Prep Plant Foreman

A miner received fatal injuries. After a bridge collapsed that the miner was operating a skid steer loader on. The miner was clearing refractory brick form a rotary kiln. The bridge that was installed by the property owner collapsed. The skid steer fell approximately 10 feet into a hopper, causing the payload of brick to engulf the operator causing fatal wounds.

On February 22, 2025, at approximately 2:00 a.m., Angel Gustavo Perez-Perez, a 28-year-old contract miner for Elite Refractory, LLC (Elite), with approximately 17 weeks of mining experience, was fatally injured when the bridge providing access into the kiln shifted, causing the skid steer loader he was operating to fall backward into the cooler chute. The accident occurred because: 1) the mine operator and contractor did not provide safe access to the inside of the kiln, and 2) the mine operator did not properly train miners to assemble and secure the ramp/bridge assembly for kiln access.

1. The mine operator and contractor did not provide safe access to the inside of the kiln.

   Corrective action: The mine operator and the contractor developed a new standard operating procedure (SOP) to ensure that the new bridge and ramp assembly will be secured according to manufacturer instructions, and miners were trained on the new SOP.

2. The mine operator did not properly train miners to assemble and secure the ramp/bridge assembly for kiln access.

   Corrective action: The mine operator has developed a new task training procedure which includes assembly and securing the new assembly to the burner floor. Miners were trained on the new procedure.

Read the full report (PDF)

Findings from MSHA's final investigation report, which supersedes the preliminary narrative above.

Activity at time of incident

Front-End Loader

Subunit / location

MILL OPERATION/PREPARATION PLANT

Accident type

Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Source of injury

BRICK,CERAMIC

Nature of injury

CRUSHING

Body part affected

MULTIPLE PARTS (MORE THAN ONE MAJOR)

Total mining experience

6 years

Experience at this mine

0 years

Experience in this job

6 years

Degree of injury

FATALITY