Just two weeks after the September 23 incident at M-Class Mining’s MC #1 mine, 48-year-old independent contractor truck driver Darrell Seiber of Cox Trucking went into a slide October 9 at National Coal’s Mine No. 5A in Anderson County, Tennessee.
Federal investigators said the man was operating a 1982 Mack truck and hauling a load of coal down an incline and had lost control. Seiber either jumped or was thrown from the vehicle, which subsequently overturned.
Later in October when the agency released its fatalgram on the incident, it noted that the worker was traveling too fast for conditions.
In hopes of preventing such accidents, MSHA reminded mines to always conduct pre-operational safety checks of mobile equipment and for operators to always wear a seat belt.
Additionally, operations must keep steering and equipment braking systems in good maintenance and repair and never exceed the capabilities of a truck.
A final report is still pending on the incident, which was the fifth in 2009 to be classified by the agency under Powered Haulage. It was also the first fatal coal accident in Tennessee since 2004.
Before the month was out, another death occurred – this time in a hoisting accident at Newtown Energy’s Eagle mine in West Virginia.
Trackman Charles Dixon, a 56-year-old with 25 years of mining experience, was working at Newtown Energy’s Eagle mine in southern West Virginia with two other miners when a hoist rope on a slope car broke the morning of October 27.
“This allowed the brake/mantrip car, mine locomotive and loaded rail car to run away down a 16-degree, 1750-foot slope,” the agency said, noting that the victim was located at the bottom of the slope.
“Two miners were in the brake/mantrip car when the rope broke … they jumped out of the car and received non-life threatening injuries,” MSHA added in its preliminary report.
Those miners receiving injuries were identified as Daniel Ewing and Dave Morgan. One received minor shoulder and facial injuries while the other suffered minor head injuries, state officials told ILN.
Federal officials issued a 103(j) order to the Eagle operation, later modifying it to a 103(k) to idle production as federal investigators arrived on the scene.
The Newtown Energy Eagle operation in Kanawha County, controlled by Robert Ellis, employs about 220 people and produces about 1 million tons of coal annually. According to federal data, the mine had recorded 13 non-fatal days lost operator injuries and one contractor injury through MSHA’s second quarter of 2009, the last reporting period prior to the incident.
In the fatalgram on Dixon’s death released in mid-November, MSHA warned workers to be positioned in safe locations while operating hoists on a slope. It also recommended mines install audible and visual alarms for those working at the slope bottom to indicate that a hoist is in motion, and to regularly examine hoist ropes for wear and other issues.
A final investigation report is still pending for Dixon’s incident.
Just before the US Thanksgiving holiday, two fatalities were recorded the same day – one in Kentucky and the other in Alabama.
The 15th coal death was marked November 23 at Perry County Coal’s Upper Second Creek Portals, when 37-year-old contract mechanic Leslie Trent was struck by a hoist boom.
“The victim and another miner were disassembling a two-part sheave wheel from the end of a pivoting hoist,” MSHA noted.
“The hoist boom fell [about 12 to 15 feet] suddenly and struck both miners. The victim died the next morning from his injuries [and] the other miner was treated at a hospital.”
The injured worker was identified as 34-year-old Clifton Smith.
Both men were contractors employed by Indiana-based Frontier-Kemper Constructors. The bituminous underground mine is operated by TECO subsidiary Perry County Coal Corporation.
According to MSHA’s initial investigation, Trent had just over four years of industry experience but only 11 weeks working at that activity at that location.
Shortly after the incident, MSHA issued best practices for mines to avoid similar incidents, including routine monitoring of work habits to enforce compliance with safe work procedures, ensuring workers operating equipment communicate adequately with those near them, and that operations provide proper training on recognizing hazardous work conditions, such as working under crane booms.
Federal investigators are still working on a final investigation regarding Trent’s death.
Also on November 23, one worker was killed and several more were injured after all were overcome by extreme heat underground at Jim Walter Resources’ No. 7 mine in northern Alabama.
According to MSHA preliminary reports, mine foreman James Chaney, 53, and 59-year-old Milton Etheridge were conducting a regular weekly bleeder system examination on the Southwest A Panel/No. 2 longwall when surface personnel reported the pair did not confirm their exit of the bleeder area as scheduled.
After a search, the workers were found on the tailgate side of the bleeder, one responsive and the other non-responsive. MSHA noted that rescue operations were hampered due to environmental conditions.
Etheridge was hospitalized and released, but the unresponsive Chaney was pronounced dead. Six others, including rescuers sent to locate the missing miners, also received treatment for heat exhaustion.
MSHA issued a 103(k) order to JWR No. 7 immediately after the accident, which typically carries a mandatory 24-hour shutdown for a mine after a serious accident or fatality. However, it would be November 25 before production would restart at the mine because of an internal and federal review.
Walter Energy spokesperson Michael Monahan confirmed the commencement to ILN.
“The area of the mine under investigation is a non-production area of the mine and has been roped off pending the conclusion of the investigation,” he said.
“Initial media reports, citing MSHA, blamed lack of oxygen as the cause of death. While this has not been ruled out, we believe it is premature to speculate on the cause of death until the investigation is complete.”
Both the JWR and MSHA final reports are still being compiled.
Jim Walter Resources employs a total of 1400 staff between its No. 4 and No. 7 operations. As of September 30, the No. 7 mine had produced 2.6 million tons via a longwall and active continuous mining sections.
The 17th and 18th coal mining deaths of 2009 both happened in December, both in Kentucky and within just days of one another. The first occurred December 12 at Premier Elkhorn Coal’s PE Southern Pike mine.
According to a preliminary report released to ILN by the US Mine Safety and Health Administration, 52-year-old Stevie Johnson was working at the TECO Coal mine operating a 10-wheel International haul truck down a grade on a haul road.
“The operator appears to have lost control and either jumped or was thrown from the vehicle,” the agency said of the 6.30am event in Pike County.
“The truck overturned in the center of the haul road.”
Johnson, a 30-year industry veteran, had worked at the minesite for 36 weeks. He was a contractor driver for Trivette Trucking.
The Premier Elkhorn Coal complex has both surface and underground operations with a total annual capacity of 5 million tons. The mines of Premier Elkhorn extract from the Amburgy, Elkhorn No. 1, Elkhorn No. 2, Glamorgan, Lower Elkhorn, Whitesburg, Elkhorn No. 3 and Hazard No. 4 seams.
MSHA has not yet released a fatalgram for Johnson’s fatality and the completion of a final investigation of the cause could take some time, the agency confirmed to media.
The last fatal incident recorded as of press time occurred December 16 at Sapphire Coal’s Sandlick II operation in Letcher County, Kentucky.
MSHA confirmed to ILN that continuous miner operator Phillip Newton, 35, died at about 11.55pm local time after an 8.40pm roof fall incident.
“[The victim] was struck by a piece of shale that fell from the mine roof [while] in the process of mining the No. 5 right crosscut in the No. 4 East Panel,” it said, noting the rock measured 13 feet in length by 6ft in width and 13-16in in thickness.
According to a preliminary report of the incident, the worker had been operating a Joy 14CM15 continuous miner.
Newton had 12 years of mining experience, one year at Sandlick II. He had been a CM operator for three years.
Sapphire Coal Company is owned by Metinvest BV.
Sandlick II employs 55 workers, 51 underground. There were 17 miners underground at the time of the incident.
Sandlick II recorded a non-fatal days lost contractor injury in 2009, but its last NFDL operator injury was in 2006. The mine’s NFDL incidence rate for both 2007 and 2008 was zero.
As of December 17, there have been 18 coal-related fatalities at US coal operations, two within the past week. Of all the recorded deaths, three have occurred underground with the rest at surface mines or at the surface facilities of underground mines.
