A silver mine in Ouray where two men died in an accident in November was cited by a federal agency Thursday for numerous safety violations.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) put Revenue Mine on notice for a pattern of violations of mandatory health or safety standards. According to MSHA, the company, owned by Star Mine Operations, had 92 “significant and substantial ” violations between Aug, 1, 2013, and July 31, 2014.
MSHA says the citings are violations that “significantly and substantially contributes to the cause and effect of a coal or other mine safety or health hazard.”
On Nov, 17, 2013, . At least 20 others were injured. A statement from MSHA said an investigation that was launched following the accident is expected to be completed shortly.
The agency said it has yet to issue .
However, Revenue Mine was cited for problems related to roof and rib hazards, handling of explosives materials, ventilation and training practices. A news release issued by MSHA said 57 of the citations included high negligence or reckless disregard by the mine operator.
The mine’s citation rate was 15.67 per 100 inspection hours during the review period, compared with a rate of 4.59 for all other underground metal and nonmetal mines during the same period, MSHA said.
Revenue Mine is 6 miles south of Ouray. A telephone call to the mine’s manager of human resources was not returned.
According to MSHA, 12 of the nation’s more than 14,000 mines — six coal and six metal and nonmetal operations — were identified by MSHA’s screening process for further evaluation to determine whether a pattern of violations exists.
MSHA says facilities on notice for patterns of violation can implement corrective actions to reduce the violations and request an inspection within the next 90 days. If there are no violations, the notice is removed.
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292, acotton@denverpost.com or twitter.com/anthonycottondp
