Investigators determined no violation was made by Canyon in the death of Russell Crane at the Sufco mine, Utah on January 3 this year. A MSHA spokesperson told Associated Press there was no violation because “no MSHA standard applied to the situation”

The victim, a longwall shearer operator with 26 years of mining experience, was fatally injured while attempting to advance a longwall shield.

The longwall face was being mined through a setup room containing cementatious "cutable" cribs. These cribs failed, causing many of the shields to fully collapse. To advance the longwall, chains were attached from the collapsed shields to the panline.

Using two adjacent shields to push the panline, the collapsed shield was pulled forward with the attached chains and the shield's double-acting ram. Miners were positioned on each of the three affected shields to manually operate them.

During this process, the chain hook broke. The remaining part of the hook and the chain assembly recoiled, striking the miner operating the collapsed shield in the head.

In the Andalex investigation, no violations were found by MSHA in the death of Jacob Jorgensen at the Pinnacle mine, Utah on January 22.

The 29-year-old laborer with seven years experience was fatally injured on the surface of the underground coal mine. The victim was operating an Eimco 975 diesel-powered utility vehicle to obtain a water tank trailer when he collided with the canopy of a longwall shield that was stored in the supply yard.

The collision resulted in fatal injuries. The utility vehicle was not equipped with a protective cab or canopy.

The MSHA investigation report said the accident occurred because the shield was stored in an unsafe manner that allowed the tractor to drive under the canopy tip creating a pinch point with the top of the tractor.

“The absence of a protective structure for the operator's compartment on the tractor contributed to the accident. The operator's apparent lack of awareness that he was moving toward the shield after dropping off the trailer also contributed to the accident,” the report said.

Associated Press said although no citations were handed out, MSHA said mine managers should have turned the longwall shield in a different direction so a hazard was not presented to vehicle operators in the storage yard. The report also recommended Andalex install protective structures around tractor compartments.