DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

September 2007 

METAL OPERATOR 

MINING FACTS – 2004

In 2004, a total of 251 metal mining operations

reported employment to the Mine Safety and Health 

Administration (MSHA). Metal mines were the 

smallest mining commodity sector, comprising 1.7% 

of all mining operations. 

• Gold mines comprised 47.0% (n=118) of all 

metal mining operations. Other common types 

of metal mines were iron ore (n=29; 11.6%), 

copper ore (n=27; 10.8%), and lead and/or zinc 

ore (n=18; 7.2%). 

• Nevada had the largest number of metal mines 

(n=51; 20.3%), followed by Alaska (n=26; 

10.4%). 

A total of 25,205 employees,

1

 corresponding to 

26,091 full-time equivalent (FTE)2 employees, were 

reported by metal mine operators.

• Within the mining sectors,3 metal mine operator 

employees accounted for 9.6% of all employee 

hours reported to MSHA. 

• Metal operator employee hours were reported for 

both underground (14.6%) and surface (85.4%) 

work locations.4

0

50

100

150

200

250

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Number of Employee Hours

(millions)

Coal Operator

Metal Operator

Nonmetal Operator

Stone Operator

Sand & Gravel Operator

Coal Contractor

Noncoal Contractor

Two occupational fatalities occurred among metal 

mine operator employees in 2004, compared to one 

fatality in 2003. 

• The metal mine operator fatality rate was 7.7 

fatalities per 100,000 FTE employees. 

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Number of Fatalities

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Fatality Rate

(per 100,000 Full-time Equivalent Employees)

Underground Surface

UG Rate Surf Rate

There were 558 nonfatal lost-time injuries (130 at 

underground and 428 at surface work locations) 

among metal operator employees occurring at a rate 

of 2.1 injuries per 100 FTE employees. A total of 

27,057 days lost5

 from work resulted from these 

injuries. 

• The underground nonfatal lost-time injury rate 

was greater than the surface injury rate (3.4 vs. 

1.9 per 100 FTE workers). 

• The most frequent classification of nonfatal losttime injuries for metal operator employees 

involved handling materials (n=206; 36.9%). 

• Sprains and strains were the most frequently 

reported nature of injury (n=260; 46.6%). 

• The back was the most frequently reported part 

of the body injured (n=102; 18.3%) and 

accounted for 4,051 days lost from work. 

Distribution of Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries

by Accident Class, 2000-2004

36%

9% 8%

6%

27%

11%

3% Handling materials

Slip or fall of person

Machinery

Hand tools

Powered haulage

Fall of ground

All other

Note: "Fall of ground" includes MSHA's Accident/Injury/Illness classification for fall of face, rib, 

pillar, side, or highwall (from in place); fall of roof, back, or brow (from in place); and underground

machinery cases when the source of injury was caving rock, coal, ore, or waste.
To receive NIOSH documents or for more information about 

occupational safety and health topics, contact NIOSH at 

1–800–CDC–INFO (1–800–232–4636) 

1–888–232–6348 (TTY) 

e-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov

or visit the NIOSH Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2007–168 

SAFER • HEALTHIER • PEOPLETM 

In 2004, 44 cases of occupational illnesses were 

reported to MSHA by metal operators.6

 This compares to 63 cases reported in 2003. 

• Joint, tendon, or muscle inflammation or irritation accounted for the most frequently reported 

occupational illnesses (n=29; 65.9%). 

• There were seven cases of hearing loss or 

impairment reported to MSHA (or 15.9% of all 

occupational illnesses reported). 

• Metal mining operations reported two cases of 

heat stroke, sunstroke, heat cramps, etc., 

accounting for 4.5% of all reported occupational 

illnesses in 2004. 

Mining Characteristics, 2004

Commodity and 

Type of Employer 

No. of 

Mines 

No. of 

Companies 

No. of 

Employees 

No. of FTE

Employees 

Fatality 

Rate 

Nonfatal 

Lost-time 

Injury Rate 

Coal Operator 2,011 -- 73,024 80,069 28.7 3.9 

Metal Operator 251 -- 25,205 26,091 7.7 2.1 

Nonmetal Operator 741 -- 19,432 20,183 5.0 2.7 

Stone Operator 4,401 -- 68,417 71,153 11.2 3.2 

Sand and Gravel Operator 7,074 -- 37,000 33,364 24.0 2.3 

Operator Total 14,478 -- 223,078 230,860 18.2 3.2 

Coal Contractor -- 2,550 30,228 17,964 27.8 2.6 

Noncoal Contractor -- 4,143 42,511 22,198 36.0 1.7 

Contractor Total -- 6,693 72,739 40,162 32.4 2.1 

TOTAL 295,817 271,022 20.3 3.0 

Data may not add to totals due to independent rounding. Number of employees was rounded at the subunit level of each mine to be consistent with 

MSHA reporting. Fatality rates were computed per 100,000 FTE employees. Nonfatal lost-time injury rates were computed per 100 FTE employees. 

Data source: Publicly released files of employment and accident/injury/illness data collected by MSHA under 30 CFR 50. 

Notes: All analyses exclude office employees, except for the total number of mining operations. Further statistical methodology is 

available on the NIOSH Internet [http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/method.htm]. 1

Number of employees is the average number of persons working at individual establishments during calendar quarters of active 

 operations. Employment numbers were rounded at the subunit level of each mine to be consistent with MSHA reporting. 2

Full-time equivalent employees were computed using reported employee hours (2,000 hours = 1 FTE). 

3

Mining sectors: coal operators, metal operators, nonmetal operators, stone operators, sand and gravel operators, coal contractors, and 

 noncoal contractors. 

4

Surface work locations include surface operations at underground mines (surface shops and yards, tipple physically located at the mine 

 site), surface operations (strip or open pit mines including associated shops and yards), dredge (mining operations conducted from a 

 platform floating on water), other surface operations (brine pumping, etc.), independent shops and yards not associated with a specific 

 mine, and mill or preparation plant. 

5

Includes actual days away from work and/or days of restricted work activity. For permanently disabling injuries only, statutory days 

 charged by MSHA were used if they exceeded the total lost workdays. 6

Because of the complexity of attributing disease causation to the workplace, occupational illnesses may be underreported.