On July 13, 2021, a rock falling from a pillar in a benched area at a room-and-pillar zinc mine with 88 employees in Strawberry Plains, TN, struck a 68 year old scaler operator with 10 years and 40 weeks experience*. The miner was in a personnel lift basket near ground level to load blasting supplies. The rock fell from a height of approximately 40 feet, striking the basket.
Best Practices:
- Support or remove loose material from a safe position before beginning work.
- Design, install, and maintain the ground support to control the ground where people work or travel, after blasting, and as ground conditions warrant.
- Use scaling equipment capable of maintaining safe ground conditions suitable for the mining dimensions.
- Establish safe work procedures to ensure a safe work location for miners conducting scaling operations. Train all miners to recognize hazards and understand these procedures.
- Perform thorough workplace examinations where miners work or travel.
- Be alert for changing conditions, especially after activities that could cause back/roof disturbance.
Additional Information:
This is the 18th fatality reported in 2021, and the second classified as “Fall of Face/Rib/Highwall.” (*details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data.)
Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).