The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-09-03
Accidents From Falls Of Rock and Ore

/ More men are killed and injured In
the metal mines Of the United States
from falls Of rock or ore than from
any other cause. According to figures
published by the bureau OF mines in
Technical paper 81. there were en-
ployed In and about metal mines dur
ing the calendar year 1912, total OF
169,199 men. OF this number 110,06G
worked underground and 5s,143 on the
surface. There were 661 fatal acct
dents. 522 underground and 1879 on the
surface. or the fatal accidents 212
were caused by falls Of rock or ore,
this number representing 32.1 per cent
OF the total number Of men killed on
the surface and underground, and 40.6
per cent of the number killed under
ground.
Copper mines showed the largest
percentage OF men killed from falls Of
rock or ore: iron mines came second.
Lead and zinc mines showed about
gold and miscellaneous metal mines,
and were third In order Those fg-
ures indicate that the greatest num-
Der OF accidents from falls Of rock or
ore occur in ore bodies of great width.
This circular Is published by the
bureau OF mines to draw the attention
of the miner to the chief causes Of ac-
cidents from falls Of rock or ore, and
to set forth some of the ways In when
he may protect himself from such ac-
cidents. For the sake Of brevity, the
word falls is used instead OF falls
Of rock or ore"
The Underground Worker Can Pre-.
vent Many Accidents from Falls.
Even ii 1t were possible It would
serve little purpose to point out just
what proportion Of accidents from
falls Is blamable to the management
and what to the miner However, the
writer, who has been worker UNDER
ground, believes that the problem Of
preventing accidents from falls ds al
most wholly in the hands of the min
er. A mine equipped with thousands
OF dollars worth Of safety devices and
worked by careless or Indifferent min
ers will have more accidents than a
mine without single safety device
but with miners who are always
thinking Of preventing accidents to
themselves and their fellow workmen.
A careful study Of many accidents
from falls indicates that large pro-
portion Of the accidents might not
have happened If the miner or the un-
derground boss had used more judg-
ment or care OF course, many falls
are unforeseen, such as those caused
by the movement Of large block Of
ground, or by the falling Of ground
that even the most experienced miner
would have no reason to believe un-
safe. II miner persists in taking
chances and in disregarding his own
Judgment or that of others who know,
he Is liable to be injured. If the un-
foreground boss fails in his duty as an
Inspector, or in compelling his men to
obey orders promptly, he is RESPONSE
Die to that extent for accidents to the
men under his charge.
Ignorance Of the nature OF the
ground or the proper method of tim
bering is not reasonable excuse for
accidents from falls. II miner does
not know the ground where he is
working, there are ways for him to
find out about 1t. II he does not
know how or where to place timber
he may readily find some one to show
him. The experienced miner who Is
hurt by fall will find, in most cases,
that the accident would not have hap
pened II he he'd been more careful or
II he had followed his best judgment.
1t lies within the power Of the un-
foreground worker to reduce greatly
the number Of accidents from falls.
The exercise Of this power Is duty
that every miner owes to himself and
to his fellow workmen. The manage
miner. and therefore makes mistakes.
Above all things the management
needs the assistance and cooperation
of the miner: without 1t little progress
can be made toward lessening the
Lumber Of accidents from falls.
Varied Conditions in Metal Mines.
Ore deposits vary greatly in size