An employee operating a Caterpillar 770 haul truck hauling material to repair the road to the stripping area. As the employee dumped the load the bed contacted overhead powerlines. The employee exited the truck to extinguish a fire. Upon returning to the truck EE reached for the handrail. When EE touched the truck, EE was electrocuted.
Mining Incidents in Arkansas
Arkansas has 26 recorded mining fatalities on file with MSHA, across 6,362 reportable incidents (1984–2023).
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- Fatalities recorded
- 26
- Total incidents
- 6,362
- Fatal rate
- 0%
Year-over-year fatalities
- 1984 1
- 1987 5
- 1989 1
- 1991 1
- 1993 2
- 1996 1
- 1998 2
- 2000 2
- 2001 1
- 2002 1
- 2003 1
- 2007 2
- 2009 1
- 2016 1
- 2022 3
- 2023 1
Top mines in Arkansas by fatality count
- 01 Malvern Minerals Sandstone Quarry South 2fatal 2 total
- 02 Arkansas Operations Mill 2fatal 1,303 total
- 03 Foreman Quarry & Plant 1fatal 509 total
- 04 US Vanadium, LLC 1fatal 135 total
- 05 Granite Mountain Quarry #1 1fatal 239 total
Top operators by fatality count
- 01 3M Company 2fatal
- 02 Malvern Minerals Company 2fatal
- 03 APAC-Central, Inc 1fatal
- 04 Alcoa World Alumina Llc 1fatal
- 05 Almatis Inc 1fatal
- 06 Ash Grove Cement Company 1fatal
- 07 Atlas Quarries 1fatal
- 08 County Line Mine 1fatal
- 09 Crystals Unique 1fatal
- 10 Hanson Aggregates West Inc 1fatal
Recent fatalities
Employee was servicing a dozer alone with the machine running & it was somehow put in gear & started moving. Before the employee could get out of the way the machine trapped employee's foot & started pulling employee in between the track & the cab, which led to employee being run over by the machine. This is our best guess as there were no actual witnesses to the event.
Time of accident: 10:00-11:30 Employee was drilling approximately 5' from the highwall. Drill steel was out of the carousel (cause under investigation). They exited the drill to correct the situation and failed to put on fall protection as per company policy and training requirements. It appears that they tripped/slipped/stumbled and fell over the edge. This resulted in a fatality.
EE was operating a loader at our pit. A co-worker was in a dump truck & was there to get loaded with but was having trouble with the air in the truck. The co-worker radioed to EE to go ahead and load another truck. EE returned from loading another truck and crawled underneath the co-worker's truck without telling the co-worker. The truck then rolled back on top of EE.
A Cat D250E haul truck was positioning to dump a load of material. The employee stopped three times before going backwards over the highwall.
The victim was attempting to deliver an overnite package. She got out of her truck, began walking toward the loader as the operator was backing in her direction to take delivery at the truck as usual. She had never left the truck before. She walked in the blind side(left rear)of the loader and was not seen. She was struck & run over by both left side tires causing fatal injuries.
The locomotive was coming back into the plant when EE had crossed over to the old scales side road. He got out of his truck & started to cross the tracks when the locomotive operator saw him. They heard him on the radio say he had broke the 7 car. A coworker asked another coworker if he could see him & when he looked back he saw him on the tracks. He had been hit by the locomotive.
Other ee was contructing a work scaffold, 5th floor, Bldg 450. Another ee was at the 10 foot level passing material to the top floor. While EE was re-locating he fell app. 60'.
THEY WERE ATTEMPTING TO LOAD CONVEYOR SHUTTLE, LOAD WAS SUSPENDED IN AIR SO TRUCK COULD BACK UNDER IT. CRANE STARTED SWINGING AND TILTING ALLOWING LOAD TO FALL. LOAD STRUCK EMPLOYEE.
EMPLOYEE WAS TRANSFERRING FUEL WHEN THERE WAS A FAILURE OF A PUMP CAUSING A FIRE.
ONE FATALITY AND ONE BRUSING/SEVERE SHOCK DUE TO ROCK FALL. BOTH INDIVIDUALS STANDING ADJACENT TO A LOSE SHUTTLE CAR, ONE WATCHING MINER TRAILING CABLE, WHEN LARGE ROCK FELL FROM ROOF STRIKING ONE PERSON AND GRAZING THE OTHER.
THE VICTIM, EE, AGE 7 WAS COLLECTING QUARTZ CRYSTALS AT THE BASE OF THE HIGH WALL WHEN THE OVER BURDEN COLLAPSED STRIKING THE VICTIM KNOCKING HIM TO THE GROUND.
DEMOLITION OF STEEL STRUCTURE USING CUT PULL AND DROP METHOD. A PIECE BECAME LOOSE AND ROLLED UNTIL IT HIT THE DECEASED.
AT APPROX. 4:45 EMPLOYEE WAS OPERATING END DUMP CO # 31-054. THE TRUCK WAS LOADED WITH SB-2 THAT WAS TO BE DUMPED ON THE RAMP OF THE SB-2 STOCKPILE. THE MATERIAL WAS TO BE USED TO BUILD UP THE RAMP. AT APPROX. 5:10 AN EMPLOYEE OBSERVED END DUMP #54 LAYING ON ITS SIDE AT THE BASE OF THE STOCKPILE.
SWITCH ENGINE THAT WAS BEING CONTROLLED BY REMOTE DEVICE; WAS SWITCHING CARS ONTO TRACK WHERE EE WAS WORKING, CAUSING CAR TO RUN OVER HIM, CRUSHING HIM TO DEATH.
IT'S ASSUMED THAT EITHER WATCHING ANOTHER EE OR PERHAPS LOOKING FOR HIS CAP WHICH THE WIND MIGHTHAVE BLOWN OFF HE APPARENTLY HAD HOLD OF THE BUILDING & A RAIL ON A MACHINE WHICH WAS GROUNDED. AN ELECTRICAL CABLE HAD A CUT IN IT FROM RUBBINGON [OR CUTTING] FROM SHEET IRON SIDING ON BUILDING. CUT WAS NOT KNOWN ABOUT UNTIL ACCIDENT.
WHILE REPAIRING A 10HPH ELECTRIC MOTOR AND WIRING IT UP AFTER REPAIR A HOT WIRE WAS PLACED ON GROUND AND EMPLOYEE TOUCHED MOTOR WHILE POWER WAS ON RESULTING IN DEATH BY ELECTROCUTION.
EMPLOYEE WAS SENT TO SHARPS QUARRY TO SERVICE A CAT 621 SCRAPER FOR MCCLINTON-ANCHOR COMPANY.HE WAS OPERATING A 1989 FORD F700 WITH A HIAB 173 SPEED LOADER BOOM HOIST WHEN THE ACCIDENT HAPPENE D.HE WAS USING THE HOIST LIFTING A 29.5X35 (APPROXIMATELY 900 POUND) TIRE OFF THE REAR OF THE SCRAPER. WITNESSES AT THE SCENE REPORTED HE HAD JUST CHANGED THE RIGHT REAR TIRE AND HAD MOVED TH
AT THIS TIME IT APPEARS THE REVERES FORWARD SWITCH SHORTED TO THE CASE-ELECTROCUTING EMPLOYEE.
THE FLOOR OF THE PIT HAD BEEN BLASTED UNDER CUTTING AN OVERHANGING HIGHWALL AFTER THE BLASTED MATERIAL HAD BEEN REMOVED THE VICTIM STEPPED INTO THE EXCAVATION THE OVERHANGING HIGHWALL FELL CR USHING THE VICTIM