Black Butte Coal CompanyMining Incidents in 2005

Employee bent down to pick up a bucket weighing approximately 10 pounds and felt a pop and experienced pain in his right groin area. Medical examination revealed a small hernia.

Employee lost his balance on uneven ground, when he caught himself he felt a pull in his back.

Employee was helping to change hoist ropes on a dragline. A 1/2"" cable was attached to the damaged hoist rope. A loop had been tied in the cable to secure it to a dozer to pull the hoist rope. The 1/2"" cable failed at the tied in loop. The rope was pulled down the dragline boom, striking the employee on his right arm, knocking him onto the boom walkway.

The injury occurred as employee was doing repairs on the bed of a CAT 777 truck. To access the area of the bed needing repairs he was required to use a manlift. Exiting the lift required him to step down about 2 feet. After exiting the lift the first few times he began experiencing a sharp pain in his lower back.The pain worsened over the three days it took to do the job.

Driver of haul truck failed to maintain control of unit on freshly watered haulroad and tipped the truck onto its side.

Employee tapped the end of a loader bucket pin with a pin hammer. He felt an object strike his finger. When he removed his gloves he saw a small cut. He treated the cut with a band-aid. A month later the wound wasn't healing properly, and An X-ray by the company physician revealed a small metal object embedded in his finger. Surgery on 05/20/05 removed a small metal object.