In 2020, the U.S. mining industry reported its sixth consecutive year with fewer than 30 fatalities, according to a recent U.S. Department of Labor news release.

Among those fatalities, there were five that occurred in coal mines, which was a historic low.

The decline shows a significant downward trend largely attributed to safety education efforts such as those provided through CORESafety, as well as onsite enforcement of safety violations.

For a time, powered haulage accidents had been on the rise, resulting in roughly 50% of all fatalities in 2019.

But in 2020, the industry saw that number reduced to 21%, again thanks primarily to education campaigns.

Finally, 2020 was the first year in the history of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in which there were no seat belt related deaths. 

Currently, there are approximately 230,000 miners working across 11,500 metal/nonmetal mines in the U.S., while 64,000 are working in the nation’s 1,000 coal mines.

To help your mining operation continue to keep safety on top of everyone’s mind and to keep working toward achieving the 0:50:5 objective, refer to the information found in CORESafety’s Module #4 – Fatality Prevention / Risk Management.

You can also go here to read the U.S. Department of Labor news release.