Investigation underway in mining deaths

Thursday, Oct. 14, 1999 | 11:43 a.m.

"We'll conclude our investigation when we feel that every avenue has been pursued to identify any of the causes and to prevent such an incident from happening again," Ed Tomany, chief administrative officer of mine safety and training for the state of Nevada said on Thursday.

His agency is at the scene along with the federal Mines Safety and Health Administration.

The two Winnemucca men died Tuesday when a tunnel they were stabilizing collapsed, burying them 1,200 feet underground.

"They were very experienced men and they were well respected," said Michael Winship, general manager of the mine at the Getchell Gold complex northeast of Winnemucca. "We are all very upset."

Officials are not releasing the names of the victims until their families are notified.

The men were part of an underground crew of about 50 miners building a horizontal underground tunnel to a new mining site. They had blasted the drift earlier in the morning and had gone back in to stabilize the walls with steel girders and chain link mesh when the collapse occurred.

"It was totally unexpected," Winship said. "This really didn't give us any warning."

A team of mining supervisors and geologists had checked to make sure the drift was secure just before the crew went in to work, Winship said.

The accident is the first since Vancouver-based Placer Dome Inc. took over management of the Turquoise Ridge mine in June. In February, a miner died when an air hose broke free from a compressed-air system and struck him in the head. A miner also died at the Turquoise Ridge mine in 1996.

"We will look at the work conditions, interview miners about work conditions prior to the accident and we'll check the work history of the miners as it relates to training and experience," Tomany said.

Placer Dome halted ore production in July because of declining gold prices, but has continued with exploration. The mine employs about 400 people.

Winship said operations have been suspended while the investigation is conducted.