MSHA issues 119 violations in December

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) completed impact inspections in December 2024 at 13 mines in Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia, and issued 119 violations with 32 being evaluated as significant and substantial and two had unwarrantable failure findings. In 2023 and 2024, MSHA conducted 343 impact inspections and identified 5,246 violations, including 1,456…

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MSHA: No mines met pattern of violations criteria in 2024

The U.S. Department of Labor released the results of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) second Pattern of Violations screening in 2024 and announced that for the first time since 2021, none of the nation’s mines met the POV criteria for the existence of a pattern of violations under section 104(e) of the Mine Act. POV screenings enable MSHA…

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MSHA issues three safety alerts

After three miners were involved in separate preventable accidents, MSHA has released safety alerts for highwalls, dozer entrapment and haul truck rollovers. The agency reported that on September 30, a miner sustained permanently disabling injuries while operating a Caterpillar 992K front-end loader beneath a highwall. A roughly 50-foot section of highwall fell onto the loader, crushing the cab and pinning…

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MSHA reports 24th fatality of 2024

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has reported that a miner has died from injuries sustained while realigning some longwall shields at Arch Resources’ underground Leer mine complex in West Virginia. The 34-year-old miner, who had 14 years of mining experience, was initially injured on September 28 when the hook and strap assembly broke while attached to two longwall…

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MSHA final rule promotes innovative, advanced technologies

On Dec. 10, MSHA published a final rule that allows the use of eight voluntary consensus standards approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for electric mining equipment approvals. This final rule allows product manufacturers and designers seeking MSHA approval to follow either the ANSI-approved voluntary consensus standards or the existing MSHA-specific technical requirements. This final rule updates MSHA’s…

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MSHA completes October impact inspections

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) completed impact inspections in October 2024 at 15 mines in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming and issued 286 violations. Inspections occurred at plants owned by Arcosa, Holcim and Mid-Michigan Materials, among others. The agency conducts impact inspections at mines that merit increased…

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