Front-End Loader fatality at DREXEL PIT (Columbia Materials), AZ, August 1, 1984

at 6:00 AM

On August 1, 1984, a front-end loader was fatally injured in a machinery accident at DREXEL PIT (Columbia Materials), AZ.

DREXEL PIT · Surface · Metal/Non-Metal

Operator: Columbia Materials (Blue Circle Industries Plc)

Pima County, AZ

Classification MACHINERY

Type Caught in, under or between collapsing material or buildings

Investigator narrative

I.NAME TOLD TO PUSH HIGH WALL IN AND TO START AT LOW END TO HELP LOADER.LOOKS LIKS LIKE HE WAS STRIPPING AT UNSAFE DISTANCE 1-3\ FROM EDGE OF PIT WALL AND PARALLEL WITH PIT WALL.PART OF WALL C AVED IN CAUSING DOZER TO SLIDE OFF WALL 20\.

Record details

Activity at time of incident: Bulldozer
Subunit / location: STRIP, QUARY, OPEN PIT
Accident type: Caught in, under or between collapsing material or buildings
Source of injury: CAVING ROCK,COAL,ORE,WSTE
Nature of injury: SUFFOC,SMOK INHILAT,DROWN
Body part affected: BODY SYSTEMS
Total mining experience: 10 years
Experience at this mine: 1 year
Experience in this job: 10 years
Degree of injury: FATALITY

Related fatalities

Same classification

July 1, 2026 · Electrician · Warrior Met Coal BC, LLC, AL
May 20, 2026 · Maintenance Man · Pine Branch Mining LLC, KY
March 12, 2026 · Maintenance Man · Kennecott Utah Copper LLC, UT
March 5, 2026 · Continuous Miner Operator · Patton Mining LLC, IL
January 6, 2026 · Maintenance Man · National Cement Company Of California Inc, CA

Same year

December 27, 1984 · Belt Cleaner · Mosaic Potash Carlsbad Inc, NM
December 27, 1984 · Belt Cleaner · Mosaic Potash Carlsbad Inc, NM
December 21, 1984 · Warehouseman · Everest Minerals Corp, TX
December 21, 1984 · Outside Foreman · Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Company, AR
December 21, 1984 · Mine Manager · Kenellis Energies Inc, IL

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 219842300026 (the unique key per MSHA Form 7000-1)
Mine record: MSHA Mine Data Retrieval System and search by Mine ID 0200693
All MSHA datasets: Open Government Data program directory covering Accident, Mines, Inspections, Violations, etc.

Source: US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) · Document 219842300026 · Mine ID 0200693 Trainer view →