I.C. 7493 April1949 

UNITED STATES 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

J. A. Krug, Secretary 

BUREAU OF MINES 

James Boyd, Director 

INFORMATION CIRCULAR 

MAJOR DISASTERS AT METAL AND NONMETAL

MINES AND QUARRIES IN THE UNITED STATES 

(EXCLUDING COAL MINES) 

BY 

John Hyvarinen, Leland H. Johnson, 

and D. O. Kennedy 
I.C. 7493 

INFORMATION CIRCULAR 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR- BUREAU OF MINES 

MAJOR DISASTERS AT METAL AND NONMETAL MINES AND QUARRIES 

IN THE UNITED STATES (EXCLUDING COAL MINES) 

1/ Work on manuscript completed July 1, 1948. The Bureau of Mines will welcome reprinting of this paper, 

provided the following footnote acknowledgment is used: "Reprinted from Bureau of Mines Information 

Circular 7493. 

2/ By: John Hyvarinen,

2/ Electrical Engineer, Bureau of Mines, Health and Safety Division, Safety Branch, Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Leland H. Johnson,3./

3./ Mining Engineer, Bureau of Mines, Health and Safety Division, Safety Branch, Salt Lake City, Utah. 

and D. O. Kennedy :l/

4/ Mining Engineer, Bureau of Mines, Health and Safety Division, Washington, D.C. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Summary........................................................................ 9 

Introduction ................................................................. . . . 9 

Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Description of Disasters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

TABLES 

1. Table 1- List of accidents at metal and nonmetal mines and quarries (except coal mines) 

in the United States in which five of more lives were lost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

2. Table 2- Major disasters in metal and nonmetal mines and quarries in the United States 

(excluding coal mines) showing number and fatalities by State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

3. Table 3- Major disasters in metal and nonmetal mines and quarries in the United States 

(excluding coal mines) showing number and fatalities by principal products mined... . . . . . . . . 30 

4. Table 4- Major disasters in metal and nonmetal mines and quarries in the United States 

(excluding coal mines) showing number and fatalities during 10-year intervals previous 

to 1945....................................................................... 30 

8 
I.C. 7493 

SUMMARY 

A chronological list of accidents at metal and nonmetal mines and quarries (excluding coal mines) in the United 

States in which five or more lives were lost has been compiled. Many accidents were described in more detail because of their unusual features. Tables have been included to indicate the number of major disasters and fatalities 

by the principal product mined, by State, and by 10-year intervals prior to 1945. The number of men employed to 

indicate man-hours exposed is unavailable; therefore, a true picture of disaster data by principal product mined, by 

State, and by 10-year intervals is not possible. However, the data are presented to indicate the causes of major accidents and bring to the attention of those affiliated with metal and nonmetal mines and quarries the hazards involved and lessons that can be practiced to keep such accidents at a minimum. 

INTRODUCTION 

The Bureau of Mines was requested to compile a chronological list of accidents at metal and nonmetal mines 

and quarries (excluding coal mines) in the United States in which five or more lives were lost. Data have been assembled on accidents from all causes in these mines and quarries from the earliest available information ( describing an underground mine fire in Nevada in 1869) to the last reported major accident (a fire at a company-owned 

bunkhouse in Arizona in 1945). 

The accounts of the accidents were taken from articles in the technical press and from published and unpublished reports of the Bureau of Mines. Many of the accidents have been selected for more detailed descriptions because of the unique circumstances and to show the variety of dangers involved. 

Tables are included to indicate the number of major accidents, with resultant fatalities, by the principal metal 

and nonmetal producing groups, by State, and by 10-year intervals previous to 1945. The interval1869-1875 does 

not cover a 10-year span because of incomplete records previous to 1869. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The information contained in this report was obtained from the Engineering and Mining Journal from 1874 to 

1947, the Mining and Scientific Press from 1908 through 1922, from various published and unpublished reports of 

the Bureau of Mines and from reports by State departments of mines. Daniel Harrington, retired chief of the 

Health and Safety Division; E. H. Denny, supervising engineer, District H; R. M. Loucks, mining engineer; and 

other engineers of the Division contributed much valuable information and assisted materially in the study. 

9 
Bull-Domingo Mine 

Silver Cliffs, Colorado 

November 13, 1885 -10 Killed (2)51/

5/ Numbers in parenthesis refer to references at the end of this circular. 

The explosion of a box of powder in the boiler room 

of the mine at 7 p.m. set fire to the building, and in a 

few minutes the entire shaft house and hoisting works 

were burned to the ground. Ten men working in the 

lower levels were killed. 

Silver Bow No. 2 Mine 

Butte at Boston Mining Co. 

Butte, Montana 

April 21, 1893 - 9 Killed (2) 

As a result of a fire in the mine, nine men lost their 

lives. The fire was extinguished early on the morning 

of April 22, after 800 gallons of water a minute had 

been poured into the mine, which filled with water to 

the 600-foot level. The bodies of the victims were 

found on the 400-foot level, showing that the men had 

climbed to that level from the place where the fire 

originated and were suffocated by the smoke. 

Mansfield Mine 

Crystal Falls, Michigan 

September 28, 1893 - 28 Killed (24) 

Workings of the Mansfield mine were raised so high 

in following a rich vein of ore under the bed of a river 

that the river broke through, fllling the entire mine in 

less than 5 minutes. Twenty-eight miners were trapped 

and drowned. In 1896, the river was diverted around 

the area, and the mine was reopened. Only two bodies were recovered, as no attempt was made to reenter some of the old slopes. The cause of this accident 

was given as neglect to take necessary precautions. 

Old Abe Mine 

White Oaks, New Mexico 

March 10, 1895 - 8 Killed (2) 

The shaft house of the mine caught fire, and in a 

few minutes the flames reached the shaft, which was 

completely destroyed. Nine men were in the mine at 

the time, but only one of them escaped. 

Smuggler-Union Mine 

Pandora, Colorado 

November 20, 1901 - 31 Killed (2) 

At 7:30 o'clock in the morning, a fire was caused 

by a defective flue in the tramway bunkhouse at the 

mouth of the Bullion tunnel, the principal opening 

from which the property is worked. The boiler and engine house, the blacksmith shop, the tramway terminal with its great ore bins, and several other small 

buildings were rapidly enveloped in flames. 

The tunnel doors were closed but later were 

opened by men coming out, and the strong draft carried the smoke and gases into the mine. 

The bodies of 31 victims were found lying where they 

had been overcome by the smoke while trying to escape. 

Koarsarge Mine 

Alder Mining Co. 

Virginia City, Montana 

November 6, 1903 - 9 Killed (2) 

A fire in this gold mine killed 9 men, among them 

Superintendent R. B. Turner, of Butte. About 5 

o'clock in the morning, fire was discovered in the tunnel house on tunnel No. 1, and the timbers in the tunnel were ablaze. How the fire originated is not 

known. At the first alarm the 170 employees hastened 

to extinguish the flames; Superintendent Turner entered the tunnel through the fire and smoke to warn 

the entombed miners and to aid them to escape. Hereturned and tried to enter the mine by the air shaft but 

fell from the ladder and was killed. 

Cora Mine 

Montana Ore Purchasing Co. 

Butte, Montana 

May 12, 1905 - 7 Killed (2) 

Seven men were killed at this mine in an explosion. It was reported that one of them was handling 

explosives in the magazine on the 1,500-foot level, 

when grease from the candle in his cap dropped into a 

box of explosives at his feet, causing it and three 

other boxes to explode. 

Fremont Consolidated Gold Mine 

Drytown, California 

November 30, 1907 - 11 Killed (2) 

A fire that occurred in this mine resulted in the death 

of 11 miners. They were lowered onto the shaft after 

the noon hour, but no one was aware of the fire. The 

skip jammed in the shaft, and only 2 of the 13 men in 

the skip escaped. 

11 
Alaska-Mexican Mine 

Treadwell, Alaska 

March 2, 1910-37 Killed (5) 

At 11:30 p.m. the powder magazine on the 1,100-

foot level of the Mexican mine exploded, killing 37 

men and injuring 9. The magazine, containing a day's 

supply of 20 to 30 boxes, was a chamber cut in the rock 

and closed in front by boards; it was 25 to 50 feet from 

the shaft and separated from it by a pillar. Light was furnished by a 16-candlepower lamp a short distance inside 

the door. There was no wiring over the stored powder. 

The explosives had been thawed before delivery, therefore, no heat for thawing was introduced into the mine. 

The explosion occurred just as the night shift workmen were waiting to go to the surface to eat. The men 

on the 990-foot station reported two explosions. The 

first extinguished their candles, but was of no great 

violence. As the men relit their candles before proceeding to another shaft, a second explosion of 

greater violence knocked them over, seriously injuring one and slightly injuring three. Men loading the 

skips only 45 feet below the 1, 100-foot level, were uninjured, as were those on the 1 ,200-foot and 1,300-

foot stations. The posts on the 1,100-foot station were 

knocked out and, with the lagging and other timbers, 

formed a mass of debris that closed the shaft. From 

the debris, 22 bodies were recovered; 5 injured also 

were rescued. The doors across the skip compartments were closed, as ore was being hoisted from the 

level; one body was found on these doors. The mancage compartment was open, and eight bodies were recovered from below in this compartment. The light 

board shed used for a stable was entirely demolished; 

two bodies were found there; one of the two horses 

was killed, and the other was injured. This stable was 

about 100 feet from the shaft, down the main drift. 

Two bodies were found along the drift, and the fragments of at least one body were found in the magazine itself. As is usually the case with an explosives 

accident, the cause could not be determined. As is always frequently the case, no great damage was done 

to the mine. A rescue party reached the scene within 

35 minutes after the explosion, and the cage was in 

operation in about 11 hours. The position of the magazine near the shaft, but beyond it, considered in reference to the main drift precluded the possibility of any 

man being cut off from escape in case of accident, 

and also aided in the rapid dissipation of the gas; no 

one was asphyxiated. 

12 

Richard Mine 

Thomas Iron Co. 

Dover, New Jersey 

June 7, 1910-5 Killed (2) 

The No. 6 slope or shaft of this mine is carried 

down on the deposit at an average dip of about 52 degrees. Men were hoisted from this shaft by means of 

the ore core or skip and were required to ride in the 

bottom of the conveyance. Five men violated this 

rule, rode on the bail, and were killed. At a point 

about 100 feet below the surface, the angle of the 

shaft changes sharply, and in passing this point the 

weight of the five men on the bail upset the conveyance, all five being spilled down the shaft and killed. 

Keating Gold Mine 

Keating Gold Mining Co. 

Radersburg, Montana 

January 18, 1911 - 6 Killed (5) 

Six men died of asphyxiation as a result of the detonation underground of approximately 600 pounds of 

40-percent dynamite. The exact cause of the detonation was undetermined. However, two factors presented possibilities: (1) It was the practice to leave 

explosives at the 200-foot level station. Men were 

working in the inclined shaft above the station at the 

time of the explosion and could have caused the detonation of the explosives by dropping some tools or by 

loosening rock, which subsequently fell on the explosives. There was evidence that explosives had been at 

this station just prior to the explosion. (2) Explosives 

were often stored in a thawer magazine (80 feet south 

of the 200-foot level station) to be thawed before they 

were sent to the working faces. Although the thawing 

device had been used for some time, it was so constructed that if the explosives had been placed too 

close to the heating element, the temperature might 

have become high enough to detonate them. 

Belmont Mine 

Tonopah, Nevada 

February 23, 1911 - 17 Killed (5) 

In a fire at this mine, 17 men lost their lives. The fire 

should not have been a serious one; little damage to the 

mine resulted. It was discovered while it was still small 

and was attacked for some time at close quarters, yet the 

unfamiliarity of the men with fire-fighting methods, together with a reversal of the air currents, permitted an 

insignificant blaze to develop into an appalling disaster. 
The Belmont mine had two shafts - the Belmont, 

normally upcast, and the Desert Queen, normally 

downcast. Smoke was first noted by the eager about 

5:50a.m. An hour or two of searching was required 

before the fire was discovered at the bottom of a 

winze on an intermediate level, which did not open 

into either shaft; communication was by means of the 

winze and two raises to the level above. The fire was 

burning some mine timber that had been piled at the 

winze bottom for distribution in the stopes. It seems 

reasonably sure that the fire was caused by a lighted 

candle or a snuff left in the timber by a man of the 

night shift, which had quit work at 3:30a.m. It was 

decided to build a brattice in the drift and close the 

winze above the fire. Up to this time, dense smoke 

was present in only a few parts of the mine, and although the smoke issuing from the Belmont shaft prevented the descent of the men, many of them, 

including the timberman, entered the mine through 

the Desert Queen shaft. When the fire was discovered, men were detailed to withdrew everyone from 

the mine except those fighting the fire. The men were 

scattered and did not obey orders promptly; so when 

the disaster occurred, a good many men were underground in various parts of the mine. It is uncertain as 

to exactly what happened, but apparently some reversal of the air currents forced the smoke into parts of 

the mine that had previously been safe. The men who 

died were trapped at different points, several in the 

shaft stations, whither they had crawled but from 

which they were unable to signal. According to one 

report, four men were overcome and fell off the cage 

while being hoisted. The fire was put out that same 

night by an organized party, and the bodies of the 

men were recovered the next morning. 

Norman Mine 

Oliver Iron Mining Co. 

Virginia, Minnesota 

March 11, 1911 - 14 Killed (5) 

A number of men were engaged in raising and lining up the track in the approach to the large open pit 

when a landslide of a great quantity of ore from the 

north side occurred so suddenly that the men had no 

time to escape, and 14 were caught and killed. A the 

place where the accident occurred the pit was 358 feet 

wide from crest to crest of the ore body and 51 feet 

wide at the bottom; its depth was 205 feet. The bank 

thus had some slope, but the dip of the ore was to13 

ward the south, providing greater opportunity for sliding. It is assumed that the bank had been loosened by 

alternate thawing and freezing. It appears that the 

men had no idea that the place was dangerous, because it was used as a place of refuge when blasting 

was being done. 

Hartford Mine 

Republic Iron 8I Steel Co. 

Negaunee, Michigan 

May 5, 1911 - 7 Killed (5) 

A fire was discovered in shaft No. 2 by the electrician and pumpman, who saw a burning brand drop 

down the shaft. It had originated in the shaft at or 

near the 4th level. Seventy-four men were in the mine 

at the time; 50 escaped unassisted by climbing to the 

Cambria Mine; 18 were hoisted out through shaft No. 

1, and 6 were trapped in the mine. 

Within 1 hour after the discovery of the fire, an attempt was made to begin rescue operations without 

the aid of breathing apparatus. Three bodies were discovered. However, because of the reversal of the air 

current while erecting a stopping, the smoke became 

so dense that the shift boss ordered the men to return 

to the surface. One man attempted to remain and finish the stopping but was overcome. It was several 

hours before rescuers reached him, but he was dead. 

Three of the others attempted to go out to the Cambria shaft but were overcome and were revived with 

great difficulty. After several hours, the remaining 

three bodies were recovered in apparently good air by 

men without respiratory protection; they were accompanied by others wearing oxygen breathing apparatus. 

After removal of all the bodies, water was turned into 

the No. 2 shaft and the fire was extinguished quickly. 

It was definitely determined that the reversal of the 

air had caused the loss of several lives, if not all. The 

cause of origin of the fire was not determined, but 

three possibilities were considered- electric wires, 

candle snuff, or incendiarism. 

Giroux Mine 

Giroux Consolidated Mines Co. 

Ely, Nevada 

August 23, 1911 - 7 Killed (5) 

A fire in the Giroux shaft was disastrous in the loss 

of life which it caused and unusual in that the seven 

deaths occurred at widely separated points and at considerable intervals. As is often the case, the cause of 
the fire remains unknown. It was at first thought that 

a dynamite explosion set fire on the timbering, but the 

fire originated in the station of the 1 000-foot level, 

where no work was supposed to be in progress. It is 

believed that the two men passing from the 770-foot 

level to 1,400-foot level had stopped at the 1,000-foot 

level and must have left a lighted candle snuff there, 

and that the flame from it ignited the timbering. The 

greatest damage occurred at the 1,000-foot level, 

where the station and most of the ore pocket were destroyed. It extended, however, to the 770-foot and the 

1,200-foot levels. The mine was flooded, and the 

water was not finally removed until February 1912, 

more than 6 months later. 

One of the victims was the cage tender, who attempted to come up the shaft on the cage but fell off 

15 feet below the cellar. One man on a cage loaded 

with the men from the 1,400-foot level was pulled off 

the cage during hoisting presumably by a manila bell 

cord. The cord probably had been burned where the 

fire was hottest and broke when pulled for the hoisting signal, so that it fell down the shaft and entangled 

the man who was killed. Two men were killed from 

inhaling gas or flame as they were being pulled 

through the fire zone on the cage. Finally, three men 

attempted to climb out on the ladders of the other 

shaft, the Alpha, and were overcome by gas. It was 

thought that turning on the sprinkling system may 

have reversed the air currents and thus driven the 

products of combustion out through the Alpha shaft. 

Three other men were burned but recovered. 

Fire doors might have proved a means of safety in 

this case, also. Although the reversal of the air current was not proved, it is possible that the sprinkling 

water may have caused reversal of air flow. 

Butte Superior Mine 

Butte, Montana 

September l, 1911 - 6 Killed (5) 

It was customary at this mine for the station tender 

to collect the dull drill steel on the various levels 

about 15 minutes before the end of the shift and have 

it hoisted through Black Rock Shaft to the surface in 

what was called the "drill boat." Only the station tenders were allowed to ride with this steel, but on the 

night of the accident five men, desirous of getting out 

early, took the chance of quitting shortly before the 

end of the shift to ride up with the steel. 

14 

The cage started at the 1,300 level, where drill 

steel was loaded and one victim got on there. At the 

1,200 level station two more men got on, and two others at the 900 level. When the cage left the 900 level 

it contained about 250 pieces of steel in the drill boat 

and six men, including the cage tender. The cage was 

so crowded that the station tender, who stayed behind, had trouble in closing the cage gate. 

It is not known exactly what happened; either the 

drill steel got disarranged or, more probably, one of 

the men got caught by a wall place of the shaft timbering; at any rate, both steel and men were dragged 

from the upper deck of the cage where they were riding. The hosting engineer felt a slight tremor in the 

rope and stopped the hoist, which was running slowly 

because of hoisting drill steel. One of the men was 

found on the lower deck of the cage and the other five 

in the shaft sump; all six were dead. 

Wharton Mine 

Wharton Steel Co. 

Hibernia, New Jersey 

October 19, 1911 -12 Killed (24) 

In October 1911, the New Langdon shaft was being sunk and had reached a depth of about 1,500 feet 

on the variable dip of the ore. At the same time a 

drift, several levels above the shaft bottom, was being 

driven to tap some old workings supposed to be about 

250 feet from the shaft. Those workings had been 

abandoned and filled with water, so that their exact extent could not be determined. On October 19, the drift 

was thought to be over 100 feet from the old workings, but blasting of a round in the face broke 

through, allowing water to enter and flood the drift 

and the shaft below its level. Miners working in the 

drift and adjacent levels escaped, but 12 men in and 

near the bottom of the shaft were drowned. 

No accurate maps of the area were available, and 

estimates of the distances involved underground were 

obtained by measurements between surface openings. 

No test holes were drilled ahead of the drift face, and 

men were allowed to remain on the lower levels while 

the drift round was blasted, because it was estimated 

that the drift still had more than 100 feet to go to the 

water-filled old workings. After the mine was unwatered, a drift was driven safely on a lower level to tap 

the flooded workings. Test holes were kept ahead, 

and the unwatering was done through boreholes. 
Norrie Mine 

Oliver Iron Mining Co. 

May 13, 1912 -7 Killed (5) 

A party of 10 miners and 3 trammers on the night 

shift was walking home from the boundary of the 

property above the twentieth level of the mine. Hearing ground dropping, they retreated to what they 

thought was a safe place, the main drift, which was 

securely timbered and had 35 to 40 feet of solid ore 

above it. The cave, however, did not occur at the 

place where the men had been working, but in the 

very place of refuse to which they had retreated, 

crushing in the drift timbers over a length of about 80 

feet. Six men were rescued alive after about 24 hours, 

but one died about a week later. 

Eureka Pit 

Nevada Consolidated Copper Co. 

Ely, Nevada 

July 7, 1912 - 10 Killed (5) 

While loading a surface drill hole, 10 men were 

killed by a premature explosion. The cause was not 

determined, because all evidence was destroyed by 

the explosion. The known facts were as follows: A 

group of men were engaged in charging the hole, which 

was in the capping on what was called the Berry High 

Line level. Holes of this type held a relatively large 

quantity of powder and were usually loaded by five or 

six men, who dropped the powder into the hole. In 

this case, Trojan powder had been first charged, and 

there remained, it is believed, five boxes of Hercules 

Special reported to contain 20 percent nitroglycerin 

and 20 percent ammonium nitrate. Two boxes were 

unexploded. The reason for believing that three boxes 

exploded is that three craters were blown out in the 

ground; but it might have happened that the boxes 

were piled one on another, in which case each crater 

would represent more than one box. What actually 

caused the dynamite to explode remained unknown. 

Miami Mine 

Miami Copper Co. 

Miami, Arizona 

April 17, 1913 - 5 Killed (5) 

The combination method of mining in this mine involved the caving of the capping. The capping over 

what was known as the northwest ore body, which 

was about ready for caving, had given warning on 

15 

April16 that a collapse was imminent by the increased amount of cracking and slabbing off of 

ground. For this reason the men were kept out of that 

part of the mine which was expected to be affected by 

caving. When the fall came on the following day, a 

tremendous compressive force was exerted throughout the mine workings. It was estimated that 

3,500,000 cubic feet of air was displaced. The air 

pressure was irresistible; men and equipment were 

thrown about, and in the open workings, where the 

rush of air was greatest, the effect was especially disastrous. Five men were killed and 16 were injured, 

but nobody was caught directly under the cave. 

Leonard Mine 

Butte, Montana 

April 23, 1913 - 5 Killed (5) 

The engineer started to lower the east cage from 

the surface to the 60-foot level using the hoisting-engine brake with the reel unclutched; it is believed that 

the rod connecting the steam brake-operating device 

with the controlling lever broke, and the brake failed 

to grip. The loose reel gained such speed that when 

the engineer attempted to stop it by throwing in the 

clutch, the latter broke, and the reel continued to accelerate until it burst. Flying pieces broke the connections on the west brake, and the west cage at the 

1,400-foot level began to drop just as the east cage 

crashed past. Four men on the east cage were killed 

instantly when the cage hit the shaft bulkhead at the 

2,200-foot level. The bursting reel wrecked the hoist 

room, and one man at the surface was killed by flying 

fragments. Eight men on the west cage were injured 

seriously, but, remarkably enough, none were killed. 

Balkan Mine 

Verona Mining Co. 

Palatka, Michigan 

July 14, 1914 -7 Killed (2) 

The system of mining was to remove all overburden down to the ore, sink a shaft outside the stripped 

area, and extend drifts and crosscuts under the ore 

body. Raises were then put up through the ore. The 

surface had been removed to a depth of 20 feet, and 

No. 3 raise in No. 3 crosscut was up 23 feet within 2 

feet of the end of the ore. Approximately 3 hours after two 10-inch holes had been blasted in No. 3 raise, 

a rush of sand and water occurred, flooding the mine 

and drowning seven men. Five escaped unharmed. 
Granite Mountain Shaft 

North Butte Mining Co. 

· Butte, Montana 

October 19, 1915 - 16 Killed (1 and 9) 

Thirteen boxes of 40-percent gelatin dynamite exploded at the collar of the Granite Mountain shaft. 

Fourteen miners were killed instantly; two were 

fatally injured, dying within a few hours, and three 

others were more or less seriously injured. 

The dynamite was loaded in a steel mine car preparatory to being lowered into the mine. The car was standing on the gallows-frame turnsheet, approximately 20 

feet northwest of the collar of the shaft. Although the 

cause of the detonation of the explosives is unknown, 

one supposition is that it was caused by a rifle bullet. 

Pennsylvania Mine 

Anaconda Copper Mining Co. 

Butte, Montana 

February 14, 1916 - 21 Killed (2) 

A fire was discovered between the 800- and 1 ,400-

foot levels in the vicinity of the downcast air shaft of 

the Pennsylvania Mine on February 14, 1916. The 

alarm was given, and it is thought that all of the 220 

men in the mine, except possibly those working on 

the 300-foot level, were warned. Cages were substituted for the main-shaft ore skips, and approximately 

195 men were hoisted to the surface in less than 45 

minutes after the discovery of the fire. Six men escaped through the 1,000-foot level to the Tramway 

mine. Subsequently, two men lost their lives while 

wearing Draeger apparatus during rescue and recovery work. It is thought that 19 men who were unable 

to escape died from suffocation. 

North Star Mine 

Federal Mining at Smelting Co. 

near Hailey, Idaho 

February 25, 1917 - 16 Killed (2) 

A snowslide at the north star mine, 12 miles northeast of Hailey, struck the compressor house and bunkhouse and killed 16 men. 

16 

Mountain King Mine 

Mountain King Mining Co. 

Mariposa County, California 

April 28, 1917- 7 Killed (22 and 25) 

On the day of the accident, the electric power plant 

was shut down, and, as a result, there was no compressed air for ventilation. However, the superintendent gave the foreman permission to do repair work 

on the 1,200-foot level, but it was agreed by both that 

no· work could be done on the 1,400-foot level because of powder smoke and lack of natural ventilation 

at that depth. '· 

When the shift entered the mine, two men obtained 

permission from the mine foreman to investigate the 

results of blasting on the 1 ,400-foot level. When they 

did not return, the foreman went to investigate, returned, and with two others climbed down to the 

1,400-foot level, where all three were overcome. Before proper supervision could be obtained and rescue 

work begun, three others had attempted to help by going to the 1,400 foot level (all at different times). 

Only one was able to return to safety. Seven men lost 

their lives from asphyxiation. 

Granite Mountain Mine 

North Butte Mining Co. 

Butte, Montana 

June 8, 1917 - 163 Killed (9 and 23) 

During the night shift the flame of a carbide lamp 

accidentally set fire to the uncovered and frayed insulation of an armored power cable near the 2,400-foot 

level of the Granite Mountain shaft. The highly flammable oiled fabric set fire to the shaft timbers, and inasmuch as this was a downcast shaft, the fire spread 

rapidly and soon filled the mine workings with smoke 

and gas. At the time, 410 men were working underground, 247 of whom escaped by various means, but 

most of the 163 remaining probably were overcome 

soon after the fire began and perished. Only two men 

actually were burned. The immediate effect of the fire 

was the reversal of air currents in the shaft; the ultimate effect was great loss of life and the destruction 

of the main hoisting shaft, putting it temporarily out 

of service. The work of rescue and fire fighting continued 8 days. 
Quarry of Three Forks 

Portland Cement Co. 

Trident, Montana 

July 17, 1917-8 Killed (22) 

An accidental explosion of 41 kegs of black blasting powder occurred on the track bench at the quarry. 

One man was killed instantly, and seven others died 

from severe burns. 

The men were opening kegs of black blasting powder (supposedly with sharpened wooden pick handles 

and a machinist's hammer) and emptying the contents 

into cement sacks. The sacks of powder were then carried into a small tunnel, which was being loaded preparatory to blasting the quarry face. No one was able 

to give any definite reason for the accident, and evidence adduced was not sufficient to determine definitely the cause of the explosion. 

Amasa-Porter Mine 

Nevada Mining Co. 

Crystal Falls, Michigan 

February 21, 1918- 17 Killed (24) 

Fearing a cave-in or wash-out from the surface into 

the stopes on the old first level, concrete bulkheads 

were constructed on the 200-, 300-, and 400-foot levels. 

On February 14, a cave-in through to the surface 

occurred, following which there were some inrushes 

of water and air underground. All men except two 

pump tenders were withdrawn from the mine, and all 

work was suspended until February 18. During this 

time pumps were placed in the surface pit or cave to 

remove water, and the mine was inspected daily, with 

particular attention to the bulkheads described above. 

On February 18, all inrushes of water and air 

stopped, and the bulkheads were in good condition. 

Because of these circumstances, and especially as a 

cave-in had occurred, it was thought safe to resume 

operations. 

On February 21, while lowering the second cageload of men after the dinner hour, there was a rush of 

water and sand into the shaft from the 200 level, and 

eventually the mine was flooded to nearly the 400 

level. Seventeen men lost their lives, and four escaped, one of whom was found unconscious and was 

saved by a rescue party. The main hoisting shaft provided the only escapeway from the mine, and it was 

believed that the entombed men might have survived 

if another escapeway had been provided. It was the 

17 

following July before the mine was dewatered and 

bodies were recovered. 

Silver Mine 

Virginia, Minnesota 

June 27, 1918 - 18 Killed (2) 

Thirty-four charges of mixed 40-percent dynamite 

and black blasting powder had been placed in underground workings to break about 100,000 tons of iron 

ore from an ore bank in the Silver open pit. The 

charges, averaging 425 pounds of 40-percent dynamite and 1, 102 pounds of black blasting powder, 

were wired in series and connected to a point of the 

surface 1,000 feet from the ore bank where it was 

planned to explode them from a 110-volt circuit the 

following day. Adequate protection was provided to 

prevent premature detonation from all sources other 

than lightning. Forty-six men were in the underground workings, 41 were tamping the charges and 

generally cleaning up the workings, and 5 were seeking shelter from a storm when lightning struck the 

face of the ore bank and caused the premature detonation of an estimated 20 out of the 34 charges. Twentyeight men escaped from the upper levels without 

assistance, but the remaining 18 were killed. 

Jefferson Island Salt Mining Co.'s Shaft 

Delcambre, Louisiana 

April 15, 1920 - 6 Killed (22) 

An explosion of flammable gases given off by asphalt paint, which was being applied to the inside of 

an unventilated and enclosed shaft (in the process of 

being sunk), caused the death of six men. The ignition was caused by a lighted match. Tests conducted 

by the Bureau of Mines proved that gases given off 

by the paint are highly flammable. Approximately 25 

gallons of the paint had been applied to a timber deck 

in the concrete drop shaft during the morning before 

the explosion occurred. 

Lehigh Portland Cement Co.'s Limestone Quarry 

Ormrod, Pennsylvania 

April 19, 1920- 6 Killed (22) 

A fatal explosion occurred in a limestone quarry 

during charging of six 5-5/8-inch chum-drill holes in 

a single row preparatory to blasting. 

A line of Cordeau detonating fuse was placed in 

hole No. 2, but electric detonators were used in the 
hole. After 12 or 13 cases of loose 40-percent nitrostarch powder had been poured into the hole, it was 

found that a space of 17 feet remained for stemming. 

It was then decided that space for an additional case 

of powder might be obtained by tamping the charge. 

Accordingly, tamping was done with a plunger weighing 30 or 40 pounds, about 3 inches in diameter, and 

10 inches long. The plunger was made of lead, with 

an iron core; it had an iron eye in the top, and a 3/4-

inch rope was attached to it. This weight was ordinarily used for sinking explosives in wet holes, but not 

for tamping. It is estimated that the tamping had continued at least 10 minutes. The quarry superintendent 

went a considerable distance for a box of powder, returned, and reached a point about 10 feet from the 

hole when the charge exploded, instantly killing the 

man who was tamping and injuring the superintendent 

and the shovel runner, who was also nearby. The flying rock killed five and injured one in another group, 

who were cleaning holes on the lower edge. The explosion apparently was caused by hard tamping with 

the heavy metal plunger. 

Argonaut Mine 

Argonaut Mining Co. 

Jackson, Amador County, California 

August 27, 1922-47 Killed (10 and 23) 

A fire discovered at midnight in the main shaft 

caused the death of 47 miners. Rescue workers recovered 46 of the bodies; the forty-seventh was found a 

year later under fallen rock. The definite cause of the 

fire is unknown. Two causes are possible - a short 

circuit in the 2,300-volt power line in the shaft and incendiarism. Public investigators strongly contended 

that electricity was the probable cause, but the officials of the Argonaut mine strongly maintained that 

the origin was incendiary. The Governor's investigating committee confined its investigation to interviewing witnesses. The committee stated that it believed 

the fire started in the manway; it was unable to arrive 

at a definite conclusion as to origin but believed the 

origin to be either incendiarism or defective wiring. 

Another possible cause of the fire was that a cigarette 

or match might have been thrown in the hanging-wall 

sets as the miners were being lowered. 

18 

Sloss No. 1 Mine 

Sloss Sheffield Steel at Iron Co. 

Bessemer, Alabama 

July 12, 1923-5 Killed (2) 

A man-trip carrying 41 men broke loose about 

1,400 feet from the slope portal. Five men were 

killed instantly and 35 were injured. 

Milford Mine 

Whitmarsh Mining Co. 

Crosby, Minnesota 

February 5, 1924 - 41 Killed (2) 

Water from an adjoining lake entered the workings 

of the Milford Mine as a result of a cave and entombed 41 men; 7 men barely escaped by climbing 

the shaft. The mine was completely filled with water 

in 13 to 15 minutes. The bodies were not recovered 

until after the mine was dewatered; the last body was 

recovered on November 4, 1924. 

Barnes-Hecker Mine 

Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co. 

Ishpeming, Michigan 

November 3, 1926-51 Killed (24) 

The back of one of the stopes in this iron mine 

caved to the overlying glacial drift material and the 

mine was filled with water and quicksand. Within approximately 15 minutes of the time that the cave 

started, all the workings of the mine were completely 

filled; water rose in the shaft to within 185 feet of the 

surface, later receding to about the 540-foot level. Of 

the 52 men in the mine, only one escaped by climbing 

800 feet of ladders in the shaft. The stope that caved 

had been worked by top slicing, starting 220 feet below the top of the ore body. Above this unmined 

thickness of ore was about 210 feet of glacial surface 

material, water-soaked and containing small ponds. 

Although the mine workings were wet when opened, 

mining operations had drained most of the water from 

the ore stratum; the stope that caved had become dry 

enough to permit use of scrapers. The amount of 

water handled by the mine pumps had dropped from 

over 3,000 to about 700 gallons per minute. 

The only intimation of anything wrong noted by 

the man who escaped was a rush of air that blew out 

his light. He was on the second level and rushed to 

the shaft, calling to others to follow. The rush of 

water wrecked the shaft manway below the 200-foot 

level and carried out many of the timbers dividing the 
compartments; but the wall and end plates and lagging, which were embedded in concrete, were not disturbed. The sudden flow of water prevented use of 

prepared bulkheads and water doors, and although 

emergency escapeways, including a low-level connection to a neighboring mine, were provided, men were 

engulfed before they could reach safety. Sand came 

through the connection to the adjoining mine for 

3,000 feet, from the connecting raise to a point where 

the flow gradually decreased to nothing. Very little 

water came through here. A large depression formed 

in the overburden above the caved stope; the fine, 

sandy material was water-soaked, and the banks of 

the depression at one point reached the edge of a 

small muskeg swamp. The mine was sealed and was 

not recovered. Seven bodies were found in the connecting escape drift, and three others were recovered 

from the shaft when it was cleared to the first level. 

The conclusion of officials was that the cavity over 

the stope gradually enlarged as slicing progressed 

downward; this resulted in a sudden failure of the 

block of ore that had been left to support the overburden. 

Quincy Mine 

Quincy Mining Co. 

Hancock, Michigan 

October 29, 1927 -7 Killed (2) 

Seven men retimbering the No.2 shaft, which had 

been damaged by a fire in July 1927, were killed 

when an air blast caused a fall of rock in the shaft. It 

is believed that the explosions of rock or air blasts 

were caused by contraction of the rock, which had 

been heated and expanded by the fire during the 

month of July. 

Magma Mine 

Magma Copper Co. 

Superior, Arizona 

November 24, 1927 - 7 Killed (23) 

A fire in the No. 2 shaft caused the death of 7 

men. There were 49 in the mine at the time of the 

fire. The mine was developed by 5 shafts, of which 

the No.2 was 2,700 feet in depth and Nos. 3 and 5 

were 2,550 feet. Shafts 2, 3, and 5 are connected on 

the 2,550-foot and other levels. The No. 2 shaft had 

three compartments, two for hoisting and one used as 

a manway; it also contained electric power and light 

lines. 

19 

Ventilation of the Magma Mine at the time of the 

fire was directed by three surface and three underground fans and various small blowers. A fan that ordinarily exhausted about 95,000 cubic feet per minute 

from No. 4 shaft had been shut down a few minutes 

before the fire. Another exhaust fan at No. 1 shaft induced ventilation in the upper levels of the mine. 

Shafts 2, 3 and 5 were intakes. 

About 3:30 a.m. the fire in No. 2 shaft was discovered by the shift boss, who was investigating the continued steady ringing of the electric bells in both 

hoisting compartments of the shaft. He found smoke 

at the 1 200-foot level and, by signaling with the pull 

bell, was returned to the 500 level. The shift boss carried the cage tender, who had been overcome by gas, 

through the ventilation doors on the 500 level and reported the fire. Shortly afterward, a cage with one 

man on it was lowered; he died, presumable from 

burns and suffocation, and the hoisting cable was 

burned off. The men in the mine smelled smoke, and 

most of them proceeded to No. 3 shaft, where they 

were quickly hoisted. Some men came to the 2,200 

station and saw the fire roaring up the shaft, but no 

smoke was coming out into the station. They were unable to attach a hose to the fire connection, because it 

was at the shaft and in the fire zone. 

The fire in the No. 2 shaft was controlled and eventually extinguished by streams of water turned down 

the shaft from two upper levels. 

The No. 2 shaft had been gunited and concreted in 

part, but from the 1,600 level to the bottom it was timbered without fire protection, except at stations, 

which were gunited to the 2,000 level. Guniting had 

been discontinued, because it was thought to promote 

and conceal timber decay. Gunited station timbering 

was ignited during the shaft conflagration and continued to bum for days within the concrete shell after 

the main fire had been extinguished. It was determined that the gunite definitely acted as a fire retardant. It appeared that, even when the fire burned the 

gunited timbered regions, the process of burning was 

retarded to such an extent that there was a minimum 

of caving as compared with the large amount in the 

ungunited timbered regions. 

The fire evidently originated at or near the shaft at 

the 2,250 station, which was dry and timbered; the 

shaft timber also was dry. Oily waste at the car-repair 

station near the shaft ignited by a carbide lamp or a 

cigarette butt was considered as the probable origin of 

the fire. Other possible origins of the fire were a trans-
former, a motor-driven fan, and light and power wiring, all at the 2,250 station. 

Three days after the fire in No. 2 shaft started, and 

when it was virtually under control, No. 1 shaft caught 

fire; however, there was no possibility of fire being 

transmitted from the No. 2 shaft to the No. 1 shaft. The 

second fire apparently started from embers dropping 

down No. 1 shaft from a surface fire built near the shaft 

by a watchman. It was possible to turn water into the 

shaft from a surface tank and from the fifth level, so 

that the second fire was controlled in a few hours. 

Calaveras Copper Mine 

Copperopolis, California 

September 4, 1929 - 5 Killed (22) 

A cave on the 1 ,550 stope resulted in the loss of 

five lives and serious injury to a sixth miner. The 

stope had not been worked for approximately 27 

months. Normal blasting in adjacent stopes probably 

loosened the ore and the walls more than would have 

been the case if water had not been seeping through 

for so long an idle period. A combination of the two 

conditions probably reduced the friction between the 

walls and the ore until the latter dropped. 

Glenn Mine 

Capital Glenn Mining Co. 

Lost Chance, California 

July 14, 1930 - 5 Killed (23) A

fire originated in some unknown manner in the 

wooden surface structures near the portal of the mine 

at about 10:15 a.m. This mine is an underground 

placer property operated through adits driven into the 

hillside to recover the auriferous gravel from an old 

stream bed. The uppermost adit, the part of the mine 

then working, had been driven 1,121 feet from the 

portal and connected with the middle or Moss adit at 

about 758 feet from the portal by means of an incline 

dipping about 15 degrees. The Moss adit was part of 

some old similar workings but was not kept in good 

condition. 

Ventilation was natural; fresh air entered the top 

adit at a velocity of almost 200 feet per minute, followed down an incline, and left through the Moss adit 

and its connections. 

The surface compressor house and shop building 

was about 25 feet from the portal of the upper adit, to 

which it was connected by a snowshed. The snowshed 

20 

extended to the edge of the dump, connecting with the 

powder house about 75 feet from the end of this shed. 

When the fire started, no one was near the portal of 

the adlit on the surface, and five men were at the faces; 

these men tried to escape by going down the incline and 

out the Moss edit but were overcome and died in the attempt. 

The fire burned all the structures on the surface 

near the portal and about 70 feet of timbered adit inside the portal, jumped an untimbered gap of 63 feet, 

and ignited other timber sets, but because of the wetness of the latter sets, the fire died out when the timber at the portal was consumed. 

Mountain City Mine 

Mountain City Copper Co. 

Mountain City, Nevada 

August 13, 1936 - 6 Killed (2 and 22) 

The 600-foot level was shut down and had not been 

ventilated for approximately 2 months prior to the accident; its only connection to the 500-foot level was by the 

541 winze. The winze was divided into two compartments 

-one for hoisting by bucket and the other for a manway -

and was equipped with staggered ladders and platforms. 

No one was permitted to descend the winze because of 

dangerous atmospheric conditions on the 600-foot level. 

Regardless of the danger, two men persuaded a third to 

lower them in the bucket to the 600-foot level and evidently fell from the bucket before it reached the bottom. 

The third man evidently realized the seriousness of the 

situation but gave little or no thought to the atmospheric 

conditions. He proceeded down the manway until he was 

overcome and fell to the bottom. A fourth man, in a solitary attempt to rescue the third, was overcome and also 

fell to within 5 feet of the bottom. All men were wearing 

electric cap lamps, which gave no warming of oxygen deficiency. When the shift boss and four others arrived at 

the 514 winze, they attempted to recover the bodies. Two 

men were lowered slowly in the bucket, having been instructed to light matches to test the atmosphere for oxygen 

deficiency. Approximately 30 feet below the collar of the 

winze both men were overcome. When attempts were 

made to raise the bucket, it was found that the leg of one 

of men was wedged in the timbers of the winze, and all 

efforts to save these men failed. By the use of a pipe, the 

man's leg was finally freed, and the bodies were brought 

to the 500-foot level. After oxygen breathing apparatus 

was obtained and ventilation was restored at the foot of 

the winze, the other four bodies were recovered. 
Morning Mine 

Federal Smelting at Mining Co. 

Mullan, Idaho 

October 6, 1936 - 10 Killed (22) 

Ten men were killed when a man-cage fell 900 feet. 

Immediately prior to the accident, 5 men, including the 

eager, got on the lower deck of the 2-deck cage at the 

3,450-foot level. They were hoisted to the 3,050-foot 

level to complete loading on both decks. The eager permitted 6 men to get on the lower deck, making a total of 

10 men. The cage doors were then closed and fastened. 

The engineer was signaled, and the cage was lowered 

until the upper deck was flush with the station floor. 

While the eager was opening the cage doors to the upper deck, the rope broke about 1,200 feet above the 

cage. No evidence was on the cage guides to indicate 

that the safety catches contacted them. The cage was 

used exclusively for hoisting and lowering men and material. 

Boyd Mine 

Tennessee Copper Co. 

Ducktown, Tennessee 

January 5, 1943-9 Killed (23) 

A sulfide-dust explosion occurred in this mine where 

instantaneous and 1 to 10 delay detonators were used 

for blasting. A dust cloud was created by the blasting of 

the first shots and ignited by the subsequent shots in a 

round of 35 holes in the 10 North No. 1 stope. The 

main ventilating fan on the surface was stopped by the 

explosion, and the air currents in the mine reversed 

themselves. 

Forty-two men were in the mine at the time of the explosion, 25 of whom were in the vicinity of the stope. 

Owing to the reversal of the air currents, 8 men were 

killed and 17 were injured by fumes on the level below 

the stope where normally fresh air entered this section 

of the mine. One of the injured died several days later, 

making a total of 9 killed. 

The 17 men who worked at some distance from the 

10 North No. 1 stope were able to save themselves by 

stopping a blower fan and opening a compressed air line 

near the face of the crosscut in which they were working. These men were rescued by crews working in fresh 

air after the mine ventilation was restored. 

21 

C. F. at H. (Mulcaby) Mine 

Shullsburg, Wisconsin 

February 10, 1943-8 Killed (2) 

Eight men were killed in the worst mine accident in 

the long history of the Platteville lead-zinc mining district when the back of a low slope in the C. F. & H. 

Mine collapsed, burying the men. 

Two of the victims were buried in an initial collapse, 

which occurred while they were preparing to shoot 

down a section of the rock suspected of being weak. Six 

others were buried in a second cave-in, which occurred 

while they were attempting to dig out the bodies of the 

first two men. 
TABLE 1.- List of accidents at metal and nonmetal mines and quarries (except coal mines) 

in the United States in which five or more lives were lost 

DATE PRODUCT NAME OF MINE LOCATION KILLED NATURE OF ACCIDENT REFERS.1/

1869- Apr. 7 Gold Kentucky -Yellow 

Jacket - Crown Point 

Gold Hill, NV 37 Fire in timbers, probably from 

candle. 

1, 7 

1873 - Sept. 20 do. Yellow Jacket do. 6 Fire from blacksmith forge on 

1,300-foot level. 

1, 7 

1874 - Feb. 13 Copper Phoenix Phoenix, Ml 6 Explosion of dynamite caused by 

candle held by miner. 

2 

1874- May 30 Gold Amador Amador, CA 5 All on cage; night shift coming to 

surface; 5 men in cage; when 

within 5 feet of surface cage suddenly fell to bottom, 1,640 feet. 

2, 11, 27 

1879- Oct. 3 do. Tioga Bodie, CA 6 Cage accident. 2 

1881 -Feb. 16 Copper Belmont Belmont, MT 6 Fire from blacksmith shop spread to 

magazine of powder and then to shaft. 

1, 7 

1884- May 3 Marble Gouverneur Gouverneur, NY 6 Explosion of boiler after repairs. 6,22 

1885- Nov. 3 Silver 

Gold 

Bull Domingo Silver Cliff, CO 10 Explosives; box of dynamite exploded 

in boiler room; headframe burned; 

men in mine suffocated. 

2, 7 

1887 - June 24 Gold 

Silver 

Gould & Curry Virginia City, NV 11 Fire in shaft station 1,500 level; 

cause unknown. 

1, 7 

1889- Nov. 23 Copper NeversweatSt. Lawrence 

Butte, MT 6 Mine fire; candle in chute on 400 

level 

1, 7 

1893- Feb. 11 Marble Sheldon quarry West Rutland, VT 5 Roof fall in underground quarry. 22 

1893 - Apr. 21 Copper Silver Bow No.2 Butte, MT 9 Mine fire; probably from candle 

at pump station. 

2, 7 

1893- May 14 do. Red Jacket Shaft Calumet, Ml 10 Hoisting cage overwinding. 2 

1893- Sept. 28 Iron Mansfield Crystal Falls, Ml 28 Inrush of water. 2,24 

1895- Mar. 10 Gold Old Abe White Oaks, NM 8 Mine fire; burning shaft house 

and shaft timbers. 

2, 7 
DATE PRODUCT NAME OF MINE LOCATION KILLED NATURE OF ACCIDENT REFERS.1/

1895- Aug. 29 do. Sleepy Hollow Sleepy Hollow, CO 12 Mine flooded. 2 

1895- Sept. 7 Copper Osceolo Calumet, MI 30 Mine fire on 27th level; cause 

unknown. 

2, 7 

1895 - Sept. 26 Gold Belgian Leadville, CO 6 Dynamite explosion from unknown 

cause. 

2, 26 

1896- Jan. 4 do. Anna Lee Cripple Creek Dist. 

El Paso Co., CO 

8 Cave-in of shaft. 2 

1896- Apr. 8 do. Hope Basin,MT 7 Mine fire. 2, 7 

1896- Apr. 11 

1901- June 4 

Copper St. Lawrence Butte, MT 6 Powder explosion. 11 

Iron Chapin Iron Mountain, MI 8 Explosion of dynamite; asphyxiation 

by fumes; cause unknown. 

3, 11 

1901 -Nov. 20 Gold 

Silver 

Smuggler-Union Pandora, CO 31 Fire in bunk house at mine entrance. 2, 7 

1902 - July 15 Lead 

Zinc 

Copper 

Silver 

Park- Utah Park City, UT 34 Night shift powder man ate lunch in 

stub drift powder magazine 1 ,200 level 

near Daly-West shaft. Candle or cigarette, air was downcast. Powder smoke 

circulated in mine but did not get much 

above the 1,000 at any time. Fumes 

killed a mule in stable off snowsheds at 

portal of Ontario No. 2 drain tunnel, 

4 miles away. 

2 

1903- Nov. 6 Gold Kearsarge Virginia City, MT 9 Mine fire; cause unknown. 2, 7 

1904 - Jan. 26 Gold Stratton's Independence Victor, CO 14 Cage accident; overwinding of engine. 2 

1905- May 12 Copper Cora Butte, MT 7 Explosion of explosives. 2 

1907 - Nov. 30 Gold Fremont Consolidated Drytown, CA 11 Fire at foot of shaft; cause unknown. 2, 7 

1907- Dec. 7 Iron Rolling Mill Mine Negaunee, MI 10 Fall of skip from surface to bottom 2 

1909 - Feb. 26 Lead Keystone Joplin, MO 5 Fall of rock. 3 

1909 - Apr. 13 Slate Slate quarry Granville, NY 5 Cave-in. 3 

1910- Mar. 2 Gold Alaska-Mexican Treadwell, AK 37 Explosion of powder magazine in mine. 2,5 

1910- Apr. 13 Limestone Limestone quarry Nazareth, PA 11 Quarry explosion. 3 
N 

IJ1 

DATE PRODUCT NAME OF MINE LOCATION KILLED NATURE OF ACCIDENT REFERS.1/

1910- June 1 do. Union quarry Devils Slide, UT 25 Premature quarry explosion. 3 

1910- June 2 do. Lehigh quarry West Coplay, PA 8 do. 3 

1910- June 7 Iron Richard Dover, NJ 5 Falling from man-car. 5 

1910- Nov. 28 Asphalt Jumbo Durant, OK 13 Explosion of gas. 3 

1911 -Jan. 18 Gold Keating Radersburg, MT 6 Powder explosion in shaft. 3, 5 

1911 - Feb. 23 Gold 

Silver 

Belmont Tonopah, NV 17 Fire, asphyxiation. 2,5, 7 

1911 - Mar. 11 Iron Norman mine (open pit) Virginia, MN 14 Slide of bank. 5 

1911- May 5 do. Hartford-Cambria No.2 Negaunee, MI 7 Mine fire; men overcome by gas and 

smoke. 

2, 5, 7 

1911- Aug 23. Copper Giroux Ely, NV 7 Mine fire; men overcome by gas and 

smoke. 

2,5 

1911 - Sept. 3 Zinc Black Rock shaft 

Butte & Superior 

Butte, MT 6 Cage accident. 5 

1911 - Sept. 28 Gold Shakespeare Placer Dome Creek, AK 14 Cave-in of shaft. 3 

1911 - Oct. 19 Iron Wharton Hibernia, NJ 12 Shaft flooded. 3,5 

1912- May 13 Iron Norrie Ironwood, MI 7 Cave-in. 5 

1912- July 7 Copper Eureka Pit Ely, NV 10 Dynamite explosion. 3, 5 

1912- Dec. 9 Gold Great Northern 

Development Co. 

Cordova, AK 9 Snowslide. 3 

1913 - Apr. 17 Copper Miami Miami, AZ 5 Air blast; resulting from cave-in; 

threw men against walls and timbers. 

2,5 

1913 -Apr. 23 do. Leonard Butte, MT 5 Hoisting accident in shaft. 5 

1913 - Aug. 13 do. Coronado Incline Clifton, AZ 9 Breaking of drawbar of a car on 

incline. 

3,5 

1914 - Jan. 21 do. Boston Bingham, UT 5 Mine fire; cause unknown. 7 

1914- July 14 Iron Balkan Palatka, MI 7 Men drowned by rush of sand and 

water into raise. 

11 

1914- Aug. 4 Copper Copper Flat 

(Steam-shovel pit) 

McGill, NV 5 Premature blast. 11 
DATE PRODUCT NAME OF MINE LOCATION KILLED NATURE OF ACCIDENT REFERS.1/

1914- Sept. 17 Gold 

Iron 

Centennial-Eureka Eureka, UT 11 Cave-in. 11 

1914- Nov. 9 Sibley No. 9 Shaft Ely, MN 5 Shaft cave-in. 11 

1915 - Oct. 19 Copper Granite Mountain Shaft Butte, MT 16 Dynamite explosion at shaft collar. 11 

1916 - Feb. 14 Copper 

Gold 

Lead 

Silver 

Zinc 

Pennsylvania Butte, MT 21 Mine fire; asphyxiation. 7 

1917 - Feb. 25 North Star Hailey, ID 16 Snowslide struck compressor and 

bunkhouse. 

11 

1917- Apr. 28 Gold Mountain King Mariposa County, CA 7 Asphyxiation by powder fumes. 11 

1917- June 8 Copper Granite Mountain Butte, MT 163 Mine fire. 8 

1917- July 17 QYQ_sum Three Forks quarry Trident, MT 8 Powder explosion. 11 

1918 - Feb. 21 Iron Amasa-Porter Crystal Falls, MI 17 Cave-in caused by inrush of water. 24 

1918 -June 27 Iron Silver (open pit) Virginia, MN 18 Premature powder explosion caused 

by lightning. 

11 

1919 - July 25 Lead Hecla Burke, ID 5 Cage accident; power applied in 

wrong direction. 

11 

1920 - Apr. 15 Salt Jefferson Island Delcambre, LA 6 Gas explosion. 11 

1920- Apr. 19 Limestone Lehigh quarry Ormrod, PA 6 Explosives accident caused by 

hard tamping with heavy plunger. 

8, 22 

1920- Aug. 13 Rock Pounding Mills quarry Pounding Mills, 

VA 

9 Spark from steam shovel entered 

loaded drill hole. 

22 

1922 - June 27 Marble Holston quarry Strawplains, TN 9 Explosion during loading 

operations. 

22 

1922 - Aug. 27 Gold Argonaut Jackson, CA 47 Mine fire, cause unknown. 10 

1923 - July 12 Iron Sloss No. 1 Bessemer, AL 5 Haulage; man-trip broke loose. 11 

1924- Feb. 5 Manganiferious 

Iron Ore 

Milford Crosby, MN 41 Inrush of water. 11 

1926- Nov. 3 Iron Barnes Hecker lshpoming, MI 51 Mine flood. 14 

1927- Oct. 29 Copper Quincy Mine 

No.2 Shaft 

Hencock, MI 7 Fall of rock in shaft following 

air blast. 

14 
DATE PRODUCT NAME OF MINE LOCATION KILLED NATURE OF ACCIDENT REFERS.1/

1927 - Nov. 24 do. Magma Superior, AZ 7 Shaft fire. 14 

1929- Feb. 28 Granite Stone Mountain quarry Decature, GA 7 Explosion of air receiver at quarry. 12, 13 

1929 - Sept. 4 Copper Calaveras Copperapolis, CA 5 Cave in stope. 14 

1930- May 17 Rock 

Molybdenum 

Terry and Butterskill 

qu_!!TY_ 

Union, WV 6 Premature explosion while preparing 

primers. 

22 

1930- June 7 Climax mine Fremont Pass, Lake 

County, CO 

5 Cave-in. 14 

1930 - July 14 Gold Glenn Lost Chance, Placer 

County, CA 

5 Mine fire in surface building. Fumes 

entered mine. 

14 

1933- Feb. 8 Limestone 

Granite 

B & C quarry Fletcher, NC 7 Fall and slide in quarry. 12, 15 

1934- Nov. 12 Rohl Connolly quarry Avalon, CA 9 Explosives accident. 12, 16 

1936 - Aug. 13 Copper Mountain City Copper 

Company 

Mountain City, Elko 

County, NV 

6 Suffocation. 16 

1936- Oct. 6 Lead Morning mine Mullan, ID 10 Shaft accident. 18 

1936 - Nov. 30 Slate Funkhouser quarry Delta, PA 9 Explosives accident. 12, 17 

1937 - Feb. 19 Copper Walker Walkermine, CA 6 Explosion of dynamite in transit 

with trolley locomotive. 

22 

1938- Aug. 31 Granite Ashville quarry Ashville, NC 5 Dynamite explosion. 12, 19 

1939- Jan. 31 Zinc Southern Treece, KS 5 Roof fall. 21 

1942- Jan. 9 Copper 

Zinc/Lead 

Gold/Silver 

Pride Silverton, CO 8 Fumes from surface fire at tunnel 

portal suffocated men in mine. 

21 

1942 - Mar. 26 Limestone Sandts Eddy quarry Allentown, PA 31 Quarry blast. 20 

1943 - Jan.' 5 Copper Boyd Mine Ducktown, TN 9 Asphyxiation by fumes from 

explosion of sulphide dust in stope. 

23 

1943 - Feb. 10 Lead 

Zinc 

C.F.&H. Shullsburg, WI 8 Two men buried by cave-in. Six 

others buried by second cave-in 

during recovery work. 

22 

1943 -Mar. 15 Rock Atkinson quarry Excursion Inlet, 

AK 

5 Men not evacuated from danger 

zone during coyote hole blast. 

22 

1945 - Feb. 20 Lead/Zinc St. Anthony Tiger, AZ 5 Fire in company-owned bunkhouse. 22 
TABLE 2. Major disasters in metal and nonmetal mines and quarries in the United States 

(excluding coal mines) showing number and fatalities by States 

STATE DISASTERS 

TOTAL 

FATALITIES 

Montana 14 275 

Michigan 12 188 

California 9 101 

Nevada 8 99 

Colorado 8 94 

Pennsylvania 5 65 

Minnesota 4 78 

Utah 4 75 

Alaska 4 65 

Arizona 4 26 

Idaho 3 31 

Tennessee 2 18 

New Jersey 2 17 

North Carolina 2 12 

New York 2 11 

Oklahoma 1 13 

Virginia 1 9 

New Mexico 1 8 

Wisconsin 1 8 

Georgia 1 7 

Louisiana 1 6 

West Virginia 1 6 

Alabama 1 5 

Kansas 1 5 

Missouri 1 5 

Vermont 1 5 

TOTAL 94 1,232 

29 
TABLE 3.- Major disasters in metal and nonmetal mines and quarries in the United States 

(excluding coal mines) showing number and fatalities by principal products mined 

Copper 

Gold, Silver and 

Miscellaneous Iron Lead and Zinc 

Nonmetallic 

Minerals 

No. Fatalities No. Fatalities No. Fatalities No. Fatalities No. Fatalities 

24 366 25 339 15 235 10 102 20 190 

TABLE 4.- Major disasters in metal and nonmetal mines and quarries in the United States 

(excluding coal mines) showing number and fatalities during 10-year intervals prior to 1945. 

Years Disasters Fatalities 

1869-1875 4 54 

1876-1885 -4 28 

1886-1895 9 120 

1896-1905 10 129 

1906-1915 30 307 

1916-1925 15 378 

1926-1935 10 109 

1936-1945 12 107 

TOTAL 94 1,232 

30 
REFERENCES 

1. The Mining and Scientific Press, 1867 to 1922. 

2. Engineering and Mining Journal, 1874 to 1947/ 

3. Mining World, 1909 to 1914. 

4. Higgins, Edwin, Fires in Lake Superior Iron Mines: Bureau of Mines Tech. Paper 59, 1913, p. 9. 

5. Ingalls, W. R., Douglas, James, Finlay, J. R., Channing, J. Parke, and Hammond, John Hays, Rules and 

Regulations for Metal Mines: Bureau of Mines Bull. 75, 1915, pp. 254-276. 

6. Bowles, Oliver, Safety in Stone Quarrying: Bureau of Mines Tech. Paper 111, 1915, p. 45. 

7. Fay, Albert H., Metal-Mine Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1918: Bureau of Mines 

Tech. Paper 252, 1920, pp. 72-73. 

8. Bowles, Oliver, and Cranshaw, J. E., A Fatal Blasting Accident: Bureau of Mines Rept. of lnvestigations 

2126, 1920, 3 pp. 

9. Harrington, D., Lessons from the Granite Mountain Shaft Fire, Butte, Montana: Bureau of Mines Bull. 188, 

1922, 50 pp. 

10. Pickard, B. O., Lessons from the Fire in the Argonaut Mine: Bureau of Mines Tech. Paper 363, 1926, 39 pp. 

11. Adams, William W., Metal-Mine Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1925: Bureau of 

Mines Bull. 282, 1927, pp. 105-106. 

12. Rock Products, 1929 to 1938. 

13. Adams, W. W., Quarry Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1929: Bureau of Mines 

Bull. 338, 1931, p. 12. 

14. Adams, William W., Metal-Mine Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1950: Bureau of 

Mines Bull. 362, 1932, p. 92. 

15. Adams, W. W., and Erwin, V. E., Quarry Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1933: 

Bureau of Mines Bull. 386, 1935, p. 2. 

16. Adams, W. W., and Wrenn, V. E., Quarry Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1934: 

Bureau of Mines Bull. 399, 1936, p. 2. 

17. Adams, W. W., and Wrenn, V. E., Quarry Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1936: 

Bureau of Mines Bull. 416, 1938, p. 1. 

18. Adams, W. W., and Kolhos, M. E., Metal-Mine Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 

1936: Bureau of Mines Bull. 422, 1939, p. 1. 

19. Adams, W. W., and Wrenn, V. E., Quarry Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1938: 

Bureau of Mines Bull. 432, 1940, p. 2. 

20. Adams, W. W., and Wrenn, V. E., Quarry Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1942: 

Bureau of Mines Bull. 458, 1942, p. 1. 

21. Adams, W. W., and Kennedy, F. J., Metal- and Nonmetal-Mine Accidents in the United States During the 

Calendar Year 1942: Bureau of Mines Bull. 461, 1945, p. 21. 

22. Unpublished Reports of the Bureau of Mines. 

23. Bureau of Mines, Fires, Gases, and Ventilation in Metal Mines: Miners' Circ. 55, 1946, pp. 90 

24. Bureau of Mines, Health and Miscellaneous Hazards in Metal Mines: Miners' Circ. 57, 1946, pp. 29-30 

25. Unpublished Reports of State Departments of Mines. 

26. Denver Rocky Mountain News, September 27, 1865. 

27. Semi-Weekly Independent, Sutter Creek, California June 2, 1874. 

31