Nevada Gold Mines LLCMining Incidents in 2020

During #1 Shaft Conveyance maintenance and repairs. There was an electrical failure on the 4701 hoist. The mine was evacuated and troubleshooting commenced. No injuries occurred.

Fall of ground occured in the left rib of the LC3890 intersection approximately 12 ft deep and 55 feet long

On 12-21-2020 at approximately 1:19pm the 5400 southwest upper highwall failed causing a slough of 10 benches and approximately 1.06 million tons. No injury or loss occurred during this incident.

Two business partner employees had completed drilling the CTR ramp and were prepping to grout. While shutting off air and water valves the employees noticed dust coming from the left rib of the drift and then heard popping noises. The individuals ran from the area. A layer of Shotcrete ground fell on to the bolter. No injuries were sustained.

While removing a 15ft section of old 6"" slick line in the Leeville #2 shaft, the pipe brackets below the 15ft section became loose and allowed the pipe to shift slightly from the shaft wall. The #2 shaft was shut down until the brackets and pipe could be secured back to the shaft wall

Maintenance repair in a tank (confined Space). Contractor was working from JLG/Manlift. Equipment malfunction. Equipment stuck in elevated position. At approximately 4:30 pm the employee was removed from tank via overhead opening. No injuries. Employee was task trained to operate equipment. Documentation of a pre-shift equipment inspection.

Blast induced damage crawled back approx. 5 rounds causing a break in the face approx. 20 to 25 feet high.

Multiple Geologic faults along the highwall contributed to a parallel joint orientation that dips steeply to the southwest. Bounding the instability to the north & south vertical faults. These faults acted as ""release"" planes that resulted in a toppling deformation mechanism and movement of the highwall within this narrow sector.

A ground fall occurred in the 4100 level above the 4100-4050 vent raise.

During the pm/inspection of the service hoist, a crack in the yoke for the service hoist brake system was found.

A blast hole had prematurely detonated in the WRX 4860 10R40 heading. No injuries occurred from this event.

At approximately 5:00 P.M. a power outage occurred at the mine. When this occurred eight (8) miners were being transported up the MaryAnne at the Meikle shaft. No injuries occurred from this event. Power was restored at 6:00 P.M. and miners safely exited from the cage onto the collar.

On April 24 a back shot was taken on 112 stope. Upon inspection it was noticed that the back had broken past the designed stope towards the access. SMD notified the Vista Underground engineering team. Chief Engineer Ben Gunn inspected the site and determined the rock had broken beyond primary ground support and MSHA was notified.

Chippy cage in TRJV 3rd shaft came out of guides. The cage & crosshead wrapped around #2 hoist rope. No visual rope damages awaiting NDT inspection of ropes. There was never loss of secondary egress. Gave courtesy notification to MSHA regional supervisor and to the State.

A fall of ground was identified in the 3595 level at the 1430 heading intersection. The fall of ground occurred at the end of the previous shift due to a blasted round in the level and the mine was cleared prior to the blast.

Two mechanics were setting sump pump. They thought it was on the grating, but when the come along was released, the pump twisted and caught ee's hand between the pump and grating guard. Transferred to SLC due to unavailability of orthopedist in Elko. Seen at ER, partial amputation of fingertip, ee released to light duty.

While offloading shotcrete, slipped on compacted snow causing hip injury

Pinched right index finger between cylinder yoke and eye of concrete chute.

Ee was at Vista Pit performing walk around on RTD021 after break. Ee was walking on back of counterweight while holding the handrail. The handrail broke loose from the mounting bracket and the ee fell about 5 feet to the ground, injuring right leg/hip, and low back. Fracture right hip.

Ee was chocking truck. Ee slipped on a rock and fell on right side. Seen at a hospital, diagnosed with a right hip fracture, and transferred by ambulance to a hospital in Reno for surgery. Lost time.

EE was unloading quick lime, when EE's hose blew EE attepmted to shut off the pup trailer. When EE ran through the lime it hit EE in the back, face, and eyes. EE was not wearing the proper PPE. EE also did not inspect the hose that was used (off EE's truck) properly prior to use.

Ee was working from a scissor deck. EE was performing some housekeeping, stepped back, and stepped on a piece of chain, causing EE to twist both knees and fall on the deck. Surgery required to repair the fracture to the tibial plateau. Ee underwent surgery on 9/4/20. Lost time.

Employee was loosening a bolt on the core drill when the bolt broke free employee lost balance and struck rib cage on the saddle bolt on the drill

Ee was walking back to nipper to grab some bolts when EE rolled EE's ankle and fell. EE was seen at the ER and diagnosed with a right distal fibula fracture. Referred to an orthopedist. Released with restrictions which site could not accommodate.

Injured Employee was making labels for Control Boxes, right next to water Discharge piping routed on the ground in a new construction area. Employee turned and took one step with left foot, right on top of the water lines. Employee's foot slipped causing injury to left ankle and Knee.

Ee was using a screwdriver to clear a blockage in a shotcrete accelerator hose. The blockage was scraped away, and backed up material sprayed the ee in the face. EE flushed eyes, EMTs flushed EE's eyes. EE sought treatment the following day and put off work due to corneal abrasion and med requirements.

Ee was changing drill steel; had drill steel bale in hand, turned, tripped, and fell against handrail of deck. Ee admitted to hospital with two fractured ribs and blood in chest. Put off work.

EE was changing out a cloth on the Cons 1 press, and they struggled getting the new cloth between two plates. EE bent down and got on knees to spread the plates apart. While spreading the plates, the EE felt back pop. EE was diagnosed with a lumbar strain and put off work.

An EE was loading brick from a pallet to a brick basket. Material was being transported by crane from one compartment of an autoclave to another compartment of the autoclave. Employees were notified of the overhead hazard & the EE moved to clear the area for the crane. As EE went to clear the area, EE's foot caught the edge of the basket which caused EE to trip & fall.

Ee was carrying trash in both hands, stopped to talk to a coworker, turned to resume walking, and tripped on a lifted piece of metal on the floor. Fell and landed on right side. Xrays to the upper arm and shoulder were negative and the ee was released to full duty. Follow-up resulted in the ee being put off work and on narcotic pain meds.

EE walked through an area of hot slurry. They hit a soft spot in the slurry and hot slurry went into their rubber boot, burning their foot. Diagnosed with 2nd degree burns to the foot. Put off work and attending daily therapy.

EE was repositioning a jack under a loader when they felt pain in right shoulder. EE reported that day and performed self-care. EE was seen at the clinic on 2/5, diagnosed with a sprain, and released to full duty. On follow-up, diagnosed with a tear in the shoulder. On 3/23/21 doctor determined tear related to the 12/25 incident. EE will require surgery.

Employee stepped up with the right leg to access a drill at the start of shift. The first step was about 20 inches from the floor. When the ee stepped up, they hyperextended right knee and had immediate pain. Seen at ER, released to light duty.

Ee was finishing EE's morning rounds and walked past a caustic pump. There was a hole in a discharge line, and the ee was sprayed in the face with caustic. EE's eyes were flushed on site, and then continued flushing at the ER. EE was diagnosed with an ocular burn and referred to an ophthalmologist. EE was seen by Dr. on 8/4 and put off work and on steroid and dilating eye drops.

EE was working on pipe racks which included reaching and twisting. After working on the pipe racks, EE climbed out of the pipe rack and felt pain in lower back. EE reported the injury on 8/3 and requested evaluation by the doctor. EE was seen in the clinic, diagnosed with a lumbar strain and released to modified duty which the site could accommodate.

Ee was climbing down a ladder, was on the 2nd or 3rd rung from the bottom, and EE's foot slipped. EE could not regain control, and EE fell, landing on the left wrist. Transferred to SLC for surgical repair of left wrist.

Ee turned right leg to go down a ladder and felt pain in knee. EE was seen at the clinic, diagnosed with a sprain and possible patella dislocation, and released to modified duty which the site could accommodate.

After dumping haul truck, ee was watching the bed lower while slowly moving forward. EE hit a bump in the road, and the truck bed seated at the same time, jostling EE in the cab. Diagnosed with spasm and whiplash in the neck and released to modified duty.

While lifting a monorail beam from forks of a forklift, the beam slipped and pinned the employee's left hand between the beam and the apron feeder of the forklift.

Ee was stepping onto a high step, foot caught, ee fell forward onto concrete slab. Injured right arm. Notified of need for surgery related to fall on July 9, resulting in this report. Ee will be scheduled for surgery.

Ee was dismounting haul truck. Ee's glove slipped off the handrail of the ladder and ee struck left wrist on the top of the ladder. Seen at the ER, diagnosed with a fracture to the left distal radius, referred to an orthopedist, and released to restricted duty.

Employee was walking out of a muck bay and stepped over a small dirt berm left by a road grader onto the main haul road. When the employee stepped over the berm, EE turned to the left and sprained EE's left knee. Further medical evaluation is scheduled to diagnose full impact to the knee.

Ee was stepping off pit bus to go to the piece of equipment to start work. EE slipped on ice/mud, twisted ankle and fell, landing on foot. Seen at Golden Health and referred to orthopedic surgeon in Reno.

Employee was manually operating overhead door when manual hand crank struck employee on the arm causing a fractured radial & thumb.

EE was changing filters on a dozer. EE set the trans housing in a bucket to drain and the housing slipped. EE twisted and reached to the side to catch the bucket and when they stood up, they felt pain in lower back. EE sought treatment on 1/5/21 and was released with restrictions.

Ee was doing a pre-op inspection and slipped on the ice, falling and hitting head. Ee was seen at the ER, released to full duty, but on follow-up was given a neck brace and released to work with restrictions the site could accommodate.

Ee was struck on the knee by a metal hoist pen. EE was seen at Golden Health on 12/14, diagnosed with a strain and told to follow up on 12/17 prior to EE's next scheduled shift. On follow-up EE was released to restricted duty until 12/25, and then released to full duty.

EE was unplugging autoclave with bolts to puncture sandbags and scale. The bolts lodged inside the drain. EE tried to thread another bolt on to push through the scale when two bolts that were lodged in the drain broke free. Bolts weighing approximately 8 pounds came down, striking the EE's left thumb against the concrete. Diagnosed with fracure, released to light duty.

EE strained shoulder while tightening 3"" plumbing on a cyclone with a 36"" pipe wrench.

Ee cleaning knelson bowl. Ee used left arm to turn the bowl and felt pain in left shoulder. Diagnosed with shoulder strain, released with restrictions. Ee had submitted resignation effective 8/25/2020 prior to the injury date. Last day of work 8/24/2020.

The EE was helping at the table to trip out drill pipe. The EE grabbed the wrench at the table and the driller moved the hydraulic cylinder pinching the finger between the table bushing and the wrench handle.

Ee was working underground in the bolter bay doing regular duties. Following EE's shift, EE noticed EE's hands had what appeared to be burns on them. EE was seen at the ER and diagnosed with contact dermatitis from chemicals.

EE was opening window of loader and caught right pinky finger in the latch. Seen at ER, diagnosed with fracture to tip of finger and fingernail avulsion. Sutures required. EE released to modified duty.

Employee was troubleshooting the AC circuit on a 1600 LHD and had removed the cooling fan from the condenser. While testing, the fan started and moved striking the employee on the the thumb causing a cut and a fracture of the bone.

Ee was being loaded by shovel. The first bucket lifted the bed and when it came down the ee was jostled in the cab. EE was seen at the ER and reported a shoulder injury and back injury. Diagnosed with shoulder and back strain and released to modified duty.

Ee and bolter operator were performing alignment repairs to the bolt carousel of BLT-314 bolter. The ee's left hand was on a bolt in the carousel when the bolt clamps closed, pinching left thumb between the bolt clamp and bolt. Seen at ER, directed to ER in SLC for possible surgery. No surgery required, thumb stitched and splinted and ee released to light duty.

Ee stepped out of service truck, missed the last step, fell and rolled ankle. Ee was seen at the ER and diagnosed with a sprain. Ee was released to restricted duty which the site accommodated.

Ee turned around, struck knee on trailer hitch, and fell to ground, landing on both knees. Seen at ER, knee was aspirated. Ee seen on follow-up and MRI ordered due to swelling and displacement of kneecap on xray. Ee released to modified duty.

Ee was driving loaded truck up ramp and it started to ""jump"" abruptly. Ee stopped truck, it rocked back, reared up, and dropped down hard, jostling Ee in the cab. Seen at ER, diagnosed with cervical, thoracic, lumbar strain and closed head injury. Released to modified duty.

Ee was assisting with looping shovel cable, the cable was pulled and caught the ee's ankle, causing ee to fall. Diagnosed with fractured ankle, released to restricted duty.

Hydraulic line on haul truck broke while ee dumping load. The loaded bed fell quickly, jostling the ee in the cab of the haul truck. EE had immediate pain in the neck and back. Seen at Golden Valley and diagnosed with neck muscle and lumbar strain. Released to restricted duty.

Ee was cutting and loading a truck when a bolt came off the apron and struck ee on the forehead. Ee was seen at a hospital, diagnosed with a laceration to the forehead. Ee received stitches and was put on modified duty for one day, unable to go underground.

Employee was loading a pressure valve from ground level into an equipment basket. The valve rotated as it was being lifted over the compartment dividers. As it rotated and slipped, it pinched employee's left index finger between the valve and basket frame causing a small laceration and fracture to the tip of the finger.

EE was placing a cab hook, cable jerked the cab hook and stuck EE's right hand ripping EE's glove and stabbed EE in the webbing of EE's hand between EE's thumb and index finger.

The helper was lowering the jackleg onto the deck floor. As EE was lowering the jackleg, the jackleg was heavier than expected therefore the helper readjusted EE's hand placement putting EE's right index finger in the pinch point.

Ee was removing lunch bag from the haul truck, and ee's right hand was closed in the door. The pinky finger tip was pinched and cut. Seen at a medical center, stitches were required, and the ee was released to full duty.

Ee was going down stairs to office, Ee's mask slipped, and Ee missed a step prior to the landing. Ee had immediate pain and was seen at ER. Xrays negative for fracture. Referred to orthopedist for consultation. Released to return to work 09/17 and able to work full duty.

Ee stepped out of the cab of EE's truck and the metal filter door cut EE's right knee. EE was seen at the ER and staples were required to close the laceration. EE was released to full duty.

Ee was removing bolts with impact and felt something go into right eye. Ee was wearing safety glasses. An EMT flushed ee's eye and the ee returned to work. Ee requested to be seen by eye doctor due to ongoing irritation. Seen on 10/12, a rust ring was cleaned from the eye and ee was prescribed antibiotics. Ee is released to full duty.

Ee was cleaning windows on the shovel. EE caught foot on the catwalk and tripped, catching self with EE's hand on the ROPS. EE jammed the hand. EE was seen at the clinic on 9/3/20 and small fracture was identified on the left pinky finger. Ee released to full duty.

At approximately 4:00 AM employee was looking up during drilling cycle in the shaft spotting for the driller while the driller was moving the boom. Small pieces of rock came down as the employee was looking up and got into EE's right eye. The small piece of rock went over the top frame of the safety glasses.

EE was unrolling hoses. When EE pivoted to continue, EE's boot was caught in the grating, and EE's knee was strained. Seen at the clinic and was given two steroid shots and oral antibiotics, and released to full duty.

Driller and helper removed rotation guard to straighten it. While removing it the top half of the guard folded down and pinched Driller's right thumb. Driller had cut-5 gloves on. X-Rays showed no damage to right thumb. The doctor cleaned and wrapped the wound and prescribed an antibiotic. Employee returned to work with no restrictions.

Ee was lowering a pump into place. Ee's finger was caught in a pinch point causing a laceration. Ee was seen at the clinic where stitches were required to close the laceration. Ee was released to full duty on next scheduled shift.

Employee was removing a differential and mounting a grease line. The line came off of the mount and fell on the employee's finger.

Ee was pushing down the dig face on the 5380. The dozer hit a rock in the face, causing it to stop abruptly, and the ee's teeth to bite down/clash together, fracturing a molar on the lower left side. Seen at the dentist who confirmed no unusual decay causing fracture, determined work related.

Ee was helping a mechanic with a bed pin on a haul truck. EE was pushing the pin in, and it gave way, causing EE's finger to slip between the bed pin and the bed of the truck. Seen at ER, x-rays negative for fracture, and stitches required to close the cut on the finger. Released to full duty.

Ee was jump starting a bolter. Ee connected the jump pack to the terminals, and when the bolter started, ee started to smell acid and the jump pack exploded and struck ee's hand. Seen at clinic, diagnosed with small fracture to tip of the rt middle finger. Released to full duty on next scheduled shift.

Employee was driving down the decline. The employee passed another operator and applied the engine break through the turn and the front left bed corner struck the pillar rib of the muckbay causing the employees face to make contact with the truck radio resulting in a laceration on right cheek and nostril.

EE was trying to close a hose clamp with a wrench, the wrench slipped, striking EE in the mouth. Seen at ER, diagnosed with a laceration to the mouth that required sutures, released to full duty.

Walking by bay 1 while someone was hammering on a bucket. Something flew off and hit employee in the face. Thought it had hit a tooth, then noticed the bleeding. After EMT cleaned up, noticed it was through and through. Sent into town for X-rays. X-rays showed metal still in lip it was removed.

Employee dropped a battery on the left foot while unloading material from a pickup truck. The incident was originally a first aid, but on 5/26/20, it was diagnosed as a fracture.

Ee was operating a jackleg bolter. The bolter lost air pressure and lost contact with the bolt. The bolt fell out of the drilled hole and struck the ee's left pinky finger. Diagnosed with a tuft fracture and the laceration required stitches. Released to full duty.

Ee was going out door to retrieve tool, and forcefully put arm through the plexiglass window. Ee states had ""attitude"" and ""was on a mission"". Seen at clinic where stitches were required to close the cut on EE's right elbow. Released to restrictions, but ee termed for cause effective 05/11/20 so no shifts worked following incident.

Employee was changing the grinding wheel on a grinder and when they applied pressure to turn the disk, the grinder turned on and cut the small, right finger.

Ee was cleaning material from a chute and a rock rolled, down, struck EE in the upper left front tooth, and scraped EE's lower lip. EE reported the incident and is scheduling an appointment with the dentist.

Employee was removing a steel flexible guzzler hose from a scaffold. When they pulled on the hose it came apart exposing sharp edges that cut through the leather glove lacerating a finger. The employee returned to work under modified duty, but then quit and went back home to California afterwards.

Employee was positioning a beam when the left small finger got caught between the beam and a column.

Haul Truck Operator struck wall, contact left hand on rib, laceration, bump to right side of head.

EE was entering truck, leaned right elbow on the console to help slide into truck. Felt pain from the elbow that traveled to right pinky, and they noticed a wire under the elbow. EE sought treatment and filed a claim on 2/11/20, when they were diagnosed with an infection and fluid was drained from the elbow. EE released to full duty.

Contractor Employee placed hand under a chip screen that was being lowered onto the frame. The result was that the tips of the fingers got caught in a pinch point between the screen and the frame. The result was pinch injury to the ends of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th digits.

Ee reported wrist pain from repetitive motion. Diagnosed with DeQuervain's tenosynovitis. Accepted as an occupational cumulative trauma on 2/1/21. Ee released to restricted duty.

Ee uses right hand to push/pull on levers. Ee reported feeling a popping sensation and pain in the right wrist. Seen at the ER, diagnosed with tenosynovitis, and put off work for one day, then released to restricted duty the site could accommodate.

Ee driving hot change bus to equipment experienced a non-occupational medical event and subsequently died.