Colowyo Mine — Accidents

Total: 113 accidents | Fatalities: 1

Date Classification Injury Days Lost Narrative
09/07/2025 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None A wildland fire was discovered west of the active mining area and not extinguished within 1/2 hour of discovery. Upon further investigation, the fire is not within the mining permit boundary. No mine...
06/25/2025 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 62d lost Employee states that their back was hurting after doing clean up and shoveling at the loadout.
06/20/2025 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None On June 20, 2025, at approximately 1420, a wildland fire was discovered inside the mine permit boundary near a public utility powerline during high wind conditions. The fire was not extinguished withi...
05/24/2025 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 1d lost Employee was pulling fuel hose and twisted to get slack in the hose so the nozzle could be hooked to the piece of equipment to be fueled. When the employee twisted this caused pain to the lower left a...
04/18/2025 OTHER DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 23d lost On 4/18/25 employee was walking and as they took a step their knee buckled. The employee didn't feel any sort of pop or discomfort at that time. On 4/19/25 the employee went to a physician due to thei...
02/08/2025 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 100d lost Production Operator was shoveling mud off the track frame of a dozer while standing on the ground when Operator slipped and fell, landing on left shoulder. X-ray was negative and physician has referre...
07/17/2024 MACHINERY DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 46d lost The lab technician was getting ready to collect a coal sample when bolts for an approximately 10-inch guide on the drill sheared, and the guide fell, striking the Lab Tech on top of the right shoulder...
07/12/2024 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 16d lost Warehouse Attendant was attempting to unload two GET Heel Plates from the forks of a forklift. The Attendant slid the plates off the end of the forks and pinched their index and middle fingers on thei...
12/17/2023 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 11d lost, 93d restricted Security Officer had unused CCTV monitor fall on their head while attempting to retrieve items from post storage space resulting in black eye, stiffness of neck and headache. Security Officer was eval...
11/25/2023 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Equipment Operator was assisting to unplug the 007 Crusher. The operator was turning the drive pulley by hand when left ring finger was pinched between the pulley and the belt. An x-ray revealed a fra...
07/29/2023 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None A grass fire was discovered and reported at 13:25 while employees were investigating why the mine site lost power and shortly thereafter, phones. A fire line was immediately cut around the fire and su...
07/25/2023 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 3d lost EE was cleaning out cardboard from the back of the blasting truck. EE stepped back towards the rear of the truck and stepped off the bed onto the tailgate. This caused EE to lose balance and fall resu...
04/25/2023 DISORDERS (REPEATED TRAUMA) OCCUPATNAL ILLNESS NOT DEG 1-6 15d lost EE reports that, at the end of EE's shift, EE dismounted a highway haul truck, and EE felt a popping sensation along with a burning sensation and pain in the upper heel area of EE's left foot.
03/07/2023 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 21d lost After shoveling spilled coal in the train tunnel for several hours, EE reported feeling pain on the right side of lower back. EE was seen by a physician the following day and given medication for the...
02/27/2023 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 24d lost A Wagner Equipment Co. field service technician was placing a D11 dozer on jack stands provided by ColoWyo Coal maintenance shop. The tech was positioning stands under the machine using handle. Stand...
02/23/2023 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None EE pinched right thumb and index finger between a gate latch and a door at the train tunnel. X-ray revealed a small fracture to the tip of the thumb. EE was referred to ortho and given a full release...
09/28/2022 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None A grass fire was reported at approx. 4:49 pm. Mine employees began fighting the fire and requested help from Craig. No buildings, equipment or personnel were in the path of the fire. The fire was e...
09/21/2022 NONPOWERED HAULAGE DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 85d lost Employee was moving 55 gallon barrels in the lube room to gain access to the floor drain. While moving the third barrel with the barrel dolly employee felt a sharp pain in lower abdomen. Employee was...
06/17/2022 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None The injured employee was spraying weeds at the mine-site. A gust of wind blew a dust particle into their eye. Irrigation failed to remove the dust. They were taken to the ER and the embedded particle...
11/16/2021 ENTRAPMENT ACCIDENT ONLY None The operator of 249 haul truck backed up to the berm on the dump. The berm sloughed off and the truck became stuck.
11/03/2021 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 88d lost, 134d restricted The employee was attempting to dump a coal sample. EE felt pain in shoulder. EE reported the incident but felt it was not serious and continued to work. Later, they decided to seek medical attention...
06/15/2021 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None A brush fire occurred just outside of the Collom pit. Outside resources were called to assist with controlling the fire. No structures or equipment were threatened by the fire and no one was injured...
05/21/2021 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 8d lost The employee was attaching a 1 inch oil hose to the fittings on the 116 excavator and felt pain in upper back. There was no accident or trauma. The hose weighs 5 lbs. Employee was not working in an...
05/18/2021 OTHER INJURIES DUE TO NATURAL CAUSES None The employee began to feel ill a few hours after reporting to work. EE was evaluated by an EMT. EE was taken to the hospital for further treatment. Later that day EE was diagnosed as having had a s...
05/03/2021 OTHER INJURIES DUE TO NATURAL CAUSES 14d lost The employee reported feeling ill to the lead person, an EMT. The EMT evaluated EE and diagnosed a potential heart attack. 911 was called and the mine's emergency team removed the ill employee from...
03/22/2021 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 3d lost The employee was using a skidder to pull trail cable for a dragline move. EE was dismounting the skidder using 3 points of contact and missed the first step. It was clean, dry and not obstructed. A...
01/14/2021 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None The injured employee was working on an excavator bucket change in the upper shop yard. Icy spots were identified and a load of rock was spread to mitigate the hazard. Employee was walking to get a ha...
07/07/2020 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None A fire was reported at around 7:45 am. The source of the fire was an old, abandoned underground mine fire. An ember from the old mine must have blown into the dry grass surrounding the hot area on t...
07/01/2020 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 34d lost The employee was dismounting a lube truck using three points of contact. EE's foot slipped off the step and EE rolled EE's ankle. EE was seen by ER for evaluation. EE returned to full duty for sever...
05/15/2020 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 203d lost The injured employee was working on a haul truck pm in the pm bay. EE tripped over the oil hose that was pulled out to fill the engine. EE fell to the concrete floor, landing on right side causing in...
02/05/2020 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 102d lost The injured employee was removing a return idler on the fines belt of the rock crusher. The employees finger was pinched between the idler and the belt frame when it came out of the bracket. The emp...
02/05/2020 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 120d restricted A temporary employee was mopping the floor in the lower shop. The employee grabbed the mop bucket handle with right hand and placed left hand under the bucket to dump the dirty water. The employee hea...
01/12/2020 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 59d lost While trying to free a blade that had become stuck, the injured employee got right ring finger pinched between a dozer ripper and a pulling strap. The pinched finger suffered an avulsion of the pad....
01/04/2020 NONPOWERED HAULAGE DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 10d lost A mechanic was installing the outside right front tire on 287 highway truck. Mechanic was using right arm on the tire dolly and left arm supporting the top of the tire. They felt a sharp pain in left...
12/08/2019 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 7d restricted The employee was assigned to replace a hydraulic cylinder. EE felt a pop in the left wrist while using two wrenches to loosen a hose from a fitting on the cylinder. EE was seen by a doctor and was r...
10/26/2019 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None A grass fire was reported to the guard shack at 3:36 pm. Mine employees began fighting the fire and requested help from Craig (town). No buildings, equipment or personnel were in the path of the fir...
06/28/2019 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 70d lost Employee was descending a short step ladder in the lower shop. EE missed the middle rung on the ladder and caught self with EE's right hand. EE felt fine at the end of shift but felt soreness in EE'...
09/09/2018 ELECTRICAL ACCIDENT ONLY None A brush fire started on the evening of 9/9/18. The fire was most likely caused by lightning as there are no mining activities near the point of ignition. This brush fire is being reported as it took...
07/03/2018 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Northwest Tool Employee injured while attempting to connect an airline to a valve. The Valve failed causing fragments to stick into employee's left arm. Medical treatment required to remove small pa...
12/24/2017 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 127d lost A mechanic injured a knee dismounting a pickup truck. Employee sought medical attention on 1/19/18 and was not released to return to work.
09/08/2017 POWERED HAULAGE DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 2d restricted The injured employee placed a hand on the outrigger of a service truck. Another employee retracted the outrigger, pinching a finger. Injured employee received 5 stitches.
07/21/2017 ELECTRICAL ACCIDENT ONLY None Lightning started a brush fire at Collom. The fire burned for over a half hour so it was reported to MSHA. The fire was discovered at 2:50 pm and was extinguished by a rain storm at 3:39 pm. The fi...
04/30/2017 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 56d restricted EE working on Komatsu WA1200 Front Loader. EE was installing an intake coupling (or intake boot) between an air box and first piece of intake pipe. EE experienced pain in right thumb. Right thumb has...
04/24/2017 OTHER DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 31d lost A miner who had undergone treatment for cancer believes they broke a rib while stretching. The miner was seated in the breakroom before beginning work and raised their arms above their head, stretchi...
04/01/2017 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 16d lost An employee fueled 609 backhoe. While mounting the machine employee felt a pop in right shoulder. Employee was evaluated by a Dr. on 4/2/17 and was not released to return to work, making this incide...
12/30/2016 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 124d lost A temporary employee slipped while pulling wires from underneath the MCC room on a dragline. When ee attempted to catch self, ee injured right shoulder. The employee was not released to return to wo...
08/02/2016 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None A brush fire was reported near the red dog corner around 4:05 pm. I reported the fire to MSHA at 4:27 pm. Fire was out at 6:00 pm. No injuries or equipment damage occurred due to this fire. Vegeta...
07/11/2016 OTHER DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 3d lost, 3d restricted Alsco Sales rep was lifting rugs in vehicle. Injured coughed and felt a pop and burning pain in side.
05/11/2016 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 195d lost The injured employee tripped over a chunk of mud and fell on right side. EE initially refused treatment. A follow up exam was conducted and EE was not released to work for next scheduled shift (5/20/...
04/28/2015 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None The injured employee was pulling a hose off of a water truck. The hose coupling hit him in the mouth as he pulled it off of the truck. The coupling split his lip, which required stitches.