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Fatality Reports

MSHA investigates each mining fatality and prepares the following documents to alert the mining community and prevent similar occurrences.

  • Fatality Alert - describes the accident and lists best practices that may have prevented it
  • Preliminary Report - initial report with brief description
  • Final Report - investigative findings, including root causes and enforcement actions

Some deaths on mining property are determined to be unrelated to mining activity and are not included in MSHA’s fatality statistics - See recent “non-chargeable” fatalities:
Accident Classification: Falling, Rolling, or Sliding Rock or Material of Any Kind
Location: Cottonwood #1204 - Texas
Mine Controller: Trinity Industries Inc
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Construction Sand and Gravel
Accident Classification: Slip or Fall of Person
Location: Bishop Impoundment Area - West Virginia
Mine Controller: James C Justice II
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Fall of Roof or Back
Location: Mine No. 5 - West Virginia
Mine Controller: Anthony P Cline
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
(Accident occurred on February 23, 2017 and victim died on April 6, 2017)
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Elk Lick Tipple - West Virginia
Mine Controller: Coronado Coal LLC
Mine Type: Facility
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
(Accident occurred on February 3, 2017 and victim died on February 10, 2017)
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: #2 - Kentucky
Mine Controller: Mark E Daugherty
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Fall of Face, Rib, Side or Highwall
Location: Linwood Mine - Iowa
Mine Controller: Mc Carthy- Bush Corp
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Crushed, Broken Limestone NEC
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Buckhorn Mine - Washington
Mine Controller: Kinross Gold Corp
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Gold Ore
Accident Classification: Falling, Rolling, or Sliding Rock or Material of Any Kind
Location: Roberta Mine - Georgia
Mine Controller: Curt B Jamison
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Construction Sand and Gravel
Accident Classification: Machinery
Location: Oak Grove Mine - Alabama
Mine Controller: ERP Compliant Fuels, LLC
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Machinery
Location: McLean/Stover Pit #1 - Michigan
Mine Controller: Andy B McLean
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Sand, Common
The Final Report will not be posted
Accident Classification: Other
Location: Slip Ridge Cedar Grove Mine - West Virginia
Mine Controller: Marfork Coal Company LLC
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Based on a review conducted by MSHA’s Chargeability Review Committee, MSHA determined that this death was unrelated to mine related work activities, mining activities, or mining equipment, and should not be charged to the mining industry. Therefore the total coal fatalities in 2016 are eight instead of nine. On September 23, 2016, a miner was fatally injured in a vehicle accident while a passenger in a coworker’s personally owned vehicle. The miner and his co-worker had concluded their shifts at the mine, changed clothes and were in the vehicle heading away from the mine. They were on the mine’s access road when the coworker lost control of the vehicle after the brakes malfunctioned; the vehicle impacted the berm and rolled over. No hazards or violations associated with the condition or maintenance of the access road were found.
Accident Classification: Machinery
Location: Holston River Quarry Inc - Virginia
Mine Controller: Doug Dalton
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Crushed, Broken Limestone NEC
Accident Classification: Slip or Fall of Person
Location: Premier Magnesia LLC - Nevada
Mine Controller: John Gehret
Mine Type: Facility
Mined Material: Magnesite
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: NEVERSON QUARRY - North Carolina
Mine Controller: Heidelberg Cement AG
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Crushed, Broken Granite
Accident Classification: Machinery
Location: KOSMOS CEMENT CO. - Kentucky
Mine Controller: Cemex S A
Mine Type: Facility
Mined Material: Cement
Accident Classification: Ignition or Explosion of Gas or Dust
Location: Road Fork #51 Mine - West Virginia
Mine Controller: Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Fall of Face, Rib, Side or Highwall
Location: Savannah Quarry - Tennessee
Mine Controller: Vulcan Materials Company
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Crushed, Broken Limestone NEC
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Atlas Qu Pt Crusher #1 - Arkansas
Mine Controller: Atlas Asphalt; White River Bituminous
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Crushed, Broken Limestone NEC
Accident Classification: Machinery
Location: The American Coal Company New Era Mine - Illinois
Mine Controller: Robert E Murray
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Inundation
Location: Harmony Mine & Mill - Mississippi
Mine Controller: Heyward C Green
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Construction Sand and Gravel
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Leer Mine - West Virginia
Mine Controller: Arch Coal Inc
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Slip or Fall of Person
Location: Ash Grove Cement Company - Texas
Mine Controller: Ash Grove Cement Company
Mine Type: Facility
Mined Material: Cement
Accident Classification: Machinery
Location: The Chemours Company TT LLC - Florida
Mine Controller: EI DuPont De Nemours & Co Inc
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Titanium Ore
Accident Classification: Electrical
Location: Freeport-McMoRan Safford Inc - Arizona
Mine Controller: Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Copper Ore NEC
Accident Classification: Fall of Face, Rib, Side or Highwall
Location: Huff Creek No 1 - Kentucky
Mine Controller: Catenary Coal Holdings, Inc.
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Explosives and Breaking Agents
Location: MARTIN MARIETTA MAGNESIA SPECIAL - Iowa
Mine Controller: Martin Marietta Materials Inc
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Lime
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Beck Street South - Utah
Mine Controller: CRH PLC
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Construction Sand and Gravel
Accident Classification: Falling, Rolling, or Sliding Rock or Material of Any Kind
Location: Vista Sand - Texas
Mine Controller: RJS Holdings LLC; MWR Holdings LLC
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Construction Sand and Gravel
Accident Classification: Machinery
Location: Dotiki Mine - Kentucky
Mine Controller: Alliance Resource Partners LP
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Fall of Face, Rib, Side or Highwall
Location: 4 West Mine - Pennsylvania
Mine Controller: GenPower Holdings LP;James L Laurita Jr
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)