In 2024, it took until April 15th to record the 5th mining fatality in the US. So far in 2025, it only took 30 days and as of February 12th, we are now on fatality number 6. We are on the same trajectory as we were in 2023 when we had six fatalities in the first 30 days and ended the year with a total of 40. While the details of the accidents this year are still being gathered, one thing is for sure: miners are dying in workplace accidents that are all too often preventable. We know the hazards in our industry, and we know the controls that can keep our miners safe. Let’s use this knowledge to change the direction this year is headed.
From Tragedy to Prevention: Strengthening Workplace Safety in Mining
In the early 1900s, there was an American coal miner killed in a fatal accident approximately every two hours. 1907 was a particularly deadly year, with a total of 3,242 miners killed. And of that number, two disasters in December of that year resulted in a combined 601 deaths. The terrible Monogah, WV coal mine explosion killed 362, followed less than two weeks later by the explosion at the Darr coal mine near Van Peter, Pennsylvania. Sadly, while these disasters were especially deadly, they were quite common. Throughout the 1900s and into the 1910s, large-scale mining disasters were often taking the lives of more than a hundred coal miners at a time.
Workplace Safety Isn’t Optional: Lessons from Mining’s Deadliest Accidents
Out of these tragedies came the laws and regulations that govern how we mine today. Fatalities fell throughout the 20th century and by 1977, with the creation of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the number of coal mine fatalities had fallen to 139, with 134 killed in metal/non-metal mines. The number of fatalities continued to drop through the end of the 20th century and into the 21st century, where the number seems to have stalled in the dozens per year. Just a few years ago, we were on a concerning trajectory culminating with 40 fatalities in 2023. We all breathed a sigh of relief when 2024 ended with a total of 28, which was only 3 fatalities away from MSHAs all-time low of 25 in 2016. In fact, there weren’t any fatalities during the entire month of December.
Twenty-eight fatalities are still 28 too many. And while it is never time to sit back and rest on your laurels, that seems to be particularly true with the way 2025 has begun. Our industry had its first fatality on January 3rd of this year at a surface sand and gravel operation in Texas. Although there are not many details, what we do know is that a 44-year-old laborer with 4 months of experience was killed when a trench he was working in collapsed. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon when working in and around trenches. In fact, OSHA has been working to spotlight the hazards of excavations after 2022, which saw a staggering 39 excavation/trench fatalities across the country. The number dropped to 15 in 2023 and 12 in 2024, but here we are beginning the year with one.
The year’s first fatality was followed a week later on January 10th with a fatal accident at an underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. Again, there are not many details, but what we know is that a 34-year-old mobile bridge carrier operator was killed when he was pinned between his equipment and the rib. A mobile bridge carrier is a type of mobile conveyor that works in conjunction with the continuous miner. After doing some research using MSHA.gov, it seems that mobile bridge carrier operators getting pinned between their equipment and a rib happens much more frequently than it should. For example, there was an MSHA bulletin issued in 2011 on the hazards of this type of equipment. It stated that from 1985 to 2011 there were 8 fatalities and 343 non-fatal injuries to operators of this equipment. And this is still happening? Fatalities are always tragic, but a fatality caused by a known hazard is especially gut-wrenching.
The last couple weeks of January passed uneventfully until the very end of the month when there was a series of three fatalities occurring over just two days. It all started on January 29, when a fatal accident occurred at a surface coal mine in West Virginia. Although there are not many details, it appears that a 55-year-old miner was fatally injured from what was classified as a “Fall of Face, Rib, Side or Highwall”. This is especially concerning because in 2024 out of the 28 total fatalities, 15% were this type of accident.
And then on the following day, January 30th, there were two fatalities at two different surface mines in Texas. There was a fatality in Fayette, Texas at a sand and gravel operation that was classified as “Machinery” and there was a fatality in Florence-Williamson Texas at a dimensional stone operation that was classified as “Powered Haulage”. Although we don’t know any details these are both the type of accidents we see over and over. Just last year, we had 4 fatalities classified as “Machinery” and 12 classified as “Powered Haulage”.
And during the writing of this article, we had our sixth fatality of the year. A miner was killed at a surface coal mine in Ohio. While, again, we don’t know any details, this fatality was classified as “Machinery”. A classification used in that Texas fatality less than two weeks prior.
Mining and Workplace Safety: Breaking the Cycle of Preventable Deaths
Looking in from the outside, the mining industry is usually referred to as a “dangerous” job. We in the industry know that mining is, in fact, “hazardous” not “dangerous,” which is an important distinction. The types of accidents that have already occurred this year are not from unknown hazards. They seem to be the same hazards that killed miners last year and the year before. We know what they are and how to stay safe when exposed to them. If you are working in a trench, make sure you are protected in the trench and have a way to escape. If you are operating equipment underground, pay attention to your surroundings, use spotters if necessary, and stay inside your equipment. Always inspect your high walls and stay away from the toe. When working around machinery, ensure that it is properly guarded and locked out during maintenance. And lastly, operating mobile equipment is such a common hazard, that the industry was required to write an entire written plan to keep our miners who operate mobile equipment safe. We know these hazards. Let’s not repeat the past.