Bulldozer rolls in Black Thunder coal mine
DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER Star-Tribune energy reporter | Posted: Thursday, December 27, 2007 12:00 am
A coal miner was in critical condition Wednesday evening after suffering severe head trauma in an accident at the Black Thunder mine near Wright on Christmas Eve.
Clair "Brian" Christy, 44, was listed in critical condition at Rapid City Regional Hospital, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
The mine was temporarily shut down Monday night after the accident, according to Arch Coal Inc., which owns the mine.
Christy was operating a D-11R Caterpillar dozer in a "pre-strip" area at about 7:40 p.m., according to a preliminary report by the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Christy's dozer was moving up a 50 degree incline on the edge of the "dig face" when the dig face gave way.
The dozer rolled once and landed on its tracks. Arch Coal spokesman Greg Schaefer said the dozer fell about 45 feet.
According to the MSHA report, "The rollover caused severe head trauma to the operator."
An ambulance met a mine emergency response team and transported Christy to Campbell County Memorial Hospital in Gillette. He was later flown to Rapid City Regional Hospital in South Dakota.
Schaefer said the mine was voluntarily shut down after the accident. Employees were sent home, except for a skeleton crew for security. The mine resumed operations on Christmas Day.
MSHA and the Wyoming state mine inspector were notified of the accident Monday, Schaefer said. MSHA officials were investigating the accident on site at the mine on Wednesday.
In the fall of 2006, MSHA forced a temporary shutdown to a portion of the mine, alleging it had put its employees in "imminent danger" regarding highwall safety. Two highwall failures at the mine in 2002 killed one coal miner and paralyzed another miner.
Energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer can be reached at (307) 577-6069 or dustin.bleizeffer@trib.com.