Freeport-McMoRan Morenci Inc.Mining Incidents in 2021

The wiggins fueling valve on the south side pad of the 5280 Lube dock was not maintained in a safe manner. It didn't shut or close causing the #666 to catch fire.

Employee was stepping over conduit and tripped, in falling they hyperextended their elbow.

Haul truck operator was improperly loaded causing issue with dumping of material. When material was finally dumped, it caused the cab to jostle.

EE was using metal brake to bend a piece of metal in the Morenci fabrication shop. Job was complete and raised the guard to remove material, the guard bled down and pinched EE's hand, EE then panicked and reached over to hit the up button and instead hit the down button causing crushing of fingers.

Employee was rough loaded while in operation of haul truck, was given restrictions at a medical follow up on 9-29-2021

Operator of 624HT began to slow, turned on their flashers, and then they were struck from behind by 515 HT.

Employee completed a repair on the boarding ladder latch and stepped off into a ditch causing them to fall and injure their left ankle.

The skid, where driver was to unload, was full of standing/green water due to rain. Driver reported standing water to safety pro and the site safety team. EE was told to go ahead and unload. EE received an acid burn on their foot due to the water seeping through a hole in EE's acid boot.

During demolition, an employee knocked down an upright support causing the kicker support to strike them on top of the right boot. The kicker had nails in it that punctured through the boot, sock, and top of the foot.

Employee states that on 06/16 or 06/17 they hit a pothole. The employee experienced lower back pain on 06/18 and reported injury on 06/19.

Operator of the 502HT backed up under the 40 shovel dipper. The dipper of the shovel made contact with the bed of the HT causing the employee to have shoulder pain.

A mill employee was taking samples for solids. The flow pulled the cutter employee was holding downwards in a twisting motion towards a handrail. The sudden movement sprained employee's right hand to where they could not clench fist. Employee also felt discomfort in right knee and ankle from the event.

EE had complained of soreness in lower back after installing a handrail update on a haul truck. Supervisor was notified and asked if EE was okay, EE stated was just soreness and would be okay. EE came at work next day feeling more pain, took EE to clinic.

Employee had finished cleaning the discharge chute on the final conveyor and headed down the stairs. Due to poor lighting employee missed the first stair causing EE to fall. Employee then tried to catch themselves and slid on their bottom roughly 3-4 stairs until coming to a stop.

A mechanical apprentice was cutting concave liners within crusher 3. The employee began feeling burning on their legs and climbed out of the pocket. Employee was evaluated at GHR for burns to both legs and left foot. Employee was transported to Burn/Trauma Care Center for further evaluation.

Employee had stepped up onto the ledge surrounding the B7 head chute to perform visual checks. When they stepped down they lost footing and fell onto a level sensor cover near the chute base. When the employee tried to stand they experienced pain and bleeding from pelvic trauma.

An operator was getting into the back seat of pick-up truck at start of shift. As they stepped onto the running board and turned toward the front of the truck to sit down they felt a pop and intense pain in their right knee.

On 2.7.22, a Concentrator employee stated that they injured their back on 12.27.21 while cleaning material with a hand tool at the conveyor incline. The employee was taken to the clinic for a follow-up on 2.8.2022 and given restrictions.

Diagnostic mechanic was checking engine leaks when became pinned between front right tire and engine block.

Employee was moving ATV and drip reel machine, had co-worker spotting them around the terrain and obstacles. The spotter guiding ATV rider, rider hit a rut and the ATV tilted causing rider to lose balance. Their left foot slipped off the foot peg causing left leg to swing out. Their left foot made contact with the left rear tire and pulled the rider off the ATV.

Employee was assisting a co-worker in the replacement of a Victaulic gasket on 10""X6"" bell reducer when an upper Victaulic coupling came loose allowing the pipe to hit the hard hat of the employee. Employee suffered a laceration requiring sutures.

A haul truck operator twisted knee while stepping off van at 43 tie down at start of shift. The event was reported to HS3 and operator stated they did not need further evaluation. The employee states they began to feel increasing discomfort on the knee and reported to a clinic in San Carlos.

Employee tripped over a hose and fell into a sitting position.

A mill operator trainee was walking on grating and tripped while maneuvering around a pillar. Their foot caught the pillar and the employee fell to foot level catching themselves with their hands. The employee then began to feel pain in their thumb and wrists and numbness in their fingers.

Employee was rigging down and lifted a heavy vacuum truck fitting that caused a neck/shoulder strain. After further assessment after initial treatment there was damage that required surgery.

Operator of 624H began to slow and reached to turn their flashers on to indicate the hazard in the road, while they were reaching up to switch on their lights, they were struck from behind by the 515 HT.

Driver approached a T-Intersection which was rutted from the rain. When driver made a left turn, truck caught one of the ruts and bounced hard. The driver was bounced to the right in the seat. As the day progressed, the drivers back became stiff and had sore ribs.

A haul truck operator went down an emergency ladder and misjudged the distance from the ground causing EE to break their foot when they came to the ground.

Contract employee was helping with installing a new chain link fence. EE was lifting and moving the ladder to each of the poles to attach the fence to the poles. As EE was climbing up and down, EE felt a slight burning and pinching pain on the right shoulder. The pain went away. Did not have pain until the next morning. Reported to supervisor at the start of EE's next shift.

At approx. 1014, a crane operator was assisting with work at B-Hill. The operator was utilizing a pry bar and their hands slipped from the bar, causing them to fall (same level) to the ground.

At approx. 1428, a tire repair employee was working on the #1 tire of the 552HT. As the employee was coming down the 4ft stairs, they felt their ankle roll on the 2nd to last step. The employee grabbed the handrail with their left hand but still impacted the ground on their right shoulder. Employee felt discomfort in the shoulder area and reported incident to area supervisor.

Operator of HT549 made contact with HT646 causing left shoulder pain.

Employee was pulling out of the parking lot and laid their motorcycle down in order to miss an oncoming vehicle. The employee fractured their right ankle.

While working on the 5th floor of Metcalf mill, employee dropped their radio on the grating/balcony. Employee went to pick it up and felt pain in their knee.

A haul truck operator parked at the dispatch que point and went to use the restroom. When mounting the truck, the employee said they twisted and felt a twinge. The operator continued to work taking a load from the 50 shovel to Lonestar dump and felt the pain worsening. The employee stated that they swung around the stairs using the handrail.

SX Employee was working on organic recovery cleaning up the area. The employee slipped on a wet surface placing their left arm out to prevent the fall causing a fracture.

An employee was dumping press at MODOC SX plant. When the employee went to move a plate of unwanted material, they felt and heard a pop in their right shoulder.

Employee was tying slope drip to 4"" HDPE headers on 03/23/2021. On 04/12/2021 employee stated that their shoulder was hurting and wanted to go to the clinic.

A haul truck driver was performing a pre-shift inspection on HT 596 when they tripped over a rock. This resulted in the employee falling and breaking their ankle.

Stepped funny on left foot while getting out of truck. Felt a hot pain in back and was unable to stand up straight. EE's back had been hurting a bit for a few weeks prior to the accident.

Operator of rubber tire dozer 39 hit a large bump causing them to jam their wrists against the joysticks.

A mechanic was getting into the man van and felt a pop in their knee.

The employee was inside the #1 ball mill applying norbak to the walls. Employee was descending down the ladder, when it shifted causing the employee to fall. In the process of falling their right leg became entangled in the lower ladder rung, and the right side of the body contacted the wall.

Upon completion of the D11 pre shift inspection, the operator climbed up to the cab to place their lunch bag inside the cab when they felt an impact on their left calf. Employee completed 3 shifts before reported to clinic on 02/26/2021.

An SXEW Operations Employee began to feel discomfort in their right shoulder that started on 02/15, and within two shifts of pre-stripping and repetitive use, the right shoulder discomfort worsened.

Employee was changing a bit in the stabilizer on the 14R Drill and putting the old stabilizer into the skid launcher. Instead of pushing the down button on the remote for the stabilizer the employee hit the up button and it jerked up and swung over pinching the right hand between the stabilizer and breakout wrench.

Employee was disembarking their haul truck. As they stepped off the ladder, the employee felt their left ankle pop in the loose dirt.

After loading, EE stepped off the ladder wrong and felt a sharp pain in knee. EE did not immediately seek medical attention. The same thing did happen at a different mine on 1/25/2021. EE did seek medical attention on that day.

A mechanic was working on a truck at the 5100 field workshop and found the shifter knob had been taped with a significant amount of duct tape. The mechanic had to use a razor knife to cut the tape off and accidentally cut their left palm requiring stitches. The mechanic was wearing gloves with a low level of cut protection.

An employee was shoveling material around the area when they felt a sharp pain in left shoulder.

Employee had dropped about 20 Cathodes causing them to fall off the stacking table and wedging between guarding and stack table. While removing the cathode sheets they felt a slight pain in their lower back. Employee continue to work. The next shift employee reported to their supervisor the pain was significantly worse.

Employee was turning on a 2 inch water hose to start washing off the cathodes and anodes, when EE turned on the water hose, it was more pressure than EE expected. It sprayed into the tank of electrolyte and caused a splash back on to EE's face with a small amount of water to EE's forehead. The mixture of electrolyte, sweat and water got into EE's eyes. EE was wearing PPE.

Metal portion of tie down strap made contact with finger causing fracture.

On 11-14-2021, the operator of HT500 was walking down the stairs out of the cab when they stepped hard on their right foot. This resulted in the operator experiencing pain in their right ankle.

Employee was descending stairs when they missed the bottom stair causing them to land hard on the ground.

Employee climbing ladder into vehicle when they missed the hand hold and fell to the ground.

Haul Truck driver hit a rough part in the road.

Employee struggled to lift the level to dump, after it raised a few inches they felt the bed drop.

A haul truck driver had just finished dumping out and left the dump. While traveling on the straight haul road off the dump they hit a pothole causing pain to the lower back

While walking to their vehicle the employee rolled their ankle.

Employee was shoveling rock on 10/20, while shoveling employee felt a small pop on their wrist. Employee did not think much due to regularly popping joints. The morning after employee felt discomfort on their arm. While conducting similar work today, employee experienced pain when working. Employee then reported it to their supervisor, and was evaluated.

Haul truck operator backed into shovel dipper at 0.5mph

Offloading at 4500, the hose was leaking so EE lifted the hose to adjust a jack stand and pulled a muscle in EE's forearm.

An SX Employee was re-routing the flow to the holding tank on the G-train for skimming organic. The employee explained that while walking on top of a 10-12"" stainless pipe to cross to another pipe their right foot slipped causing them to straddle pipe and injure lower back. Incident was upgraded to a Restricted Duty on 10/07/2021

Employee was descending a stairway when their boot heel caught edge of the stair causing EE to stumble, which resulted in soreness in their hip. Employee was given work restrictions on 10/04/2021 from medical provider.

Employee was in process of opening up the covers on the conveyor that are used to inspect problems with belt and see if we needed to repair or replace it. It was during this that EE was leaning over one of the hatches and inspecting belt when EE's foot slipped (wet conditions) and EE fell into the metal latch that holds the cover in place impacted side in rib area.

Employee had finished shoveling material from the #4 Ball Mill spillage, went to take a break, and began to feel discomfort in their back.

Injury was reported on 9/16/2021, employee was spraying spillage from the floor when they turned and their boot caught the grating causing their knee to pop.

Operator was assigned to clean in the Metcalf fine crushing plant. They were pulling material from under the belt line, when the employee stepped on a small rock and felt their knee pop.

Employee climbing stairs felt their knee pop

A haul truck operator was driving down the Garfield slip, when they hit a large pothole causing lower back pain.

An employee was descending the conference room stairs at the Morenci mill. They had their computer in one hand and holding the railing with the other. They lost footing and fell down a few steps resulting in a lower leg fracture.

A leach operator trainee operating an ATV made contact with a berm.

A HT trainee got bounced around while riding in the buddy seat causing pain in their back. Employee was injured on 08/09/2021 but didn't report the incident until 08/11/2021.

Leaching employee was pulling drip line when they felt a sharp pain on the left side of their neck.

Haul truck slid into another haul truck due to weather conditions on roadway causing employee to strain back.

Haul Truck was parked at a shovel pit, another haul truck traveling to the shovel became stuck in mud causing them to navigate close to the parked haul truck and the bat wings came into contact.

An employee was climbing up on top of a prill truck, when the hydraulic handrail system failed pinching the employee's right hand.

Haul truck driver was fueling at the SLV fuel dock. When they went to disconnect, they heard a hissing sound and fuel was spraying out of the top of the fuel tank. Driver was covered in fuel and began to get a headache.

On 7/16/2021 mechanic was swinging a dead blow 16lb hammer to remove the tension on the ball stud on a haul truck. On mechanics next shift, they had lower back pain.

Man van was traveling to the 16 shovel when it hit a mudhole causing the employee to experience neck, back, and shoulder pain.

Employee was trying to untangle dripline from the reel machine, when the end of the dripline came loose and struck the employee in the groin.

Operator of HT630 went to re-spot when the dipper of the 41 shovel opened and material landed on the bed.

Employee was helping guide a forklift, when they were pinned between a haul truck tire and the working platform of the forklift.

EE had hooked EE's hoses up to unload. EE went to wash EE's boots, turned to check EE's load, caught EE's right foot on EE's wheel chock and lost EE's balance. EE fell on the concrete, landing with all EE's weight on EE's right knee. EE couldn't walk on it.

Used a hammer to strike a long handled punch, to drive a rusted bolts out of a rail joint. Hammer struck punch, punch bounced back and hit EE's leg, through the chaps, leaving a bruise.

A haul truck operator hit a rough spot at the American Mountain pit intersection, and the truck rocked causing back and shoulder pain.

A drill mechanic was boarding the 10R drill via the boarding ladder when the mechanic's glove slipped off the ladder handrail. Mechanic fell from a height of 3 feet, landing on back, jarring neck and back.

A shovel operator was operating in an area with hard ground and large boulders and experienced shoulder pain.

While descending the stairs at the SW 28/29 transfer tower, employee slipped and stumbled down the stairs injuring their left elbow.

Employee was performing cell maintenance when, while lifting a section of copper pre-strip, the pre-strip slipped causing a laceration to left hand. The laceration required sutures.

2 employees where moving a sulphur tray from under a rail car. EE1 was pulling by holding onto the tray. EE2 was squatting pulling by a rope handle. They said the rope handle broke, and EE2 fell backward on rear then back. EE2 called supervisor to explain what happened, and that lower back hurt. At the clinic they said elbow hurt also, and they found a hairline fracture.

Employee was doing a pre-shift inspection and rolled their left ankle on a rock.

A mechanic had their left hand pinched between the hammer and loader bucket.

A leaching employee was holding the drip line to keep it from getting tangled while an ATV was pulling the line. When the ATV passed the employee, a splicer in the line caught the employee's tool pouch and caused the employee to fall forward. The splicer also caused a small cut on the employee's finger and a bruise to the leg.

Employee's were placing spile bars against the wall for the mechanics to slide them into the chute. An employee was handling a bar to place against the wall. Another bar that was already against the wall slid off and bounced off a stack of liners landing on the employee's right foot.

A mechanic was changing out bang-board liners on RP#6 conveyor on 04/22/2021 when they felt discomfort in their lower back. Employee didn't seek medical treatment for back pain until 04/25/2021.

Miner sprains knee while removing drill steel from rod truck when the rod lifting device slips from the rod causing the miner to twist awkwardly.

Employee was a passenger in LV030B that went up on a berm. Employee stated they had back and neck pain.

Mentor and trainee were in HT587 traveling downhill empty, in 5th gear, when they hit a rut causing the windshield to shatter. Trainee stated they were not injured until next shift when they had back and neck pain.

Employee was performing a bit change when they stepped back and tripped over a gap and fell onto a break out wrench.

First submitted this on 3/18/21. Crossing gantry from the truck to transload platform, caught edge of second step with boot toe, resulting in falling forward. Tried to catch Themselves with right hand on safety rail, but hand missed, slipping off the rail and hitting shoulder on the rail. Diagnosed with hairline fracture to humerus bone near the ball.

Employee was cleaning out the R10/R3 chute from the third level in preparation for planned maintenance work when they slipped and fell. During the fall, their leg hit the side of the chute causing pain in the knee and upper leg. They were able to climb out of the chute through the door on the next level down.

Employee was carrying a compressor filter when they tripped causing them to fall and cut their hand through their glove on the metal casing of the filter. Employee was taken to the clinic and received 5 stitches.

A mechanic was working in bay 17 of the heavy duty truck shop. The mechanic was pulling a drain cart and rolled their ankle on either rocks/dirt that came off the truck or a drain hose. The employee felt a strain in the bottom of their foot.

Employee was operating a rubber tire dozer in the pit when they hit a bump causing them to have pain in their shoulder and neck.

A FMI truck was traveling south and stopped at the RW change room crosswalk stop sign. An employee began to cross at the crosswalk, the operator of the truck did not see the employee and began to move forward making contact with the individual.

Employee was riding an ATV pulling dripline, when they hit a rut in the stockpile causing neck and back pain.

Maintenance employees were tasked with changing idlers on the B2. The idlers were removed from the frame and the frame was pulled to the edge. When one employee moved the frame, it slipped off the edge and fell striking the other employee on top of their left foot.

EE put on respirator. As air was released a small piece of dirt blew around the inside of mask into EE eye. EE flushed eye and thought it was ok, but it kept irritating, so went to the clinic to double check. Clinic found only light scratch causing irritation. EE released back to full duty. Doctor put gentamicin eye drops in the eye instead of just flushing it, making it a medical

Improper use of a tool. Cut to the left wrist.

Maintenance employee finger was caught between spreader bar used for return idler installation

Employee was welding for six hours and experienced eye irritation.

A tank house operator was harvesting copper on the C cell line. While making a pull, the employee noticed a cathode/blank had become dislodged from the strongback. The operator placed the strongback at chest level to make adjustments. The last cathode/blank slipped off of the strongback and the hanger bar made contact with the operator on the right hip.

Hydromet Trainee was in the process of cutting copper samples with the bandsaw in the blank shop when they felt something in their right eye. Employee states they were wearing all the proper PPE safety glasses and face shield.

Debris fell off face shield causing eye irritation.

Employee was chipping concrete from piping when a piece of material entered their eye.

Employee was lifting piping when they felt pain in sternal region.

Employee states they were operating haul truck when their eye began to tear up. Employee folded a paper towel and touched it to their eyelid and saw a small bug on paper towel after patting the eye. The eyelid began to swell and they went to the clinic (10-25-21). Employee reported this to the supervisor today and asked to be seen at clinic. Employee felt it was work related.

Employee was cleaning the windows on the outside of the cab. As they were closing the passenger door their right index and middle finger was caught between the door and the door jamb of the Haul Truck.

Contract EE was assigned to do fire watch for a hot work job. During the part of the morning, the contract EE had watched the welder welding and had looked at the arc flash off and on approx. 15 min before another employee told EE not to look directly into the flash. EE was fine when EE left work and EE's eyes were irritated in the morning when EE woke up.

Operator was adjusting Haul Truck 644 seat when they scratched their right ring finger. They noticed it started to swell throughout the day and changed color.

EE was removing a filter under a backhoe while performing a PM on the RW side. When EE was maneuvering EE's body some dirt fell off of EE's coveralls and on EE's face. Some of this dirt went under EE's safety glasses and into EE's eye.

The 520 HT was getting loaded on the left side of the 16 Shovel when the first dipper tripped without trip command. The bed of the 520 raised up in the air and came back down causing the operator to experience neck pain.

Employee felt discomfort in their left eye after line-up.

At approx. 1530, a repairman was cutting sheet metal & channel iron at the #3 head tank. After making a cut, the employee lifted their face shield to ensure the last cut went through. After doing so, the employee noted irritation and possible small debris in both eyes. The repairman grabbed a bottle of water and began flushing their eyes.

A piece of metal flew from rollers and went through EE's coveralls and embedded itself in EE's leg.

Contractor helped remove used wall liners on crusher 3 apron feeder. Using impact wrench to pull nuts off liners from outside of feeder. Liner came lose, went to push in stud so liner would fall down inside chute. As liner fell, worker's hand got pinched between bolt and outside of chute right above hole. Pinched right middle finger, pulled off fingernail and leather glove.

Employee placed left hand on a backing ring that had a bolt bound up in it. When employee placed hand upon the backing ring the bolt released causing it to pinch employee's thumb between the bolt and the backing ring. The employee received a fracture to the thumb and a laceration taking 7 sutures.

An apprentice was tasked to remove a center ripper tooth by the journeyman on the 91. While hammering the pin from the ripper shank tooth, a half inch shard of metal flew off and struck the apprentice in the right thigh.

Employee was hanging cable bridges at the 41 shovel when the rope broke, striking the employee on the right side of the face.

Employee was cutting material when the knife slipped through the material making contact with left knee.

An employee picked a hole cover to move it and fell into the hole. As EE fell EE caught self on the hole edge which stopped EE's fall. EE held onto the edge for a few moments and then fell 5 feet to the bottom of the hole.

Haul truck made contact with the back of another haul truck.

Employee was attaching a D-ring over the crane hook which had a tight safety latch. The D-ring crested the tip of the hook and slid down to the belly of the hook. The employee had their right index and middle fingers pinched between the D-ring and the hook. Employee received 10 sutures.

The crew member at the top removed one of the hand rails by letting it swing down approximately 10 Ft. and struck the crew member on the bottom in the head (eyebrow right side) with the handrail while dismantling a scaffold.

Employee was working on operating the crane, when employee's coworkers were having issues setting the vetrola clamp. Employee went to assist with lifting of the clamp/pump. Employee used shoulder and back to hold it in place. The following day the employee felt pain in left leg which progressed to both legs over the weekend. The incident wasn't reported until 01/21/2021

Employee was breaking up dried chemical material and experienced a reaction to dust exposure.

Around 10:15 AM employee was feeling light headed and nauseous while working with the blasting crew at the prill tanks.

Employee was performing cell maintenance and noticed itching and irritation on their neck and eyes.

Employee noticed rash during their rotation on 06/25/2021, but they didn't seek medical attention until 07/11/2021.

While traveling to leaching trailers from the lower rockhouse stockpile, employee began feeling nauseous and overheated.

A Mine Maintenance Employee was working on the cab electrical of the 642 haul truck, while laying on the deck/bed stop the employee began to experience numbness on their right arm. Employee thought that the numbness was only temporary but it continued to the next day.

While the employee was working in the Central tank house on the cell line for more than an hour, the employee felt their skin getting irritated, body itching, and face burning.

Employee was walking around truck for inspection when they were overcome with a personal medical issue.

Employee was walking down the stairs when they mis stepped and rolled their ankle.

A lineman was breaking 2 strand cable while slack was still being payed out, and the slack caught in the reel and began to pull wire back causing the strands to tighten on their hand causing minor pain and swelling.

A haul truck operator was boarding the 806HT when they felt discomfort in their left ankle.

While trying to get hung up product out of a overhead silo, operator was swinging a double jack. Double jack bounced off of the silo striking operator in the right shoulder.

Operator was bolting up a new cyclone on the 205, when their hand slipped off the cyclone causing the left elbow to strike a nearby handrail.