ElkoLocal Mining · Safety
MSHA Info
Fatalities MSHA has reported from U.S. mines since 2000, gathered in one place, with MSHA’s own descriptions, scene photos and best practices, so miners, supervisors and safety professionals can learn from what happened.
Explore the data Lessons learned In memory: Nevada Mine injuries History of MSHA
Why this page exists
Every number here is a person — a family member, coworker, neighbor. Remembering them, and learning from what happened, is how we keep the next miner safe.
A note on the images
MSHA’s fatalgrams include photos and diagrams of the accident scene. We show only those, and we leave out any image that appears to show a person or an injury. If we weren’t sure, we left it out. You can hide all photos at any time with the “Hide photos” button in the toolkit below.
This can be hard to read
The descriptions are written by MSHA investigators in plain, factual language. They are collapsed by default so you can read them when you are ready. If you or someone close to you is affected, please be gentle with yourself.
In memory: Nevada
See Nevada’s records by year
Explore the data
Click any bar, tile or slice to filter everything on the page. Hover for details. Charts that show a category you’ve filtered keep the other options visible, so you can compare.
Fatalities per year
Click a bar to focus on that year. Drag the slider below the chart to zoom. The dashed line is a straight-line trend across complete years.
By cause
MSHA’s accident classification
Mine type and commodity
Coal, metal, nonmetal, stone, sand & gravel
Where it happened
Each tile is one state, arranged roughly like the map. Darker tiles had more deaths. Hover or tap a state for its miner count and death rate; the pin marks Nevada.
Occupation
Most common occupations, as recorded by MSHA
Age
Total mining experience
When it happened
By month and by day of the week
The five-year view
Average fatalities per year over each five-year period (complete years only)
Leading causes, year by year
A longer view
MSHA’s annual totals for coal and metal/nonmetal mining. This chart is context and does not change with the filters.
Vertical markers show the dates of federal mine safety legislation and the Bureau of Mines’ founding, for context only. Metal/nonmetal totals begin in 1911 in MSHA’s tables.
Recently added / updated
The records
The descriptions below can be hard to read. They are collapsed until you choose to open them.
Lessons learned
These are the best practices MSHA published with its fatalgrams, grouped by cause. They are MSHA’s words, not ours, and they follow the filters above, so narrow the view to see lessons for one kind of accident.
Zero Harm starts with all of us
MSHA’s investigators look for what could have been done differently: a lock applied, a berm built, a question asked, a hazard reported. Those lessons only help if they reach the people doing the work. Every miner has the right to go home safe, and the right to speak up.
- See something unsafe? Report it. You can call MSHA at 1-800-746-1553 to report an accident or to anonymously report a hazardous condition.
- Stop work if a task isn’t safe. Ask your supervisor, your safety lead, or your crew.
- Look out for each other. Check on the new hire, the contractor, the person who is working alone.
MSHA contact & hazard reporting MSHA alerts & hazards All MSHA fatality reports MSHA statistics
Mine injuries
Nevada
Every non-fatal injury and occupational illness that mine operators and contractors reported to MSHA, for every state and county, from MSHA’s own accident records. Choose a state and county, then click any bar or slice to filter everything in this tab. Deaths are not counted here. They are shown separately below and on the Fatality data tab. Open the Fatality data tab.
Injuries per year
Click a bar to focus on that year.
Severity
MSHA’s degree of injury, grouped
Injury rate per 200,000 hours worked
Mine type and commodity
From each mine’s MSHA record
By cause
MSHA’s accident classification (top 12)
What happened
MSHA’s accident type (top 12)
Part of body injured
Top 12
Nature of injury
Top 12
Occupation
Most common occupations, as recorded by MSHA
Mines and operators
Most injuries reported (top 12). Larger mines work more hours, so totals are not rates.
Total mining experience
By month
Month the accident happened
Fatalities (shown separately)
Accident records MSHA coded as fatal (degree 1). Not included in any injury count above.
These follow the place, mine type, commodity and year filters only. For each person’s story, see the Fatality data tab.
How states compare
Context only: this chart does not change with the filters above, except the year range. The selected state is highlighted. Operator employees only, because MSHA does not report contractor hours by state.
Injury records
Each row is one injured person, newest first. MSHA’s narratives are left out.
| Date | Where | Mine | Severity | Cause | Injury | Occupation | Days lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open this tab to load the records. | |||||||
History of MSHA
Mine safety law in the United States was written, again and again, after people died. This timeline sets the major mine disasters beside the laws and agencies that followed, so you can see what each loss led to. Every entry gives the number of lives lost and links to its sources.
Select a marker to read the story behind it. Use the arrow keys to move along the timeline, the filters to focus on a period or type of event, and “Cause and effect” to see which disasters led to which laws. The list view has the same information as plain text.
Loading the history…