The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has upheld two civil penalties issued to Freeport-McMoran Morenci Inc. in Greenlee County, Ariz., in the Sept. 1, 2008, death of a miner. Raymond Saldana, a 67-year-old contractor consultant, had been working on a belt replacement project at the surface copper mine's Number 6 bedding plant when he fell nearly 30 feet to his death through an opening on an elevated walkway. The 4-by-5-foot hole, created by the removal of two steel gratings, was marked off only by a 3.5-inch-wide yellow caution tape affixed to one side of the opening.
The Department of Labor's (DOL) Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued one 104(d)(1) unwarrantable failure citation for the mine operator's failure to implement the appropriate federal standard, which states that openings above, below or near travelways through which persons or materials may fall shall be protected by railings, barriers or covers. The violation was assessed a $70,000 fine because it constituted more than ordinary negligence. Ronald Y. Jurado, the mine's supervisor in charge of belt replacement and present at the scene, was issued a special assessment of $7,000 for his culpability in the accident.