Daniel Lambka, a 20-year-old general inside labourer, was struck by a coal feeder, resulting in fatal injuries.

Lambka was on the offside of the belt conveyor, tightening a chain that connected the feeder to the section tailpiece.

The tailpiece anchor, located between the rib and the tailpiece, came loose from the rib, allowing the tailpiece to swing, pinning Lambka between the frame of the feeder and the rib.

The accident occurred on the F-mains-2 continuous mining machine section, a three-entry system that began production on June 25, 2013.

MSHA concluded that the mine operator failed to assure the newly moved tailpiece was secured and blocked against shifting prior to starting the belt conveyors.

“The mine operator did not have effective procedures in place to assure that miners knew the precautions to take and were trained in initial start-up of the belt,” MSHA said.

The mine operator also failed to assure that persons were clear of the belt tail area during the start-up of the belt conveyors.

As a result a safeguard notice was issued requiring the mine operator to securely anchor each tailpiece at the mine prior to start-up.

The MSHA requested that when an "engineered" tailpiece was used, the tailpiece should be securely anchored with two inby jacks notched at least 8 inches (20cm) into the coal rib and the jacks must not be able to extend past a 30-60 degree angle range with the tailpiece.