On October 25, 2018, a 42-year old miner with 13 years of experience was killed when the back fell while he was loading explosives in the face. The back was comprised of cemented backfill and weighed approximately 150 tons.
Best Practices
- Implement a robust quality control program to ensure cemented rock fill is mixed and placed properly, especially when it constitutes the main method of ground support.
- Examine and test ground conditions in areas where work is to be performed prior to work commencing and as warranted during the shift. Be alert for changing conditions, especially after activities that could cause back/roof disturbance.
- When ground conditions create a hazard to persons, install additional ground support before other work is permitted in the affected area.
- Task train all persons to recognize all potentially hazardous conditions and ensure they understand safe job procedures for elimination of the hazards.
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).