Electrician fatality at STILLWATER MINE (Stillwater Mining Company), MT, July 26, 2025

The employee was performing routine preventative maintenance on a transformer when EE was fatally electrocuted.

On July 26, 2025, at 10:44 a.m., Brian Hanson, a 50-year-old electrical & instrumentation (E&I) technician with 5 years, 6 months of mining experience, died when he contacted one phase of a 13,200 high voltage power circuit while conducting preventive maintenance in transformer #95132. The accident occurred because the mine operator did not: 1) de-energize, lock out, or take other measures to prevent electrical equipment from being energized, 2) label principal power switches to show which units they controlled, and 3) provide instruction in the safety and health aspects and safe work procedures of the assigned task.

1. The mine operator did not de-energize, lock out, or take other measures to prevent electrical equipment from being energized.

   Corrective action: The company has established new policies and procedures for locking equipment out when doing preventive maintenance.

2. The mine operator did not label principal power switches to show which units they controlled.

   Corrective action: The mine has revised existing preventive maintenance procedure and developed an additional practice of labeling power systems to make them easily identified.

3. The mine operator did not provide instruction in the safety and health aspects and safe work procedures of the assigned task.

   Corrective action: The company updated the SOP and trained miners 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

Electrical Maintenance

Subunit / location

UNDERGROUND

Underground location

INTERSECTION

Mining method

Conventional Stoping

Accident type

Contact with electrical current

Source of injury

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS,(Not Elsewhere Classified)

Nature of injury

ELECT SHOCK,ELECTROCUTION

Body part affected

BODY SYSTEMS

Total mining experience

5 years

Experience at this mine

5 years

Experience in this job

5 years

Degree of injury

FATALITY

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