Final report issued concerning a Boone County miner's death in January

MSHA issued its final report following the investigation into a miner's death that occurred in January at the Twilight Surface Mine in Boone County

TWILIGHT Federal officials issued a final report on a Boone County miner’s death.

On January 29th, 55-year-old Steven Fields, of Chauncey in Logan County, died after a rock fall that struck the cab of the drill he was operating at the Twilight Surface Mine, owned by Lexington Coal Company, LLC.

Fields was assigned to drill a test hole in the Chilton A-pit to determine a depth of the current coal seam and the location of the next. Roughly ninety minutes later, a large rock fell from the highwall and crushed the machine.

According to the US Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration report, an investigation that followed found the operator failed to ensure the drill operator did not work under a dangerous highwall and failed to scale the area before work in the pit. Moreover, the report concluded the operator did not adequately examine the highwall or provide adequate training to the Mr. Fields.

MSHA reported Fields’ background included twenty years of experience. He was at the Twilight mine for eight weeks at the time of the accident.

According to the report, recent training did not cover ground control plans, hazard recognition or accident prevention.

MSHA issued a corrective action plan, including a revised ground control plan and training. Lexington Coal was issued three orders and two citations as a result of the investigation.

Read the final report here.

PHOTO | MSHA