The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has proposed nearly $1.2 million in civil penalties to Illinois coal mine operator M-Class Mining for trying to conceal a fire that broke out on a longwall section on August 13, 2021. After learning of the unextinguished fire through an anonymous complaint, MSHA issued an order on Aug. 14…
Read MoreA federal appeals court has ruled unanimously that KenAmerican Resources violated the Mine Safety and Health Act more than a decade ago by giving underground miners advance notice that Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspectors were conducting an inspection. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision on May 11 is the latest action in a long-standing litigation involving an…
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The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reported that on Feb. 28, a contract miner died when he was crushed between the rib and a single boom face drill. The victim was alongside the drill using the onboard tram lever controls when the accident occurred because the remote control was inoperable. This is the eighth fatality reported in 2022, and…
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The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has implemented an enhanced enforcement program after recent data indicates that accidents involving customer and contract truck drivers, and managers and supervisors performing mining tasks represent a significant number of recent fatalities.
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has launched a new enforcement initiative to better protect the nation’s miners from health hazards resulting from repeated overexposure to respirable crystalline silica.
Read MoreMSHA recently released its final report for a fatal machinery incident that occurred July 21 of last year at the Thunder Basin Coal Black Thunder surface coal mine in Wyoming.
Read MoreBy Willa B. Perlmutter In my last column, I talked about MSHA’s plan to issue a new rule requiring surface mine operators to develop and implement written programs that would improve mobile equipment safety. The comment period closed in February and, at this writing, about a month later, MSHA hasn’t yet tipped its hand as to what, if anything, it…
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On February 23, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reported that on Jan. 14, a 44-year-old contract laborer with 13 years of total experience received fatal injuries when he fell 27 feet to a concrete surface. At the time of the accident, the contractor was on a belt conveyor in a coal preparation plant and was working to replace…
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The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has announced the “Take Time Save Lives” campaign to reach miners, promote best practice resources, and ensure mine operators have the tools they need to fully train miners to use equipment. “The purpose of this new campaign is simple: mine operators need to take the time to train miners on equipment and safety…
Read MoreThe Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has reported that on March 22, a 44-year-old heavy equipment operator drowned at an AMI Silica operation in Jackson County, Wis., after the floating pump station he was standing on capsized. At the time of the accident, the miner was assisting a co-worker in connecting a water discharge line.
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