Mining Incidents

TAFT PRODUCTION COMPANY & MINESMetal/Nonmetal

Taft, Kern County, CA · Active
MSHA Mine ID: 0402964
Fatalities
0
Total incidents
56
Years on record
2001–2025
Latest incident
Feb 2025
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

56 on file

2025 · 1 incident

Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Over the past 3 weeks operator developed pain in right shoulder, the pain became worse over time

2024 · 1 incident

Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Operator stated that their arm had been hurting for a couple of months. at first this was a first aid only, but the doctor has changed to no longer first aid, and assigned occupational therapy.

2022 · 2 incidents

Struck against stationary object

EE was cleaning line 107 while waiting for ore. EE picked up a bag and when EE stood up EE hit EE's head on the stand for the cooler.

Fall to the walkway or working surface

A packaging line operator slipped on wet surface and landed on back and left elbow

2021 · 4 incidents

Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EE has been operating line 107 for a while and feels pain in shoulder back and neck

Struck by flying object

Teammate was unplugging a water treatment pump and built up pressure caused it to release mud unexpectedly with a lot of pressure and it hit EE full force in the face causing corneal abrasion in both eyes.

Struck by flying object

Teammate was unplugging a water treatment pump and built up pressure caused it to release mud unexpectedly with a lot of pressure and it hit EE full force in the face causing corneal abrasion in both eyes.

Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Cumulative injury and neck strain running an automatize packaging line over time.

2019 · 1 incident

Over-exertion in lifting objects

Employee improperly lifted a 3 pack box of 15 pound jugs (total 45 lbs) to place them on the case sealer and injured forearm.

2018 · 4 incidents

Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Using a hammer and not wearing the proper hand protection, employee struck thumb which needed stitches while the employee was performing a maintenance task.

Fall from scaffolds, walkways, platforms

While working at Mill 1 SH Conveyor 5, Injured Employee climbed to the second level to pulley a piece of steel to employee on next level up stepped into uncovered manhole at ladder

Fall to the walkway or working surface

Miner was walking towards equipment and tripped on a guard on floor and fell to their knees injuring the right knee.

Over-exertion in pulling or pushing objects

Teammate was pushing/pulling a conveyor to repair and hurt elbow.

2015 · 1 incident

Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee was using a utility knife and was not wearing cut resistant gloves. He sliced his left hand right above the thumb requiring sutures.

2014 · 4 incidents

Fall from machine

Fell out of the truck on buttocks

Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Temp worker was flipping stacks of boxes and his finger got caught in the strapping, fracturing it when in landed in the pile. He reported it later in the shift not knowing it was hurt until his glove came off.

Struck against a moving object

Employee was driving a golf cart in the dark without using the headlights (which worked) and hit a cement wall. he injured his lip, chest and chin.

Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Miner got off forklift by sliding down off it and landed on her right leg. She felt a pop in her knee and could not walk.

2013 · 3 incidents

Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

While working on an air line that was locked out another air line that was next to it with air flow broke and caused a large amount of air to escape at one time causing an employee to be injured by the released energy.

Struck against a moving object

Operator was backing down onto the location in a dump truck to be loaded by an excavator. The truck ran over a high point in the road which turned out to be a piece of ore and the truck bounced and jerked from side to side, the seat bottomed out causing him to strain his lower back.

Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

While using a hand drill on a line the drill caught on a piece of metal and popped back stiking his right pinky finger causing a fracture. The employee is still being evaluated.

2012 · 2 incidents

Struck against a moving object

Miner drove off the road into a ditch going over a berm in a haul truck landing on the side. Miner has a severe contusion on right inner thigh and contusion on right calf and is restricted from climbing ladders. Miner stated the steering locked up investigation ongoing.

Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

EE was placing pipe on clamp. Pipe slipped and pinched his left thumb. EE finished work that day (Friday) without reporting. He was fine all weekend, and RTW Monday and worked again all day with no problem. Tuesday 5/8 he called in and was taken to doctor with fractured left thumb.

2011 · 1 incident

(Not Elsewhere Classified)

The incident is a hearing loss over time and was found during the bi annual health assessment given to all employees during the 2010 year.

2010 · 4 incidents

Struck against a moving object

Two Forklifts collided head on in the warehouse.

Struck against a moving object

Two employees driving forklift trucks collided head on in the warehouse

Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee stated that the pain started around January 2010, he monitored it to see if it was an injury or if pain got better. He reported it 4/21 but chose not to go to the DR. He asked to go on 4/27 and was sent. He believes using hand tools over time is the cause.

Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

While working on the gas valve in the dryer the ee's were unthreading the pipe he was holding on to the pipe so when it finally came unthreaded it wouldn't fall to the ground. The pipe has a manual shut off valve and a safety valve while turning the pipe the two came together and pinched his finger in it causing a laceration to the right index finger.

2009 · 8 incidents

Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee was part of a group installing a hammer mill hood at the mine, the hood had hung up on a conveyor belt when replacing the hood. A crane was used to relieve the pressure of the hood on the conveyor and in doing so sliced the hand of the mechanic guiding the hood.

Over-exertion in lifting objects

Employee was dumping ore from a hopper. The hopper was the larger one. It is considered too heavy for one person to dump she went ahead and tried it on her own, then asked a coworker to help. She did not report the accident until Monday morning when she came to work. She did not complain to anyone about pain until Monday morning.

Struck against a moving object

Employee was backing up on a forklift going about 2 to 3 MPH, employee seen another forklift and stopped suddenly, he felt a pop in his neck.

Caught in, under or between running or meshing objects

Employee was adjusting a photo eye when the pusher was activated and grabbed his hand.

Fall to the walkway or working surface

Employee was walking between lines (normal walkway) and tripped on a bolt in the cement. She fell on her left shoulder.

Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee walked through muddy area and slipped but did not fall. Felt pain in back.

Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee was operating a valve pack line and strained her back.

Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee states she was running a machine and the first day her hands and fingers were sore. She continued to run the machine and her fingers started tingling. She complains of soreness now that radiates up to her right elbow. She has to grab a poly bag while approx 45 lbs of ore drops in bag then feed it into chute to be sewn. She reported this injury on 2/2/09.

2008 · 4 incidents

Caught in, under or between running or meshing objects

Temporary employee did not shut off conveyor before clearing buildup on conveyor and her arm was pulled into conveyor

Struck by falling object

Employee was struck by a large piece of ore on the hard hat which caused neck and shoulder pain

Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

EE was changing from bags on line 109 EE turned away from the machine and her thumb got caught in the clamp. When she hit the clmp foot pedal the delay was about 5 seconds before it released this caused a contusion on the thumb, EE was put on modified work with limited use of her right hand.

Caught in, under or between running or meshing objects

Maintence personnel were working on a belt driven machine and did not loosen the motor mounts; when they tried to roll the drive belts on the sheaves an employee's fingers got caught between the belt and the sheaves causing his right ring finger to break.

2007 · 4 incidents

Fall to the walkway or working surface

At truck wash area there was standing water. After washing a golfcart, the employee turned to shut off the water and his feet slipped out from under him. He fell on his right elbow. Diagnosis is contusion of right elbow which damaged nerve causing numbness in his hand/arm.

Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee was going up the stairs at the Mill and his boot slipped off the step. He thought he was going down so he spun around to stop himself by grabbing the rail and in doing so twisted his back.

Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

While diagnosing a noise coming from the air conditioning system of a running company-owned pick-up, EEeached around the air conditioner's belt to touch a part near the vehicle?s air conditioner. The tip of his (R) ring finger glove was caught by the belt and twisted Curtis?s finger.

Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee was in the front office. He used his company-issued Buck knife to remove strings from the front of his coat that he was wearing. The employee cut his r-index finger.

2005 · 2 incidents

Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

At approx 11:15a on Jan 31, a temp emp reptd to our HR Mgr that after his shift on Fri, Jan 28 he stepped off the stairs & felt a ?pop? in his neck. He didn't report it to supervisor as there was no pain. Upon awakening Sat, Jan 29 he had a stiff neck. He felt better Sun. On Mon, Jan 31, approx 3-1/2 hours into his shift, the pain & stiff neck returned.

Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

The employee was placarding a pallet of product on Line 305. The placard slipped from her fingers and fell upon the line's exit conveyor. As the employee reached for the placard, gravity moved the pallet forward, pinching the middle finger of her left hand between the conveyor and the pallet.

2004 · 2 incidents

Over-exertion in pulling or pushing objects

Employee was retrieving a propane tank from the propane tank rack behind Warehouse #1. As the employee began to pull the tank toward him, he experienced a ""pop"" in his lower back. He did not continue to pull the propane tank out of the rack. He re-mounted his forklift, drove to the warehouse office, and reported the injury to his supervisor.

Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Employee dismounted her forklift. She was aware of a second forklift backing out of the warehouse and the driver was also aware of the employee dismounting her forklift. The employee began walking toward the moving forklift. The driver lost sight of her, assuming she had walking around the back of her vehicle. The driver moved forward and ran over the employee's right foot.

2003 · 3 incidents

No Value Found

EE WAS LOADING A DUST TRUCK. AS HE BEGAN TO WALK DOWN THE CATWALK, THE EMPLOYEE'S FOOT CAUGHT ON THE NON-STICK SURFACE. THE EE GRABBED THE HANDRAIL TO KEEP FROM FALLING AND IN THE PROCESS, T WISTED HIS RIGHT KNEE.

No Value Found

EE REPORTED PAIN AND SWELLING IN HIS LEFT FOREARM AND WRIST. EE WAS SENT TO OUR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTHCARE PROVIDER WHO DETERMINED IT WAS A FIRST AID ONLY CASE. ON EE'S FOLLOWUP VISIT TO THE OCC UPATIONAL HEALTHCARE PROVIDER, EE WAS GIVEN A CORTISONE INJECTION AND A BRACE TO WEAR WHILE ON THE JOB.

Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EMPLOYEE REPORTED PAIN IN WRISTS TO HR MANAGER. HE HAD BEEN STACKING BOXES WEIGHING APPROX. 42# ON 20-30 PALLETS. DID NOT REPORT INCIDENT UNTIL FOLLOWING DAY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SHIFT.

2002 · 1 incident

Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

AFTER BALING CARDBOARD, TEMP EE ATTEMPTED TO RELEASE BALE FROM BALER. UNABLE TO RELEASE THE HEAVY LOAD, SHE GOT HELP FROM A FORKLIFT OPERATOR. THE FORKLIFT OPERATOR HAD THE BALE HALF UP AND OU T OF THE BALER, WHEN THE TEMP EE MOVED FROM HER SPOT OF SAFETY, ATTEMPTED TO ASSIST THE FORKLIFT OPERATOR BY PULLING DOWN THE BALER RELEASE HANDLE, AND THE HANDLE HIT THE SIDE OF HER HEAD AS

2001 · 4 incidents

Over-exertion in lifting objects

EE ATTEMPTED TO LIFT AND DUMP MATERIAL FROM HER ORE HOPPER AT LINE 303. AFTER 3 ATTEMPTS SHE WAS ABLE TO DUMP THE MATERIAL BUT WHILE DUMPING THE ORE SHE SAID SHE HEARD HER HAND ""POP"". SHE DID NOT REPORT THE INCIDENT TO HER MANAGER UNTIL 12/20/01, EXPLAINING THAT HER HAND WAS SWOLLEN AND KNOTTED BECAUSE OF THE INCIDENT. AFTER 6 WEEKS WE THE PHYSICIAN PRESCRIBED PHYSICAL THERAPY.

Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EE WAS CHANGING THE CUTTING EDGES ON THE #621 SCRAPPER AT THE QUARRY. HE WAS BARRING A BLADE UP WHEN THE BLADE SLIPPED OFF THE PRY BAR. HIS RIGHT INDEX FINGER WAS CAUGHT BETWEEN THE FALLING BL ADE AND A BLOCK OF WOOD. HE SUSTAINED A PHALANX FRACTURE TO HIS RIGHT INDEX FINGER AND A 1.5 CM LACERATION TO THE SAME FINGER.

Struck against stationary object

WHILE CARRYING HIS TOOLBOX TO HIS LOCKER IN WAREHOUSE #3, THE EMPLOYEE WALKED PAST A STACK OF PALLETS. A PIECE OF METAL ON ONE OF THE PALLETS WAS BENT AWAY FROM THE PALLET. AS THE EMPLOYEE WAL KED PAST, HE CUT THE BACK AREA OF HIS WRIST ON THE PIECE OF METAL.

Struck by falling object

EMPLOYEE REPORTED SHE WAS HAND STACKING A PALLET. AS SHE PUSHED THE PALLET INTO PLACE, THE PALLET BACKED UP ON HER AND BEGAN TO FALL. THE EMPLOYEE REPORTED THAT AS THE PALLET FELL, IT BRUSHED HER LEGS AND THE CORNER FELL ON HER RIGHT BIG TOE. THE EMPLOYEE SAID THE INJURY OCCURRED ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON, HOWEVER, SHE DID NOT REPORT IT TO SUPERVISOR. EMPLOYEE NOTIFIED US 3-20-01.