Mining Incidents in Idaho

Miner was working in the 3200-033 raise. EE was bolting the hanging wall. A large wedge slipped off the wall and pinned the Miner to the foot wall causing fatal crushing injuries.

A visitor to the mine site was in a unauthorized area running a sluice box in a unstable trench when it collapsed and buried them. The trench was tapered and made safe to remove their body.

Employee maintaining equipment in mobile fuel truck lost power and brakes moving down a steep grade resulting in over-turned truck.

Operator was up on hill pushing overburden down to excavator for feeding crusher. Operator went down a small incline on Cat Dozer and was thrown from the cab.

Two shaft repairmen had finished pulling lacing from the pipe compartment, the all clear/tucked in verbal command was given twice with response. The bell signal was transmitted to raise the skip. One miner's fall protection lanyard was accidentally left connected to a shaft anchor. As the skip raised the lanyard remained secured pulling the miner between the skip and shaft timber.

Two miners working in an underground bin excavation were attempting to level the muckpile by blowing muck down a hole at the brow. They were both tied to retractable fall restraints when the muckpile slid down the repose angle unexpectedly. One employee manually pulled his line and engaged his restraint but the second man was engulfed and suffocated by the finely broken muck.

Co-worker was in the process of shutting down the generators, to do maintenance to the power cables. At that time employee started to unguard the power cables on the switch van out of the vision of co-worker. He refused to have the power checked by two other co-workers. Moments later he was electrocuted.

A ground/roof fall occurred in the 6150-15 West Stope completely burying an employee under 30 feet of rock.

Employee was barring down in raise, when a slab fell and crushed employee.

LOST CONTROL OF DUMP TRUCK REASON IS UNKNOWN. LEFT LOADING AREA, WENT DOWN A HILL, COLLIDED WITH A TREE AND TIPPED CAB OF TRUCK OVER ON ITS SIDE.

EE WAS ROCKBOLTING WHEN THE ROCKBURST HIT, COVERING THE EE WITH 8-10 FT OF BROKEN ROCK

EE WAS ROCKBOLTING WHEN THE ROCKBURST HIT, COVERING THE EE WITH 8-10 FT OF BROKEN ROCK

MAN WAS DRIVING 922B LOADER DOWN A ROAD WITH A STEEP GRADE. FOR UNKNOWN REASON, LOST CONTROL AND THE LOADER TURNED OVER AND THE RAPS SAFETY CAB FAILED AND COLLAPSED CAUSING FATALITY.

THE VICTIM WAS OPERATING A VOLVO BM-A30J, 30 TON TRUCK HAULING MILL TAILINGS. HE WAS RETURNING EMPTY DOWN A HAUL ROAD WITH A 20% GRADE AND LOST CONTROL OF THE TRUCK.THE TRUCK RAMMED THROUGH A 7-FOOT HIGH BERM AND DOWN TO AN ACCESS RAMP, APPROXIMATELY 15 FT BELOW. HE HAD COMPLETED EIGHT LOAD CYCLES PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THE VICTIM WAS WEARING A SEAT BELT.

THREE SHAFT REPAIRMEN WERE IN PROCESS OF TURNING THE ORE SKIP IN PREPARATIOIN TO HOIST WASTE MATERIAL (ROCK). ONE OF TE SKIPS HUNG UP AND EE, VICTIM, FELL DOWN THE SHAFT WHEN HE ATTEMPTED TO FREE IT WITH A BAR.

THE SAFETY RAILING CHAIN PREVENT ENTRY TO THE TOP OF THE JAW WAS UNHOOKED AT TIME OF ACCIDENT. EE FELL INTO THE JAW HEAD FIRST FOR UNKNOWN REASOS. HE WAS NOT WEARING A SAFETY BELT. EE WAS NOT WEARING SAFETY BOOTS BECAUSE HE WAS WORKING INSIDE OF THE SWITCH HOUSE. NO MECHICAL REASON WAS FOUND. THERE WAS NO WITNESS.

IT APPEARS THAT THE MINER LEFT HIS SAFE POSITIONAND FELLDOWN THE RAISE. EMP WAS WORKING TO UNPLUG SAND LINE IN 424 RAISE. SLIPPED AND FELL DOWN THE RAISE.

EMPLOYEE WAS IN PROCESS OF CLEANING THE BULKHEAD IN THE RAISE OFF WHEN A ROCKBURST OCCURRED WHICH BURIED HIM AND HIS PARTNER WITH MUCK.

EMPLOYEE DROVE VEHICLE OFF HIGHWALL FORWARD. FROM START HE DROVE APPROX. 150 FT & OVER & 36 IN BERM FOR NO APPARENT REASON. VERTICAL DROP OF 134 FT. AFTER MSHA INVESTIGALTION, NO CAUSE OR EQUI PMENT FAILURE HAS BEEN DETERMINED. VEHICLE COMPLETELY TOTALED. EMPLOYEE RECEIVED MASSIVE TRAUMA INJURIES TO HEAD & BODY.

EARTHEN HIGHWALL GAVE WAY SENDING TONS OF MUD & MATERIAL DOWN WHICH BURIED THE SUBURAN UTILITY TRUCK IN WHICH HE WAS SITTING