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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: Machinery
Location: S-7 Surface Mine - West Virginia
Mine Controller: Jeffery A Hoops
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: MARIGOLD MINE - Nevada
Mine Controller: Silver Standard Resources Inc
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Gold Ore
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Horse Creek Eagle - West Virginia
Mine Controller: Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Machinery
Location: Fighting Creek Materials Inc - Idaho
Mine Controller: Arthur R Brand
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Crushed Broken Stone NEC
Accident Classification: Fall of Face, Rib, Side or Highwall
Location: Bridger Underground Coal Mine - Wyoming
Mine Controller: MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company; IDACORP
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Falling, Rolling, or Sliding Rock or Material of Any Kind
Location: ARGOS ROBERTA PLANT - Alabama
Mine Controller: Cementos Argos S A
Mine Type: Facility
Mined Material: Cement
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Emery Pit - North Carolina
Mine Controller: R G Kirkpatrick Sr.
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Construction Sand and Gravel
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Pleasant Hill Mine - West Virginia
Mine Controller: Metinvest B V
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Falling, Rolling, or Sliding Rock or Material of Any Kind
Location: Deserado Mine - Colorado
Mine Controller: Deseret Generation & Transmission Co-operative
Mine Type: Surface of Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: MISSION/SAN XAVIER/EISENHOWER - Arizona
Mine Controller: Grupo Mexico S A
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Copper Ore NEC
Accident Classification: Machinery
Location: New St. Nicholas Breaker - Pennsylvania
Mine Controller: John W Rich
Mine Type: Facility
Mined Material: Coal (Anthracite)
Accident Classification: Falling, Rolling, or Sliding Rock or Material of Any Kind
Location: Blue Sky Quarry #2 - Georgia
Mine Controller: Massoud Besharat
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Dimension Granite
Accident Classification: Electrical
Location: Celatom Plant - Oregon
Mine Controller: EP Management Corporation
Mine Type: Facility
Mined Material: Misc. Nonmetallic Mnls. NEC
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Oak Grove Mine - Alabama
Mine Controller: ERP Compliant Fuels, LLC
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Machinery
Location: Gateway Eagle Mine - West Virginia
Mine Controller: Blackhawk Mining LLC
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Hastie Mine - Illinois
Mine Controller: Donald D Hastie; Robert L Hastie
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Crushed, Broken Limestone NEC
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Pinnacle Mine - West Virginia
Mine Controller: ERP Compliant Fuels, LLC
Mine Type: Underground
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Rosebud Mine&Crusher/Conveyor - Montana
Mine Controller: Westmoreland Coal Company
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Fall of Face, Rib, Side or Highwall
Location: GHM #51 - Kentucky
Mine Controller: Laird T Orr Jr.
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Coal (Bituminous)
Accident Classification: Powered Haulage
Location: Bonito Pit - New Mexico
Mine Controller: Kayla Kersey; Dale Armstrong
Mine Type: Surface
Mined Material: Construction Sand and Gravel
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