Cote Blanche Mine — Accidents

Total: 215 accidents | Fatalities: 2

Date Classification Injury Days Lost Narrative
12/12/2025 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None At the end of the employees shift, EE was exiting the skip and debris blew into the employee's eye from under EE's prescription safety glasses. EE was seen by a eye specialist who removed a rust parti...
06/01/2025 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 32d lost Mechanic was assisting face drill operator remove broken drill steel. The wrench slipped hitting the employees hand causing the injury.
05/01/2025 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Cutting rope with retractable safety knife. The rope slipped & EE lacerated the top of EE's left thumb. Received 3 stitches at the hospital.
03/24/2025 HOISTING DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY None Hoist tripped power due to incoming power interruption (Cleco) as it was travelling with personnel to 1500 ft level. The brakes engaged, suddenly stopping the skip due to the power trip. Drives were...
12/28/2024 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 73d lost Employee was walking down stairs and missed bottom step. Landed hard on foot, causing strain to the right knee.
10/08/2024 HOISTING DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 177d lost As the guide rope was being installed, the rope slipped and fell to the bottom of the shaft below. When it fell, the tail end of the rope whipped by, hitting an employee on the top of the headframe, c...
06/21/2024 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 165d lost Employee slipped while pushing forks together on a forklift, injuring left knee. Employee released to full work duties on 6-21. Xrays on 6-24 showed area of concern, so MRI requested. Employee taken...
02/27/2024 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 333d lost Employees were changing the springs on the safety catch mechanism on the 8ft.cage. During the process an employee was struck with a component after a sash cord rope broke.
01/31/2024 MACHINERY DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 31d lost 1-31-24 Working in shaft cutting bolts, when hot slag fell & landed in left ear perforating ear drum. Dr. recommended surgery to repair ear drum, which took place on 1-29-25. Employee continued to w...
01/23/2024 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None Compressor overheated, causing fire on floor drill.
01/02/2024 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Employee slammed finger in steel door that EE was closing.
10/31/2023 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY None A haul truck caught on fire. As the employee was exiting the truck, they stepped on the bumper and fell, injuring themselves.
10/06/2023 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 2d lost Employee was climbing down loader ladder when EE's hands cramped up, causing EE to lose grip and fall approx. 4ft to the ground below. EE fell on EE's W-65, sustaining a lumbar strain & contusion.
09/22/2023 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY None Employee was moving a light tower by hand instead of using a forklift. When EE lifted it to turn, EE felt pain in lower back. EE was diagnosed with a lumbar strain. The pain has not diminished, so E...
03/09/2023 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 71d lost ON 3-9-2023 employee was working on a cat forklift and felt a pain in elbow. The employee was sent to clinic on 3-10-23 and released with no restrictions. The employee went to their own doctor and was...
12/31/2022 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None A powder man was cutting a rubber hose with a safety utility knife. As EE cut through the hose the blade contacted EE's left palm.
11/26/2022 MACHINERY DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 4d restricted The operator was moving a track scaler (excavator), when the H-link on the cab broke. The cab detached and fell forward onto the left track.
10/13/2022 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Employee was climbing down ladder to access work barge. While climbing down ladder the employee slipped while descending. Employee's hands were on the side rails as employee was descending. The distal...
09/11/2022 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None Face drill #8 caught fire on Q-ramp. The mine was evacuated. No injuries reported, everyone is on surface.
03/14/2022 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None Track Scaler #1 caught on fire. It was tagged out on the battery cable for a bad alternator. There was no witness to how the fire started.
08/09/2021 OTHER DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 1d lost On 8-9-2021 an employee was moving items in a storage shed on surface and a bug bit them on the right leg. The employee did not report to work on the following day due to this occurrence. The employee...
06/24/2021 EXPLODING VESSELS UNDER PRESSURE DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 13d lost While blowing air through an airline the hose came out of EE's hand and hit the employee in EE's right eye.
06/02/2021 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None A contractor was walking across the parking lot before the start of shift. They tripped and fell. This action resulted in a cut to the right hand that required sutures.
04/30/2021 POWERED HAULAGE NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Employee and forklift operator were removing a cable reel off of a floor drill. Once it was removed they placed it on the ground to adjust the lifting straps. The injured employee had EE's hand on the...
04/19/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None 14' Hoist system tripped during routine pre-shift check by hoist operator which prevented the hoist from operating in automatic mode. Continued operating hoist in manual mode. A defective control card...
04/13/2021 ELECTRICAL ACCIDENT ONLY None On 4-13-2021 a lightning storm moved through our area and tripped service power on the mainland. The emergency generator was started. The shaft that the emergency generator powers was down due to cons...
03/18/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None The power cable for the bell signal system in the #3 shaft and ""men working in shaft"" signal light was snagged by one of the skips. The power cable parted and fell down the shaft becoming tangled ar...
03/08/2021 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 9d lost, 1d restricted On Mar 8, the EE climbed down the loader ladder, stepped on the ground and EE's foot slipped out from under EE. EE fell, landing on their tailbone. The Dr. at the Clinic determined that EE separated...
03/08/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None The 16 ft. hoist went down with fault codes creating an electrical issue on the North skip. Two other hoists are operational. No personnel were injured. The mine was not evacuated. Submission #29411...
03/08/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Sensors which verify that the friction hoist rope drum, hoist motors, and head sheave are all functioning properly stopped communicating. When they lose communication with one another, the control sys...
02/09/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None A swivel connecting a balance rope to the bottom of one of the ore skips failed. The balance rope became separated from the ore skip and fell down the #3 shaft. This rope became entangled with the bal...
01/20/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None A brake shoe on the ore hoist in the #3-16' shaft was dragging on the drum during hoist operations. A heat sensor on that brake shoe detected a temperature rise above set limits and stopped the hoist....
01/17/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None The control system during start of shift hoist checks. A pneumatic relay on the 16' ore hoist brake control system was responding slowly due to the cold weather. This slow response was detected by a b...
01/05/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None The 16 ft hoist is currently down due to brake issues. Troubleshooting is currently taking place, so repairs can be made. There are two other means of egress from the mine and no one was injured as a...
01/03/2021 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None #3 16'-shaft hoist tripped while conducting safety checks. Electrician checked control system and reset breakers more than 30 minutes after control system hoist tripped necessitating reporting to MSHA...
12/21/2020 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None On 12/21/20, the 16ft hoist started to trip and then went down due to a loop contact fault. There were two other means of egress from the mine and no one was injured as a result of this occurrence.
12/20/2020 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Hoist operator received fault codes conducting hoist tests on the #3-16' shaft. The hoist would not reset. Operator called to report the fault. Calls to MSHA reporting line were placed at 10:44 PM, 10...
12/19/2020 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None On 12/19/20 power tripped to the 8ft, 14ft and 16ft hoists and main fan. The 8ft & 14ft were reset, allowing for two other means of egress from the mine. The main fan was able to be reset. The 16ft w...
12/14/2020 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None SCR failed in hoist control system. Damage was repaired within 45 minutes of discovery.
12/08/2020 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None On 12/8/2020 the 16 ft. hoist went down due to a hoist blower motor failing and caused the SCR to overheat. There were two other means of egress from the mine and no one was injured as a result of thi...
11/18/2020 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None A miner heard one of the skip ores hitting the loading pocket hard as it entered. The hoist was taken out of service, inspected, and damage to the structural steel discovered. One of the ore skips use...
11/07/2020 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None On 11/7/2020 at 10:02 am the hoist was out of service due to a blower motor breaker trip. An electrician was called up and reset the breaker.
11/06/2020 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None The 16 ft. was out of service to do a combination of loose pin connections on the MDA driver module.
11/05/2020 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None The 16ft hoist went down due to electrical issues with the programming. The E&I tech was called out to make the repair.
10/28/2020 ENTRAPMENT ACCIDENT ONLY None On 10/28/2020 service power (Cleco) was interrupted due to a tree branch falling on the powerline off site. The emergency generator was started to evacuate the mine. The transfer switch did not fully...
10/05/2020 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Employee was cutting a small piece of wire loom with a self retracting safety utility knife. EE was holding the wire loom with left hand and attempted to cut through it. As EE did this EE cut the midd...
09/05/2020 ENTRAPMENT ACCIDENT ONLY None Service power to the mine was interrupted. 2 miners were working in the 16 ft. shaft. As the power was interrupted the miners could not be moved up or down in the shaft. Once power was restored the ho...
08/04/2020 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None A joint in automatic sprinkler system piping failed. Fire pump started with drop in line pressure. Water from open water line entered friction hoist motors causing a short and controllers to trip. Two...
03/26/2020 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None The 14ft. skip was being loaded with a primary crusher breaker shaft. As the weight was placed in the skip the hoist rope stretched misaligning the magnets. Once the hoistman began to move the skip it...
01/26/2020 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 205d lost On 1/26/2020 employee was working off of a four foot ladder and fell backwards from the second rung, breaking their fall with arms extended out behind them. On 10/13/2020 the employee had surgery to t...