WASHINGTON – In the first three months of 2017, five miners died in accidents that occurred when they were working alone on mine property. To raise awareness of the potential dangers in doing so, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration has launched an initiative to focus on the hazards miners may encounter when they work in areas away from others.

ARLINGTON, Va. – Excavating rock from the Mt. Marion Pit and Mill, a common shale operation in Ulster County, New York, involves drilling blast holes and packing them with explosives. After detonation, the loose material is loaded into haul trucks, transported to a processing plant and turned into construction aggregate.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a delay in the effective date of the final rule on Examinations of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mines from May 23, 2017, to July 24, 2017.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration is proposing to delay the effective date to assure that mine operators and miners affected by the final rule have the training and compliance assistance they need.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today the availability of up to $1 million in grants for education and training programs to help identify, avoid and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around the nation’s mines.

Who: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration

What: The Mine Safety and Health Administration announced federal inspectors issued 132 citations and two orders during special impact inspections conducted at 10 coal mines and five metal and nonmetal mines in December 2016.

Where: MSHA conducted special impact inspections at mines in Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today it will issue its Final Rule for Examination of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mines. The new rule will be published in the Federal Register on Jan. 23, 2017, and go into effect on May 23, 2017.

The final rule improves miner safety and health in three primary areas, requiring that:

ARLINGTON, Va. – Preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration indicate that in 2016, 26 miners died in work-related accidents at the nation’s mines – down from 29 in 2015. The figure represents the lowest number of mining deaths ever recorded and only the second year that mining deaths dropped below 30. Currently, approximately 330,000 miners work in more than 13,000 U.S. mines.

ARLINGTON, Va. – Preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration indicate that in 2016, 26 miners died in work-related accidents at the nation’s mines – down from 29 in 2015. The figure represents the lowest number of mining deaths ever recorded and only the second year that mining deaths dropped below 30. Currently, approximately 330,000 miners work in more than 13,000 U.S. mines.

Who: U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration

What: The Mine Safety and Health Administration announced federal inspectors issued 152 citations and five orders during special impact inspections conducted at 10 coal mines and seven metal and nonmetal mines in November 2016.

Where: MSHA conducted special impact inspections at mines in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

Who: U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration

What: The Mine Safety and Health Administration announced federal inspectors issued 130 citations and one safeguard during special impact inspections conducted at 10 coal mines and five metal and nonmetal mines in October 2016.

Where: MSHA conducted special impact inspections at mines in Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

Who:   U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration

What: MSHA today completed its bi-annual update of its “Data at a Glance,” which shows an all-time low in the number of deaths caused by mine-related injuries for Fiscal Year 2016, and that fatality and injury rates for this period represent the lowest rates ever recorded. It also shows that Calendar Year 2015 was the safest in U.S. mining history.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration has successfully obtained a permanent injunction against Sullivan Granite Co. LLC and its owner, Conrad J. Smith, ordering him to correct all safety hazards at Brown’s Meadow Quarry in Sullivan, Maine, and prohibiting him from refusing agency inspectors entry to conduct safety inspections.

ARLINGTON, Va. – On Dec. 7, 1992, an explosion that rocked the South Mountain #3 coal mine in Norton, Virginia killed eight miners, and led investigators to find that failing to ventilate the mine properly, conduct pre-shift and weekly examinations, and apply proper amounts of rock dust contributed to the explosion.

ARLINGTON, Va. –The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration today released data that indicates Fiscal Year 2016 was the safest year in mining history.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today it has awarded $1 million to six organizations to develop training programs and materials that support mine rescue and mine emergency preparedness for underground mines.

Who: U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration

What: The Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today that federal inspectors issued 105 citations and one order during special impact inspections conducted at 11 coal mines and six metal and nonmetal mines in August.

Where: MSHA conducted special impact inspections at mines in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

Who: U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration

What: The Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today that federal inspectors issued 161 citations during special impact inspections conducted at 11 coal mines and six metal and nonmetal mines in July.

Where: MSHA conducted special impact inspections at mines in Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

ARLINGTON, Va. – Since October 2015, eight fatalities and more than 1,100 nonfatal accidents have occurred in the nation’s coal mines, resulting in restricted duty, missed days at work, and permanent disabilities for the miners who worked there.  While injury rates have been fairly consistent during this time period, records indicate a trend in accidents resulting in more serious injuries. The circumstances in at least 30 of the accidents might have led to fatalities.

ARLINGTON, Va. – Mine drill operators face their share of on-the-job risks. Failing to follow safe drilling practices can lead to fatal outcomes, as has been the case in recent years. In April 2014, a 53-year-old miner died in an underground gold mine in Elko County, Nevada, after his clothing caught in a jackleg drill.

ARLINGTON, Va. – A team from Carlsbad, New Mexico, beat out 35 teams from 16 states nationwide to finish first at the 2016 National Metal and Nonmetal Mine Rescue Contest in Reno, Nevada.

This year’s winner, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s “Blue Team,” held off second-place finisher, Vulcan Materials’ “Blue Team” from Bartlett, Illinois, and Newmont Mining’s “Carlin Team” from Carlin, Nevada, which rounded out the top three at the four-day event held in Reno, July 25-28, 2016.