Bulldozer Operator fatality at Vortex Mine (Blue Ice Sapphire Mining, Inc.), MT, March 20, 2012

at 2:00 AM

On March 20, 2012, a bulldozer operator was fatally injured in a fall of face/rib/pillar/side/highwall accident at Vortex Mine (Blue Ice Sapphire Mining, Inc.), MT.

Vortex Mine · Surface · Metal/Non-Metal

Operator: Blue Ice Sapphire Mining, Inc. (Mike D Roberts)

Judith Basin County, MT

Classification FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL

Type Struck by falling object

Investigator narrative

This accident has already been investigated by MSHA. The victim was found approximately 250 feet inside the mine. He was working alone and had been struck by a fall of rib.

Record details

Activity at time of incident: Unknown
Subunit / location: UNDERGROUND
Underground location: FACE
Mining method: Other
Accident type: Struck by falling object
Source of injury: CAVING ROCK,COAL,ORE,WSTE
Nature of injury: MULTIPLE INJURIES
Body part affected: MULTIPLE PARTS (MORE THAN ONE MAJOR)
Total mining experience: 25 years
Experience at this mine: 2 years
Experience in this job: 2 years
Degree of injury: FATALITY

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Verify on MSHA

Every record on this page mirrors what MSHA publishes under its Open Government Data program, refreshed weekly. MSHA does not publish per-accident URLs (the Accidents data is distributed as a single bulk file), so this is how to retrieve the source for the specific record below:

Accident record: Download MSHA Accidents.zip then search for Document number 220121180036 (the unique key per MSHA Form 7000-1)
Mine record: MSHA Mine Data Retrieval System and search by Mine ID 2401835
All MSHA datasets: Open Government Data program directory covering Accident, Mines, Inspections, Violations, etc.

Source: US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) · Document 220121180036 · Mine ID 2401835 Trainer view →