Mining Incidents

Freeport-McMoRan Tyrone Inc: 3 recorded fatalities operator

Controlled by Freeport-McMoRan Inc
MSHA operator ID: L16321

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Fatalities
3
Total incidents
634
Mines on record
1
Years on record
1983–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
768
citations
154
significant & substantial
$277,733
proposed penalties
$245,768
paid to date
88% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $31,965 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
125
inspections on record
10,358
inspection hours
7.4
citations per 100 inspection hours
This rate is recorded citations divided by MSHA inspection hours, per 100 hours. It reflects inspection effort, not mine size or production.
768 citations across 10,358 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Penalty disposition
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.
$278K
proposed penalties
$252K
current assessed
$246K
paid to date
$6K
outstanding
755 assessments are final orders; 28 contested dockets.
Of $60K in penalties contested before the Commission, $23K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-04-22.
Source: MSHA assessed-violations and conference/litigation data, updated weekly.
Violation severity profile
Shares are computed over citations that carry the MSHA gravity and negligence coding; a small share of records are uncoded.
20.4%
significant & substantial
3.7%
high negligence or reckless
20.3%
reasonably likely or greater
40.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.1% none, 14.3% low, 81.9% moderate, 3.7% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2025
This rate is reportable injury cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers per year, computed as 200,000 times cases divided by MSHA operator-reported employee-hours. Cases are injuries MSHA graded degree 01 through 07; accident-only events that hurt no one are excluded, and so are contractor injuries, whose hours do not attach to a single mine. Rates begin in 2000, when quarterly employment reporting starts, and are withheld below 20,000 hours in a year.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2026 1.15 1.15 0.000
2025 0.00 0.00 0.000
2024 0.57 0.00 0.000
2023 1.33 0.53 0.000
2022 1.12 0.28 0.000
2021 0.30 0.30 0.000
2020 0.29 0.29 0.000
2019 1.34 1.34 0.000
Source: injury cases from MSHA accident and injury records; employee-hours from MSHA quarterly employment reports. Rate is cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers, operator employees only.
Health sampling
A sample is a point in time compliance measurement, not an individual exposure history. These figures describe MSHA sampling records and do not establish causation or personal dose.

Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.

Last sampled: 2025-09-23
5%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
39
samples
21
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Vanadium fumes71 over
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg16
  • Arsenic fumes8
  • Chromium, insoluble8
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), updated weekly.
When citations were contested
Contesting a citation before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is a lawful right. These figures state the public outcomes of that process, from MSHA's Contested Violations file.
41 citations taken to the federal commission · 5% of citations on record
  • Settled 33 · 80%
  • Stood as issued 8 · 20%
54%
S&S designation survived the contest
Counts a Significant & Substantial citation as surviving when a settlement or judge's decision kept the designation, or the contest was dismissed or defaulted so the citation stands as issued. Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.
of 26 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
54%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$48K proposed, $22K after decisions · industry: 39%
Source: MSHA Contested Violations file (public record), updated weekly. A dismissed or defaulted contest leaves the citation standing as issued; a vacated or withdrawn citation is removed from the violation record. Latest contest filed 2018-05-22. Vacated and withdrawn citations are removed from the file this view attributes through, so that outcome is slightly undercounted here.
Contested penalties
A reduction or dismissal at the Commission is a lawful outcome of contesting a proposed penalty. Figures are the proposed amount and the amount upheld in the docket's decision.
Largest penalties this operator contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
CENT 2012-491M Settlement Miller 2013 $13K → $6K
CENT20000155M Settlement Manning 2000 $7K → $500
CENT 2014-0404 Settlement Manning 2016 $5K → $4K
CENT 2007-274M Settlement Manning 2008 $5K → $400
CENT 2010-139M Settlement Lesnick 2011 $3K → $2K
CENT 2009-732M Withdrawal Lesnick 2010 $3K → $446
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2026
1
2025
2
2024
3
2023
6
2022
6
2021
1
2020
2
2019
7 (1f)
2018
5
2017
6
2016
9
2015
4
2014
10
2013
9
2012
8
2011
20
2010
24
2009
9
2008
33
2007
32
2006
16
2005
22
2004
11
2003
12
2002
21
2001
14
2000
10
1999
8
1998
15
1997
19
1996
7
1995
6
1994
4
1993
6
1992
4
1991
27
1990
19
1989
35
1988
52 (1f)
1987
14
1986
28
1985
35 (1f)
1984
33
1983
19

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

3 recorded
March 6, 2019 NM · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech Fatality · MACHINERY
Freeport-McMoRan Tyrone Inc · Struck by flying object

While preparing to perform side frame/track repairs on a 4100A shovel. When the relief valve was ejected from the jack. Employee was struck by a pressure relief valve in the lower left abdominal/waist area. The injury resulted in the death of the employee.

June 10, 1988 NM · Metal/Non-Metal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Freeport-McMoRan Tyrone Inc · Struck against a moving object

I NAME WAS RETURNING TO THE PIT FROM THE 419 WASTE DUMP WITH APPRO A 1/2 TO 2/3S LOAD OF MUCK IN THE BED OF HIS TRUCK. IT IS NOT KNOWN WHETHER HE KNEW THAT HE HAD A PARTIAL LOAD OR NOT. HE DRO I NAME WAS RETURNING TO THE PIT FROM THE 419 WASTE DUMP WITH APPROX. 1/2 TO 2/3S LOAD OF MUCK INDROVE DOWN THE 419 ROAD WHICH IS A DOWNGRADE WHEN HE REPORTED TO THE DISPATCH TOWER THAT HE HAD

November 25, 1985 NM · Metal/Non-Metal crane operator, mobile equipment operator (meo), dragline operator, dropball operator, rigger Fatality · FALLING/SLIDING/ROLLING MATERIALS
Freeport-McMoRan Tyrone Inc · Caught in, under or between collapsing material or buildings

MOVING DRISCO P3PE TO PLACE IT ON PIPE FUSING MACHINE.HE BENT OVER TO PUT CHOKER ON PIPE AND ANOTHER BUNDLE OF PIPE FELL ON HIM PINNING VICTIM BETWEEN PIPES AND BUNDLE.VICTIM WAS IN HOSPITAL F ROM DATE OF ACC3DENT UNTIL DATE OF DEATH 12-19-85 AND NEVER REGAINED CONCIOUSNESS.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Freeport-McMoRan Tyrone Inc stands on silica, penalties, and injury rate

MSHA's standard limits respirable silica to 50 micrograms per cubic metre, but MSHA publishes dust and quartz as separate files and never the silica figure itself. We derive it per sample, score it against the limit, and set the operator's injury rate against a benchmark built from the full MSHA operator record. With the 26-year penalty trail, contest posture, and fatality history. Delivered as a PDF with the underlying data as CSV.

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