MSHA reported that on Jan. 3, a miner at Borger Pit in Hutchinson County, Texas, died when an excavated trench collapsed and engulfed him. The victim was replacing a 12-in. discharge line in the trench when the wall collapsed. This is the first fatality reported in 2025, and the first classified as “Falling, Rolling or Sliding Rock/Material of Any Kind.”…
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MSHA reports 28th fatality of 2024
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) said an electrician died on November 27, 2024, at the Cargill Deicing Technology – Cleveland mine in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, when a Load Haul Dump loader struck him. The electrician was outside of his mine utility vehicle and was struck by the LHD loader tire. This was the 28th fatality reported in 2024,…
Read MoreMSHA issues 162 violations in November
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) completed impact inspections in November 2024 at 14 mines and issued 162 violations and one safeguard. Of the violations, 44 were identified as significant and substantial and one had an unwarrantable failure finding. Since 2023, MSHA’s impact inspections have identified 5,127 violations, including 1,424 S&S and 100 unwarrantable failure findings at 330 mines.…
Read MoreVolvo Penta, J&S Manufacturing partner
The Volvo Penta D5 off-road engine will power J&S Manufacturing’s entire product line, which includes an advanced portfolio of equipment for mining applications in North America. J&S, a Walden Co. is deploying Volvo Penta’s Tier 4 Final/Stage V dual-certification engines, which are designed to contribute to reduced carbon emissions during operation and support improved environmental management. The engines will be…
Read MorePalmer nominated to head MSHA
Wayne Palmer was nominated by President Trump to serve as assistant secretary of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) at the Department of Labor. He is the former executive vice president of the Essential Minerals Association (EMA). “Wayne has not only been a terrific asset to the EMA team since he joined the association in 2021, but he has…
Read MoreMSHA 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…
Read MoreMSHA: 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…
Read MoreSo you got some bad paper. Now what?
This month, I want to go back to basics and talk about the process and considerations that might drive a mine operator’s decision to challenge an MSHA citation or order. As you know, the Mine Act requires an inspector to issue a citation or order if he believes an operator “has violated this Act, or any mandatory health or safety…
Read MoreMSHA 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…
Read MoreMSHA 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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