Employee was found entangled in conveyor 12 tail pulley. Responding authorities pronounced the employee deceased. Incident is still under investigation.
Mining Incidents in North Carolina
North Carolina has 32 recorded mining fatalities on file with MSHA, across 5,960 reportable incidents (1983–2025).
Track this? Subscribe to the North Carolina fatality RSS feed to get every new MSHA fatality in your reader as soon as it's filed.
- Fatalities recorded
- 32
- Total incidents
- 5,960
- Fatal rate
- 1%
Year-over-year fatalities
- 1983 2
- 1984 4
- 1985 2
- 1986 2
- 1989 1
- 1991 1
- 1993 1
- 1994 1
- 1996 2
- 1997 1
- 1998 1
- 1999 2
- 2000 2
- 2001 2
- 2003 1
- 2004 1
- 2007 1
- 2011 1
- 2012 1
- 2016 1
- 2017 1
- 2025 1
Top mines in North Carolina by fatality count
- 01 Mt Airy Mine And Mill 3fatal 158 total
- 02 Lee Creek Mine 2fatal 533 total
- 03 NEVERSON QUARRY 2fatal 36 total
- 04 ARROWOOD 2fatal 44 total
- 05 BESSEMER CITY QUARRY 2fatal 17 total
Top operators by fatality count
- 01 Martin Marietta Aggregates 6fatal
- 02 The N. C. Granite Corp 4fatal
- 03 Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC 3fatal
- 04 G S MATERIALS INC 2fatal
- 05 Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. 2fatal
- 06 3M Company 1fatal
- 07 B & W Stone Company 1fatal
- 08 B V Hedrick Gravel & Sand 1fatal
- 09 Fletcher Limestone Company Inc 1fatal
- 10 Foote Mineral Company 1fatal
Recent fatalities
The victim was the Kolberg Plant Operator. Employee may have been trying to perform maintenance on the tail pulley or conveyor belt, when employee became entangled in the conveyor system, causing fatal injuries. The operator is continuing to investigate the root cause(s) of this accident.
Employee was fatally injured when the haul truck employee was operating drove off the haul road and fell into the quarry pit below
Miners were removing a counterweight from an excavator, standing side-by-side, when the counter-weight dropped unexpectedly to the ground.The victim stumbled backwards,fell landed on the back of his head on the shop floor. He was unresponsive during CPR. The autopsy report concludes the proximate cause of death as"commotio cerebri"noting also cardiac arrest.
Victim was part of a crew that was welding hdpe pipe using a McElroy fusion machine. While attempting to position pipe in to fusion machine, using an excavator, the pipe struck the victim in the head.
An R-35 Euclid Haul truck and a rail car collided.
Employee attempted to replace starter on Hyster H50XM forklift, jacked forklift up with a 10 ton hydraulic floor jack. He did not put any blocks or shorwings under forklift to prevent it from falling. He then got under forklift to repair starter and forlift then fell off jack causing major head injuries. Employee died.
TWO EMPLOYEES WERE IN THE PROCESS OF ASSEMBLING THE FRAMEWORK OF A SCREEN TOWER. WHEN ONE SIDE FRAME WAS SET WITH A 15 TON BRIDGE CRANE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT SOME ALIGNMENT WAS NEEDED BEFORE THE SIDE FRAME COULD BE BOLTED INTO PLACE. HE ATTEMPTED TO RECONNECT THE SPREADER CHAINS TO ENBLE THE SIDE FRAME TO BE LIFTED. WHILE RAISING CRANE IT FELL ON THE INJURED IN THE BACK.
EMPLOYEE TOOK A "SHORT CUT". EMPLOYEE NEVER USED HIS FALL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT WHILE TAKING HIS "SHORT CUT", THE RESULT WAS THIS EMPLOYEE FALLING OFF A BEAM. THE EE FELL TO HIS DEATH 46' BELOW . EMPLOYEE HAD ALL HIS FALL PROTECTION EQUIPMENTSECURED TO HIS HARNESS AND NEVER ATTEMPTED TO SECURE THEM TO PREVENT THE FALL.
AN APPARENT BRAKE MALFUNCTION CAUSED THE VICTIM TO EXIT THE CAB & WAS PULLED UNDER THE REAR WHEELS OR HE PARKED IT & CRAWLED UNDER THE BED TO CHECK A PROBLEM. EITHER SENARIO CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO ROLL OVER HIS BODY CRUSHING HIM TO DEATH. THERE WAS NO APPARENT DAMAGE TO THE TRUCK.
EE WAS CUTTING A TREE, WHEN THE TRACKHOE OPERATOR INADVERTENTLY PLACED A SMALL TREE IN THE AREA IN WHICH HE WAS WORKING SERIOUSLY INJURING EE. EE WAS AIRLIFTED TO MISSION/ST JOESPH'S HOSPITAL IN ASHEVILLE, N.C.
THE OPERATOR WAS ATTEMPTING TO PLACE A WEDGE BETWEEN THE TWO BLOCKS THAT HAD BEEN SAWN, A ROUGH BACK FELL PINNING THE OPERATOR AGAINST THE OTHER BLOCK.
HE WAS MAKING SURE THE WIRE WAS NOT CROSSED IN PREPARATION TO CONNECTING CONDUCTOR TO HANDLINE BEFORE PULLING TO POLE PLACEMENT.
EE WAS PART OF LEDGE CREW REMOVING BLOCKS AT NORTH STATE LEDGE. A SEAM IN THE WALL WAS NOTICED BESIDE THE NEXT TWO BLOCKS TO BE QUARRIED. THE ENTIRE CREW WAS TOLD TO STAY BACK WHILE THE FORKLI FTS REMOVE THE STONE. EE STEPED IN TO PICK UP A METAL BAR WHILE THE BLOCK WAS BEING REMOVED. THE SEAM OPENED UP AND A COLUMN OF STONE HIT EE.
STRUCK ON LEFT SIDE OF CHEST BY LEFT FRONT TIRE OF CHEVROLET WHTE 1500 TRUCK, CAUSING BROKEN RIBS.
DRIVER FATALLY INJURED WHEN TRUCK WAS STRUCK BY TRAIN AT RR CROSSING.
EE HELPED UNLOAD 14 TON QUARRY BLOCK FROM FLAT BED TRUCK. THE OVERHEAD CRANE AT SAW SHED WAS USED TO LIFT THE STOVE WIRE TOPE WAS USED. THE EE AND CRANE OPEROTOR PLACED THE BLOCK ON TOP OF ANO THER BLOCK. IN A ROW OF BLOCKS STOCKED TOO HIGH THE CABLE WAS SLACKED TO SEE IF BLOCK WAS GOING TO SIT FINE. AFTER TWO MINE. THE CABLE WAS UNHOOKED. AS EE WALKED AROUND TO THE OTHER SIDE OF B
A ROCK FELL APROX. 15 TO 20 FT FROM A HIGH WALL STRIKING VICTIM IN THE HEAD, CAUSING A FATAL SKKULL FRACTURE.
THE EMPLOYEE WAS OPERATING A MOTOR GRADER IN REVERSE AND HIT THE BERM AND ROLLED PINNING THE VICTIM UNDERNEATH. THE VICTIM WAS NOT WEARING A SAFETY BELT.
EMPLOYEE WAS SHOVELING SPOIL FROM AROUND THE AUGER.ANOTHER EMPLOYEE WAS OPERATING THE AUGER AND HE WENT TO PULL THE AUGER OUT OF THE HOLE,THE WHIPLINE CABLE BROKE ABOVE THE HEADACHE BALL AND F ELL KNOCKING OFF EMPLOYEE'S HARDHAT STRIKING HIM IN THE HEAD.