The agency issued separate fatality alerts highlighting hazards involving powered haulage equipment and falling material while investigations continue.

• By Stasia DeMarco
• Aug 06, 2026

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has issued two fatality alerts following separate mining incidents in July, underscoring ongoing hazards involving powered haulage equipment and material handling in U.S. mining operations.

In one incident, a haul truck operator died July 6 after the truck he was operating collided with another haul truck at Freeport-McMoRan Morenci Inc.'s surface copper mine in Morenci, Arizona. MSHA classified the incident as a powered haulage fatality and reminded mine operators to maintain safe operating practices, including following traffic controls, maintaining safe following distances and ensuring operators remain alert to changing conditions.

In a separate incident, a contract miner was seriously injured July 11 after being engulfed by falling coal spillage while shoveling beneath a silo at the Bailey Mine in Wind Ridge, Pennsylvania. The worker died from those injuries on July 20. MSHA classified the accident as involving falling, rolling or sliding material.

The agency's fatality alert for the Pennsylvania incident emphasizes controlling hazardous material before work begins, preventing miners from working beneath stored material that could unexpectedly release, and following procedures to ensure material is safely removed before employees enter hazardous areas.

Both investigations remain preliminary, and MSHA said its findings do not yet represent final determinations regarding the causes of the accidents. The agency publishes fatality alerts following mining deaths to highlight best practices that may help prevent similar incidents while investigations continue.

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