Tag: Mining Death

MSHA: Cause Of Death Changed For Miner 

Following further investigation Finley’s cause of death was changed by MSHA after the agency determined it should be charged to the mining industry.

Investigators have made a new determination in the cause of a miner’s death last August in McDowell County. 

The death of 39-year-old Christopher R. Finley was originally blamed on “medical related issues” in a preliminary report released by the Mine, Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

Now Finley’s death is being ruled an accidental drowning.

Finley, a native of Princeton, was working at Twin State Mining, Inc. ‘s Mine No. 39 in McDowell County on August 18th. 

According to the initial report, he was found unresponsive lying in approximately eight inches of water and mud. The death certificate said he was “installing hose for a dewatering pump” and listed his cause of death as drowning.

Following further investigation Finley’s cause of death was changed by MSHA after the agency determined it should be charged to the mining industry.

His death was the 9th coal mining death in 2023 nationwide and the third in West Virginia. 

A section foreman, Finley had 15 years of mining experience. He left behind a wife and four children. 

MSHA Report: Roof Bolter Was Electrocuted In Boone County Mine

The agency said in its preliminary report that he’d come in contact with a hook energized by a 480-volt cable that supplied power to a roof bolting machine.

Federal investigators shared more details about what caused the death of a coal miner in Boone County two weeks ago.

Kristopher Ball, a roof bolter, was electrocuted at the Coalburg Tunnel Mine Sept. 1, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

The agency said in its preliminary report that he’d come in contact with a hook energized by a 480-volt cable that supplied power to a roof bolting machine. Ball, 33, had 12 years of experience.

Ball’s death came less than two weeks after that of William Richards on Aug. 17 at the Tunnel Ridge Mine in Ohio County.

Ball is the fourth coal miner killed on the job in West Virginia this year. Nine coal miners have died nationwide this year, approaching the 10 mine fatalities that occurred last year.

State Regulators Fine Company in West Virginia Miner's Death

State regulators have cited and fined the operator of a West Virginia coal mine in the death of a shuttle car operator.Pinnacle Mining Co. was penalized…

State regulators have cited and fined the operator of a West Virginia coal mine in the death of a shuttle car operator.

Pinnacle Mining Co. was penalized following an investigation of the miner’s death, according to an eight-page document made public Monday during a state Coal Mine Health and Safety board meeting, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.

Luches Rosser, 44, of Man, West Virginia, was pronounced dead shortly before 1 a.m. May 19 shortly at a Welch hospital, according to a state Miners’ Health, Safety and Training office report. His head struck two different steel I-beams about 11 p.m. when he and another worker were traveling in an underground locomotive at a mine near Pineville in Wyoming County.

The accident happened in an area along the track where the roof clearance height drops from roughly 80 to 50 inches (200 to 130 centimeters). Investigators found there was no warning light, reflective sign or tape marking the spot where Rosser struck his head.

Although investigators believe he’d been trained, Pinnacle was cited for inability to provide paperwork showing Rosser received “adequate training” dealing with the track system, state mine safety office director Greg Norman said. Officials proposed a “special assessment” $10,000 fine for the citation.

While many coal-mining safety and health rule violations draw at most $5,000 fines under state law, special assessments of up to $10,000 may be issued in cases involving death, imminent danger or high degrees of negligence.

Mine officials didn’t immediately respond to The Gazette-Mail’s request for comment.

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