CAYUGA MINE — Accidents

Total: 267 accidents | Fatalities: 1

Date Classification Injury Days Lost Narrative
07/17/2025 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Relay switches burned up on #3 Hoist.
07/15/2025 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Relay switches burned up in #3 Hoist.
06/14/2025 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Ground fault shorted out #3 hoist motor causing arcing.
03/19/2025 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None #3 Hoist was having some electrical problems, so crew was troubleshooting it, we still had our #4 and #2 for escapeways. It ended up being 2 bad fuses. and was repaired
03/13/2025 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None Crew had started shift, they were heading out to the panels they passed the shop, usually lights are on, noticed they couldn't see any light and turned around, saw it was smoke blocking the lights, st...
02/23/2025 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Bad multi-conductor in #4 shaft.
01/29/2025 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Electrical fault on our #4 Hoist. Trouble shooting determined there was crossover power from 480v to 20v that burnt up a circuit board.
12/28/2024 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Inconsistent noise coming from motor area of #3 hoist. Appears that the blower fan mounts were loose. AAI is coming in to do an in depth vibration inspection.
07/16/2024 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None This was a power outage from our electricity supplier NYSEG. Power went out to underground and the decision was make to initiate a controlled evacuation at 8:38pm. all personnel brought to surface in...
07/08/2024 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Lower limit switch was not functioning properly. It was diagnosed to be faulty, corroded, moisture got inside the box. It was replaced with a new switch.
03/21/2024 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Bell line communication system was down due to corroded wire, shorting out. Electrician repaired and steps taken to prevent reoccurrence.
02/26/2024 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None When 2nd shift came to surface the gate switch did not release and when the gate was opened the latch was found damaged therefor making the switch inoperable.
02/23/2024 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None The #4 hoist operator noticed that the cable for the back up bell line communication system had become detached and spooled up on the top of the cage.
01/28/2024 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None 'Dog' braking system cammed over and wedged in the dog boxes while performing test trips.
12/28/2023 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Mine signal switch was discovered to be faulty, equipment was cleaned and replaced, test trips were done, travel resumed within 50 minutes of equipt. malfunction discovery.
10/21/2023 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Scheduled replacement of the north guides in the #3 hoist headframe was occurring. The replacement was not completed by the end of the shift, thus making #3 not usable until installation could be fin...
10/14/2023 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Scheduled replacement of the south guides in the #3 hoist headframe was occurring. The replacement could not be completed by then end of shift, thus making #3 not usable until install could be finishe...
08/15/2023 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Output on system circuit received and electrical arc that damaged this particular output.
07/18/2023 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Power went out on surface which affected the hoist and power undergound at 4:15pm, Evac was started 4:30, power came back on at 5:20, test trips were done and operations resumed. Power outage due to s...
07/05/2023 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None While attempting to raise the #4 cage to surface, the electrical breaker for the charging circuit on the #4 hoist drive failed.
05/27/2023 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None #3 hoist stopped due to a brake fault. The solenoid connector shorted out on one of the brake manifolds. Upon investigation it was found that in the PLC board, a rack output had shorted out which led...
05/06/2023 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Employee was using a knife to cut mesh. Employee was cutting toward themselves and slipped, causing the knife to penetrate their right thigh leading to a laceration. Employee received 2 stitches to c...
02/10/2023 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 2d restricted 2 employees were lifting a 13' long section of 6"" wide rectangular steel tubing in order to set it onto a dolly. Employee one lost their grip and dropped their end. The other end then pinched employ...
11/28/2022 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 5d restricted Employee was setting the parking brake on a rail car. As EE tightened the brake EE felt a pop in EE's left arm. Employee was diagnosed with a tricep strain.
10/29/2022 OTHER ACCIDENT ONLY None While performing a shaft inspection in #3 shaft, a loose wall bracket was identified. It was determined that it needed to be replaced. A courtesy call was made to MSHA as a notification.
09/04/2022 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None A call was made to MSHA's hotline due to the thought that the #3 hoist brakes were not working properly. This call was made by mistake due to a misunderstanding. MSHA arrived on site on 9/6 to bette...
08/24/2022 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 15d restricted On 8/8/22 an employee was attempting to open the landing gate at #4. They were trying to pull up on the latch with no success. They felt something pull/ strain in their back/shoulder area. The employe...
08/08/2022 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None The west hydraulic brake for the #3 hoist was found to be out of spec during the static brake test. The east hydraulic brake and pinion brake were still functional though. MSHA was notified that the h...
07/24/2022 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None While performing a shaft inspection, the hoist tripped out on a drive fault. The cage was lowered to the bottom using the back up generator, then troubleshooting began. It was found that 2 of the SCR...
07/24/2022 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 56d restricted On 7/24 employee was helping with a belt move. Employee was pulling belt when they felt a pop in their left forearm near the elbow. On 8/6 the employee was pulling brattice curtain when they felt more...
07/16/2022 POWERED HAULAGE DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 45d restricted Employee was leveling a tail pulley by placing shims under one foot to level it while another employee lifted the foot with a skid steer bucket. The skid steer operator lowered the foot pinching the e...
06/26/2022 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None During a routine inspection an employee noticed a roof fall that appeared to have happened several weeks earlier in the Unit 80 panel within an area that was previously bermed off and blocked from per...
05/21/2022 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None While chipping buildup in #3 shaft a small chunk of salt fell to the bottom of the shaft and pulled a wire out of a proximity switch on the way down. This caused the hoist to kick out and not run prop...
04/24/2022 OTHER DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 8d restricted Employee was crouching down in order to grease a tail pulley. As they crouched down they felt a pop in their back and sharp pain. Employee diagnosed with a pulled back muscle.
03/09/2022 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Fuse in drive cabinet blew for #2 hoist, evac called, everyone out of mine. Fuse was replaced, hoist back up and operating at 12:00am
03/01/2022 POWERED HAULAGE ACCIDENT ONLY None Employee was performing rehab work to the roof in U86 by running a Smag tram scaler. While doing so, a portion of the roof fell next to the machine and partially onto the machine. There was no injury.
02/05/2022 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None While chairing the #3 cage during the weekly preventative maintenance inspection, the dogging mechanism cammed too far in the hour glass guides causing it to bend. The Dog could not be released and th...
02/04/2022 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 167d lost Employee was exiting the cab of a pay loader during a snowstorm. While turning around in order to descend the ladder, they slipped and fell to the ground below. The employee fell on their feet but fra...
11/27/2021 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 9d lost Employee was installing a gate with another employee. The employee lifted one end of the gate and was holding it up while another employee was installing the hinge pins. The gate fell out of the hinge...
10/14/2021 POWERED HAULAGE DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 7d restricted Employee was driving a lube truck in a tramway underground. They hit a bump causing the top of their hard hat to hit the FOPS of the cab. This caused the employee to have neck pain. The employee was...
08/30/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Contractor was servicing the brake pump on the hoist instead of the pump for the thruster brake. Thruster brake has its own brake pump, test trips rectified the problem. Evac called off before bringin...
08/26/2021 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 28d lost, 12d restricted An employee was in the process of shoveling some spilled salt beneath a conveyor belt transfer. While pushing a shovel through the salt, they felt a sharp pain in their lower back. The pain made it...
08/11/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Test trip was being done, track limit exceeded, NIDEC was on site to diagnose, troubleshoot and change out motor encoder and adjust parameters on drive, #3 hoist back up and running within 1.5 hours
08/03/2021 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 70d restricted An employee was in a high lift pulling wire vertically from a spool located at ground level. After pulling the wire, the employee felt that their left shoulder was sore. A week later the pain had go...
07/19/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Power brown out from NYSEG power supply, they were updating their system and power to our local grid was affected. #3 skip kicked out, reset, men brought to surface, ran test trips, all tested good.
07/14/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None #1 salt production skip kicked out, cage stuck. Inspection reveled pin was missing that held safety dog to skip. Dog did deploy correctly to stop cage travel as it should have.
07/02/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None #3 hoist tripped and would not reset because the west brake was not functioning properly. Through troubleshooting it was found that the west brake switch plunger was stuck in the open position.
05/06/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None While running the #3 hoist, the hoist tripped out. A magnet proximity switch was found to have shorted out within #3 shaft 90' below the collar.
04/15/2021 HOISTING DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 16d lost, 3d restricted The designated person called for the cage to pick the people up from the work deck. The designated person failed to notify the hoist person the exact location of the work deck while it was on approach...
03/16/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None A guide wheel on the #3 mancage broke, therefore the #3 hoist was down until repairs were completed. Upon completion of repairs, a shaft inspection was performed to ensure everything was in order and...