Who Part 46 covers

Part 46 applies to shell dredging, sand, gravel, surface stone, surface clay, colloidal phosphate, and surface limestone mines. If you work at one of these mines in production, processing, maintenance, repair, or construction, and you're exposed to mining hazards, you're a miner under Part 46. That includes contractor employees.

How your training is laid out

• 24 hours of new miner training in total.
• At least 4 hours before you start work, covering seven subjects and the hazards at your mine.
• Within 60 days: hands-on training with self-rescue and respiratory devices if they're used at your mine, and a first aid review.
• Within 90 days: the rest of the 24 hours.

Until you finish all 24 hours, you work where an experienced miner can see that you're working safely.

You also get task training before you do a new job or run a new piece of equipment, and 8 hours of refresher training every year. Training happens during normal working hours, and you're paid your normal rate for it.

30 CFR §46.5 · §46.7 · §46.8 · §46.10

How a surface aggregate operation works

Most sand, gravel, and stone operations follow the same basic flow. Material is dug or blasted loose, hauled to the plant, crushed and sorted by size, then stockpiled and loaded out.

1. 1The face or pitOverburden is stripped first. Sand and gravel is dug by excavator, loader, dragline, or dredge. Stone is drilled and blasted from a quarry face.
2. 2LoadingLoaders and excavators load haul trucks at the face.
3. 3HaulingHaul trucks run the haul roads to the plant feed hopper or a stockpile.
4. 4CrushingThe primary crusher breaks large rock. Secondary and tertiary crushers make it smaller.
5. 5Screening and washingScreens sort material by size. Wash plants remove clay and fines, and the dirty water goes to settling ponds.
6. 6Conveying and stockpilingConveyors carry material between machines and out to stockpiles.
7. 7Load-outLoaders fill customer trucks, which cross the scale on the way out.

Supporting areas include the shop, fuel station, electrical rooms, scale house, and office. Each one has its own hazards.

The mine changes every day

A mine is always moving. Faces advance, haul roads get rerouted, stockpiles grow and shrink, and pond levels rise and fall. A route that was safe yesterday can have a new drop-off, a soft spot, or a different traffic pattern today. Check in with your supervisor at the start of every shift.

Starting your shift

• Check in when you arrive so supervisors know you're on site and can account for you in an emergency.
• Ask what changed since your last shift: haul road routes, new work areas, equipment down for repair, and areas posted or barricaded.
• Find out whether the workplace exam for your area found any hazards, and how they're being handled.
• Inspect your equipment and PPE before you use them.

Words you'll hear at the mine

Every mine uses the same core terms for its ground, equipment, and material. Knowing them helps you follow instructions and warnings the first time. The activity below covers ten of the most common.

Mobile equipment and haul roads

Powered haulage is one of the leading causes of deaths at metal and nonmetal mines. Haul trucks, loaders, and dozers are big and loud, and they have large blind spots. A haul truck operator may not see a pickup parked right in front of the bumper, let alone a person on foot.

• Make positive contact before you approach any equipment. Get the operator's attention by radio or eye contact, and wait until they lower the bucket or set the brake and signal you in.
• Stay out of the swing radius of excavators and loaders. Never walk behind equipment that could back up.
• Follow the mine's traffic rules: posted speeds, right-of-way, direction of travel, and radio call-outs. Some mines run left-hand traffic.
• In a pickup on a haul road, use the lights, flag, and radio procedures the mine requires, and park where haul trucks can see you.
• Learn the horn signals. Before starting or moving equipment, the operator must sound a warning or use another effective way to warn anyone nearby.
• Wear your seat belt in any equipment with rollover protection.
• Inspect equipment before you use it each shift. If a defect makes it unsafe, take it out of service and tag it.
• When you park and leave equipment, set the brake and lower the bucket or blade. On a grade, chock the wheels or turn them into a bank.
• Use three points of contact getting on and off. Don't jump down, and never ride on the outside of a machine.

30 CFR §56.14100 · §56.14130 · §56.14200 · §56.14207

Berms keep equipment from going over the edge. On elevated roads they must be at least mid-axle height of the largest piece of equipment that normally uses the road. Dump points need a berm, bumper block, or similar restraint where a truck could overtravel. A berm guides and warns the operator. It won't stop a loaded truck that hits it at speed.

30 CFR §56.9300 · §56.9301

Pre-shift equipment inspection

Equipment operators inspect self-propelled equipment before it's used on each shift. Walk all the way around the machine, then check it from the seat.

• Tires: cuts, bulges, low pressure, and damaged rims.
• Leaks: fuel, oil, coolant, and hydraulic fluid, on the machine and on the ground under it.
• Brakes and steering: test them before you move.
• Horn, backup alarm, and lights.
• Mirrors, windows, and cameras: clean and not cracked.
• Seat belt, steps, ladders, and handholds.
• Guards and covers in place.
• Fire extinguisher in its bracket and charged.
• Attachments, pins, and hoses.

Write what you find on the inspection sheet. If a defect makes the machine unsafe, take it out of service and tag it until it's fixed.

30 CFR §56.14100

Moving machinery and conveyors

Crushers, screens, conveyors, and pulleys can pull you in faster than you can react. Most conveyor injuries happen during cleanup and maintenance, when someone reaches in while the belt is still running.

• Head, tail, drive, and takeup pulleys, flywheels, couplings, shafts, sprockets, and other moving parts that could injure someone must be guarded. Guards stay in place while the machine runs.
• Never reach past or remove a guard on running equipment, even for a second.
• Before cleaning, repairing, or clearing a jam, shut the equipment off, lock and tag it out, and block it against motion. Module 10 covers lockout in detail.
• Cross conveyors only at crossovers, or where the belt is shut down and locked out. Never crawl under or step over a running belt.
• Know where the emergency stop pull cords are along the conveyors you work near.

30 CFR §56.14105 · §56.14107 · §56.14112

Electrical hazards

Electricity runs the plant, the pumps, and the dredge. It also kills miners, often during routine work.

• Only qualified persons work on electrical equipment and circuits. The power must be off and locked out, with warning notices posted, before work starts.
• Report damaged cords, exposed wires, missing covers on electrical boxes, and breakers that keep tripping. Don't reset a breaker over and over.
• Watch for overhead power lines when moving or raising equipment, booms, truck beds, or long material. If the clearance is less than 10 feet, the lines must be de-energized or other precautions taken.
• Water raises the risk. Take extra care with cords and tools around wash plants, ponds, and wet ground.
• If someone is in contact with electricity, don't touch them. Shut off the power or call for help.

30 CFR §56.12016 · §56.12017 · §56.12071

Ground conditions, highwalls, and stockpiles

Faces, highwalls, and stockpiles can fail with little warning.

• Stay away from the toe of a highwall or face. Watch for loose rock, overhangs, cracks along the crest, and material that has started to bulge or slough.
• A designated person examines ground conditions before work starts in an area, after blasting, and as conditions change during the shift.
• Never climb or walk on a stockpile. Stay well away from the toe when it's being worked. A stockpile face can collapse onto a person or vehicle.
• Stay off surge piles and away from areas over reclaim tunnels and feeders. Drawing material out from below can open a hole that swallows a person.
• Before anyone enters a bin, hopper, chute, or silo, material flow must be stopped and the feed and discharge equipment locked out. The person entering wears a harness with a lifeline, and a second person tends it.

30 CFR §56.3401 · §56.16002

Falls, water, and housekeeping

• Wear fall protection anywhere you could fall. Use the handrails on elevated walkways.
• Wear a life jacket wherever you could fall into water, including ponds, dredges, and wash plant sumps.
• Keep walkways and work areas clear. Spillage, hoses, and loose rock cause trips and falls.

30 CFR §56.15005 · §56.15020 · §56.20003

Blasting at quarries

If your mine blasts, learn the warning signals and the blast schedule. Leave the area when told, stay out until the all-clear, and stay away from guarded access points. If you find explosives, a misfire, or anything that looks like a detonator or detonating cord, don't touch it. Keep people away and report it.

When someone is hurt

1. Make sure it's safe for you to help. Stop and lock out equipment, stay off unstable ground, and stay clear of anything electrical until the power is off. Don't become a second victim.
2. Call for help the way your mine requires, usually an emergency radio call or a phone number. Give your exact location, what happened, and how many people are hurt.
3. Get the first aid trained person on your shift. Every shift must have someone available who is trained in first aid.
4. Don't move an injured person unless they're in more danger where they are.
5. Send someone to meet the ambulance and guide it in. Outside responders don't know the haul roads.

Mines must have a way to call for help in an emergency and must arrange emergency medical help and transportation ahead of time.

30 CFR §56.18010 · §56.18013 · §56.18014

After an accident

Tell your supervisor right away. Mine operators must report serious accidents to MSHA within 15 minutes of when they knew or should have known about them. Don't change the accident scene except to rescue someone, prevent more danger, or keep equipment from being destroyed. Investigators need to see it as it was.

30 CFR §50.10 · §50.12

Evacuation

Every mine must have procedures for firefighting, evacuation, and rescue, worked out ahead of time with the local fire department.

• Know the alarm or signal that means evacuate.
• Know your escape route from each area where you work, and a second way out.
• Go to the assembly area and check in so supervisors can account for everyone. Don't leave the site without checking in.
• Don't go back for tools or vehicles.

30 CFR §56.4330

Preventing fires

Common fire sources at surface mines: hydraulic or fuel leaks spraying onto hot engine parts, fueling, welding and cutting, conveyor belts rubbing on seized idlers or pulleys, electrical faults, and oily rags.

• Report leaking hoses and fittings, and keep engine compartments clean.
• Shut the engine off when fueling. No smoking or open flames where signs prohibit them.
• Follow the mine's rules for welding and cutting, including a fire watch when required.
• Clean up spilled fuel and oil right away.

30 CFR §56.4101

Fire classes and extinguisher checks

Class A

Ordinary combustibles: wood, paper, cloth, and rubber such as conveyor belting.

Class B

Flammable liquids and grease: diesel, gasoline, hydraulic oil, and lubricants.

Class C

Energized electrical equipment: motors, panels, and cords that still have power.

Water on a Class B fire can spread burning fuel, and water on a Class C fire can shock you. That's why most mine extinguishers are ABC dry chemical.

When you pass an extinguisher in your work area, check that it's in place, the pin and seal are intact, the gauge is in the green, and the monthly inspection tag is current. Report any that aren't.

Using a fire extinguisher

Most extinguishers at mines are ABC dry chemical. They work on ordinary combustibles (A), flammable liquids and grease (B), and energized electrical equipment (C).

Pull

Pull the pin.

Aim

Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire.

Squeeze

Squeeze the handle.

Sweep

Sweep side to side across the base of the fire.

Only fight a fire that is small and not spreading, and only with a clear escape path behind you. Stay upwind. If the fire grows, the smoke gets heavy, or you could be cut off, get out and let the fire department handle it. Tell your supervisor any time an extinguisher is used so it gets recharged.

Equipment fire while you're operating: stop, set the brake, lower attachments, and shut down. Activate the fire suppression system if the machine has one. Get off, get away, and call it in.

30 CFR §56.4201 · §56.4230

Task training

Before you do a new task or run a piece of equipment for the first time, you get task training on the hazards, the safe work procedure, and the safety standards for that task. You may also learn by practicing under close observation of a competent person, after you've had hazard recognition training for that task.

If you haven't been trained on something, don't do it. Tell your supervisor you need training first. That's expected, and it's your right.

30 CFR §46.5(e) · §46.7

Breaking a task into steps

Before an unfamiliar or high-risk job, many mines use a job hazard analysis or a similar pre-task review. You list the steps of the job, the hazards at each step, and how each hazard will be controlled. Then you talk it through with your crew and supervisor before you start.

Controls work in an order: remove the hazard if you can, then use equipment and guarding, then procedures such as lockout and permits, and PPE last.

Workplace exams

A competent person examines each working place every shift before miners start work there, looking for conditions that could hurt someone. You'll be told about hazards found in your area, and they get corrected. If an imminent danger is found, everyone is pulled out of the area until it's fixed. Exam records are kept for at least a year.

Keep using your own eyes. Look over your work area before you start and throughout the shift.

30 CFR §56.18002

Personal protective equipment

• Hard hat wherever falling objects could be a hazard, which is nearly everywhere at a mine.
• Safety-toe boots wherever there's a hazard that could injure your feet.
• Safety glasses, goggles, or a face shield where flying material, dust, or chemicals could hurt your eyes.
• Hearing protection in noisy areas.
• High-visibility clothing. Most mines require it at all times.
• Gloves suited to the task.
• Fall protection, life jackets, and respirators where required.

Inspect your PPE before each shift. Replace anything cracked, worn out, or damaged.

30 CFR §56.15002 · §56.15003 · §56.15004

Silica dust

Crushing, screening, drilling, and driving on dry haul roads release respirable crystalline silica. These particles are too small to see. They lodge deep in the lungs and can cause silicosis, which has no cure, along with lung cancer, COPD, and kidney disease. The damage builds over years, and you can feel fine until it's advanced.

• Keep cab doors and windows closed and the filtered air system running.
• Make sure water sprays and dust collectors are working, and report them when they aren't.
• Don't dry sweep, and don't blow dust off your clothes with compressed air. Use a vacuum or wet methods.
• Wear a respirator when required, and wear it correctly.
• Cooperate with dust sampling. MSHA limits how much silica miners can be exposed to, and the mine samples to check.

Noise

Crushers, screens, and heavy equipment can damage your hearing. Hearing loss from noise is gradual, painless, and permanent. Under MSHA's noise standard, a miner exposed at or above the action level of 85 dBA, averaged over 8 hours, must be in a hearing conservation program that includes hearing tests. The exposure limit is 90 dBA.

Rule of thumb: if you have to raise your voice to talk to someone an arm's length away, wear hearing protection. Roll foam plugs tight and let them expand fully in the ear canal.

30 CFR Part 62

Heat, sun, and your body

• Drink water often, before you feel thirsty, and take breaks in the shade.
• New workers and anyone coming back from time off are at higher risk of heat illness during their first days in the heat.
• Cover up and use sunscreen.
• Lift with your legs, and get help with heavy or awkward loads.
• Long hours in rough-riding equipment injure backs and joints. Report seats and suspensions that need repair.

Chemicals and hazard communication

You have a right to know about the chemicals you work with. Every mine must have a written hazard communication (HazCom) program, a list of the hazardous chemicals at the mine, labels on containers, and Safety Data Sheets you can get to during every shift.

Common chemicals at aggregate operations include diesel and gasoline; hydraulic oil, grease, and lubricants; solvents and degreasers; antifreeze; welding fumes and compressed gases; flocculants and other water treatment chemicals at wash plants; cement and lime, which cause alkaline burns; battery acid; explosives at quarries; and the silica in rock dust.

Label

Shows the product name, a signal word (Danger or Warning), the hazards, pictograms, how to protect yourself, and who made it. If you pour a chemical into another container, that container needs a label too.

Safety Data Sheet

The detailed sheet for each chemical. It covers health effects, first aid, firefighting, spill cleanup, and the PPE to wear. Read it before you use a product you don't know.

30 CFR Part 47

Reading a Safety Data Sheet

Most Safety Data Sheets now use the same 16-section layout, so the same information is in the same place on every sheet. The sections you'll use most:

Section 1

Identification: product name, supplier, and emergency phone number.

Section 2

Hazard identification: signal word, pictograms, and hazard statements.

Section 4

First-aid measures.

Section 5

Firefighting measures, including which extinguishers to use.

Section 6

Accidental release: how to clean up a spill.

Section 7

Handling and storage.

Section 8

Exposure controls and personal protective equipment.

Your rights

Training

You get the training required by law during normal working hours, at your normal rate of pay. If training is held somewhere other than your normal work location, you're paid for added costs such as mileage. You get a certified copy of your new miner training record once your 24 hours are done, and copies of your records if you ask when you leave.

Request an inspection

If you believe there's a violation or an imminent danger, you or your miners' representative can ask MSHA for an immediate inspection. Your name is kept confidential if you ask.

Report a hazard

Anyone can report a hazardous condition to MSHA at 1-800-746-1553, 24 hours a day, or online at msha.gov. You don't have to give your name.

Refuse unsafe work

You can refuse work you reasonably and in good faith believe is unsafe. Tell your supervisor what the hazard is so it can be addressed.

No retaliation

You can't be fired, demoted, transferred, harassed, or punished in any way for raising safety concerns, reporting injuries, refusing unsafe work, talking to MSHA, or using any right under the Mine Act. If it happens, you can file a discrimination complaint with MSHA within 60 days.

Walk with the inspector

The miners' representative has the right to go with the MSHA inspector during inspections.

Information

Citations and orders are posted on the mine bulletin board. Exposure sampling results that apply to you are shared with you.

Pay when idled

If an MSHA order idles you, you may be entitled to pay for that time.

Mine Act §103(f) · §103(g) · §105(c) · §111 · §115 · 30 CFR §46.9 · §46.10

How to refuse unsafe work

1. Tell your supervisor what the hazard is and why you won't do the job that way.
2. Offer the safe way to do it if you know one, such as lockout, blocking, or a different method.
3. If the hazard isn't addressed, take it up the chain, to the miners' representative, or to MSHA.

A refusal is protected when you reasonably and in good faith believe the work is unsafe and you tell the operator about the hazard.

Your responsibilities

• Follow the mandatory safety and health standards and the mine's rules.
• Wear your PPE and use equipment the way you were trained.
• Report hazards, injuries, and near misses.
• Don't do work you haven't been trained for.
• Look out for the people around you.

MSHA publishes a guide to miners' rights and responsibilities. Ask your competent person for a copy, or find it at msha.gov.

Who's responsible for what

The mine operator, also called the production-operator, is responsible for compliance with MSHA standards at the mine. Independent contractors are responsible for their own employees, and their employees follow the mine's safety rules too.

Mine manager or superintendent

Runs the operation and sets safety expectations.

Foreman or supervisor

Directs daily work, makes sure miners are trained for their tasks, sees that workplace exams are done, corrects hazards, and enforces safety rules.

Lead or experienced miner

Guides new miners on the job and watches that you work safely until your 24 hours are done.

You

Follow instructions and safe work procedures, and speak up when something isn't right.

If you work for a contractor, your own supervisor directs your work. You still follow the mine's traffic rules, PPE requirements, and posted areas.

Miners' representatives

A miners' representative is a person or organization chosen by two or more miners to represent them on safety and health matters. It can be a union or a coworker, and it's registered with MSHA.

• May go with MSHA inspectors during inspections.
• Can request inspections and receive copies of certain documents, including the mine's training plan.
• Brings miners' safety concerns to the operator and to MSHA.

Not every mine has a miners' representative. Your rights under the Mine Act apply either way.

30 CFR Part 40 · §46.3

What to report

• Unsafe conditions: a missing or low berm, a damaged guard, cracks at the top of a highwall, a leaking hose, a damaged cord.
• Unsafe acts: someone working under a raised load, riding outside a cab, or skipping lockout.
• Equipment defects found on your pre-shift inspection.
• Near misses.
• Every injury, even a minor one.

How to report

1. If someone could get hurt right now, stop the work and warn people. Flag or barricade the area if you can do it safely.
2. Tell your supervisor right away, in person or by radio.
3. If equipment is unsafe to run, take it out of service and tag it so no one uses it until it's repaired.
4. Write it down on the mine's hazard report form or your pre-shift inspection sheet.
5. Follow up. If nothing changes, go up the chain, talk to the miners' representative, or call MSHA at 1-800-746-1553.

30 CFR §56.14100(c)

Reading the workplace exam record

Every shift's workplace exam is written down: who did it, when, the areas examined, any conditions found, and when each one was corrected. You're told about conditions found in your area, and miners' representatives can get copies of the records. Use the exam to learn about hazards before you walk into them.

30 CFR §56.18002

Report every injury

Report every injury to your supervisor before the end of your shift, even a small cut or strain. Minor injuries can get worse, and the mine has to track and report certain injuries to MSHA.

Near misses

A near miss is an accident that didn't hurt anyone this time: a truck that almost backed into a pickup, or a rock that fell where someone had just been standing. Reporting near misses shows where the next injury is likely to happen. You're protected from retaliation for reporting hazards and injuries.

Self-rescuers

A self-rescuer is a small breathing device for escaping smoke or toxic gas. They're used mainly in underground mines, and most surface aggregate operations don't use them. If yours does, you'll be shown where they're stored and practice putting one on.

When respirators are used

Respirators are the last line of defense. The first steps are engineering controls like water sprays, enclosed cabs, and dust collectors. A respirator is used when those controls can't keep exposure low enough, or while they're being repaired.

Filtering facepiece

Disposable, such as an N95. It must be NIOSH approved. A nuisance dust mask without NIOSH approval doesn't protect your lungs.

Half-mask or full-face

A reusable rubber or silicone facepiece with replaceable filters or cartridges. Particulate filters for dust, chemical cartridges for vapors.

PAPR

A powered air-purifying respirator. A battery-powered blower pushes filtered air into a hood or facepiece.

Before you wear one

• Your mine's respiratory protection program covers medical evaluation, fit testing, and training before you wear a tight-fitting respirator.
• A tight-fitting respirator only works when it seals against your skin. Beards and stubble where the facepiece seals prevent that.
• Do a user seal check every time you put it on, following the manufacturer's instructions. For most reusable half-masks, cover the filters and breathe in gently. The facepiece should pull in slightly and stay there.

Care and maintenance

• Inspect before each use for cracks, tears, stiff or missing valves, and stretched straps.
• Clean reusable respirators the way the manufacturer directs and let them dry.
• Store them in a clean bag or container, away from dust, sun, heat, and chemicals. Don't hang them on a hook in the plant.
• Replace particulate filters when they're damaged or dirty, or when breathing gets harder. Replace chemical cartridges on the schedule set by the program.
• Throw out disposable respirators when they're damaged, dirty, wet, or hard to breathe through.

Bleeding

Press firmly and directly on the wound with gauze or a clean cloth. If blood soaks through, add more on top and keep pressing. For life-threatening bleeding from an arm or leg that pressure can't control, apply a tourniquet 2 to 3 inches above the wound, not over a joint. Tighten it until the bleeding stops and note the time. Wear gloves if you can.

Shock

Signs include pale, cool, clammy skin, fast breathing or pulse, confusion, and weakness. Have the person lie down, keep them warm, and don't give them anything to eat or drink. Get medical help.

Burns

Heat burns: cool with cool running water for at least 10 minutes. No ice, butter, or ointment. Don't pop blisters. Cover loosely with a clean dressing.

Chemical burns: brush off dry chemical, then flush with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes. Wet cement and lime cause alkaline burns that may not hurt at first, so rinse any skin that has been in contact. Check the Safety Data Sheet.

Eye injuries

Dust or grit: don't rub. Flush with an eyewash station or clean water.

Chemicals: flush for at least 15 minutes, holding the eyelids open.

Object stuck in the eye: don't remove it. Cover both eyes loosely and get medical help.

Broken bones, sprains, and spine injuries

Keep an injured arm or leg still in the position you found it. Check for feeling and color below the injury. Don't try to straighten it.

If someone fell, was struck, or was thrown, assume a spine injury. Don't move them unless they're in danger, and keep their head and neck still.

Heat illness

Electrical shock

Don't touch the person until the power is off. Call for help, and start CPR if they aren't breathing normally. Electrical burns can be deep even when the skin looks minor.

CPR and AED

If someone is unresponsive and not breathing normally, call for help and send someone for the AED. Push hard and fast in the center of the chest, at least 2 inches deep, at 100 to 120 compressions a minute. Use the AED as soon as it arrives and follow its voice prompts. Keep going until help takes over.

First aid supplies, including stretchers and blankets, must be kept where every working area can get to them. The mine must make first aid training available to any miner who wants it. A hands-on CPR and first aid course is worth taking.

30 CFR §56.15001 · §56.18010

Lockout, tagout, and blocking

1. Tell the people affected that the equipment is being shut down.
2. Shut it down with the normal controls.
3. Isolate every energy source: electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, and fuel. Some machines have more than one.
4. Put your own lock and tag on each disconnect. Every person working on the equipment uses their own lock.
5. Release or block stored energy. Lower or block raised beds, buckets, and booms. Bleed off hydraulic and air pressure. Block belts and flywheels that could move. Clear or block material in chutes that could fall.
6. Verify. Try to start it, then return the controls to off.
7. When the work is done, make sure everyone is clear and the guards are back on. Only the person who put a lock on removes it.

Gravity and stored energy hurt people even when the power is off. A conveyor belt under tension can roll back. A raised truck bed can drop. A jammed crusher can release suddenly when the jam clears.

30 CFR §56.12016 · §56.14105

How miners die at surface operations

MSHA investigates every mining death and publishes the reports. At surface metal and nonmetal mines, the same causes show up again and again:

• Haul trucks and other equipment going over an edge or through a berm, often with the operator not wearing a seat belt.
• People on foot and pickups struck by mobile equipment whose operator couldn't see them.
• Miners caught in conveyors and machinery during cleanup or maintenance without lockout.
• Falls from equipment, walkways, and structures without fall protection.
• Electrocution during electrical work or from contact with overhead lines.
• Being struck by material falling from highwalls, stockpiles, or loads.
• Drowning at ponds and dredges.

Everyday hazards

Pickups and light vehicles

Do a walkaround before you drive. Use your lights and flag, follow radio rules, and stay well back from haul trucks. Never park in a haul truck's blind spot or travel path.

Distraction and fatigue

No phone use while operating equipment or driving on mine property. Tell your supervisor if you're too tired to work safely. Long shifts and hot weather add up.

Hand and power tools

Use the right tool, inspect it before use, keep guards on grinders and saws, and wear eye and face protection.

Welding and cutting

Get hot work approval if the mine requires it. Clear combustibles, have an extinguisher ready, and keep a fire watch when required. Check tanks and lines for flammable residue before cutting.

Dredges and water

Wear a life jacket on and near dredges, booster pumps, and pond edges. Know where the throwable flotation is kept.