A heavy stone killed a mine worker while fitting equipment.
A rock slab recently shifted and fatally struck a distracted resources employee.
Investigators revealed the object measured 3.7 metres long, 1.2 metres wide and 1.5 metres tall at the unidentified mine site.
“On April 11, 2023 a miner died when a rock slab … slid out of the rib from the hanging wall and crushed him. The miner was installing a bolt in the rib of a slusher stope,” they said in a safety alert.
The Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration made the following recommendations:
- be alert to changing ground conditions
- design, install, and maintain suitable ground support where miners work or travel
- train mine workers on how to identify hazardous ground conditions and install suitable support
- periodically review mining methods and ground support to ensure they are suitable for conditions
- examine and test ground conditions immediately before starting any work in an area and as conditions warrant during the shift.