out-of-control vehicle.
  • Ensure miners are adequately task trained in the safe operation of assigned equipment.
  • Perform regular pre-operational examinations of mobile equipment.
  • Monitor work activities to ensure both miners and contractors follow safe work procedures.

Additional Information

This is the 18th fatality reported in 2025, and the seventh classified as “Powered Haulage.”

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf)

MNM Fatality – 7/12/25

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On July 12, 2025, a delivery truck driver died when the truck he was driving traveled off the road and crashed into a ravine.

Best Practices

  • Maintain control of mobile equipment and follow all posted speed limit and warning signs.
  • Ensure berms and guardrails are at least as high as the mid-axle height of the largest mobile equipment using the roadway.  
  • Ensure braking systems can stop and hold the equipment with its typical load on the maximum grade it travels.
  • Always wear a seatbelt while operating mobile equipment.
  • Perform thorough pre-operational inspections of mobile equipment.  Correct any defects that create a hazard.

Additional Information

This is the 16th fatality reported in 2025, and the seventh classified as “Powered Haulage.”

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf)

MNM Fatality – 5/19/25

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On May 19, 2025, a miner died when the haul truck he was operating traveled through a berm and over an approximately forty-foot highwall to the bench below. 

Best Practices

  • Maintain control of self-propelled mobile equipment while it is in motion.
  • Ensure berms and guardrails are at least as high as the mid-axle height of the largest mobile equipment using the roadway.  The effectiveness of a berm depends not only on its height, but also on its base width and compaction.
  • Always wear a seatbelt and remain in the cab with your seatbelt on while operating mobile equipment.  Never attempt to exit or jump from an out-of-control vehicle.
  • Ensure miners are adequately task trained in the safe operation of all equipment they use.
  • Perform pre-operational examinations of mobile equipment.

Additional Information

This is the 13th fatality reported in 2025, and the sixth classified as “Powered Haulage.”

Cllick here for: Preliminary Report (pdf)

MNM Fatality – 3/28/25

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On March 28, 2025, a miner was fatally injured at a surface mine when sand from the highwall engulfed the front-end loader he was operating.  The miner was digging sand from the toe of the highwall.

Best Practices

  • Use mining methods that ensure highwall stability and safe working conditions.
  • Use appropriate equipment to gradually flatten the slope starting at the top of the highwall.
  • Equip front-end loaders with two-way communication systems, high strength glass, and an SCSR for breathable air when working on material that has the potential to slide or engulf mobile equipment.
  • Examine highwalls, spoil banks, and ground that slope into working areas.  Correct unsafe ground conditions in the affected area.  Conduct additional examinations as ground conditions warrant, especially during periods of changing weather conditions.
  • Stay clear of potentially unstable areas.
  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work.  Identify and control all hazards associated with the work and the methods to properly protect miners.
  • Train miners to assess risks and hazards and correct or barricade hazards to prevent access before beginning work activities.

Additional Information

This is the 11th fatality reported in 2025, and the fifth classified as “Powered Haulage.”

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