Local News

Virginia, Minn. (AP) ― Mining fatalities and injuries have been reduced on the Iron Range in recent years as inspectors, companies and union officials say they have made employee safety a top priority.

Some safety measures include regular inspections, increased employee training, and updated personal safety equipment. Still, officials say there is always the need to be careful.

"In taconite mining, you're dealing with extremely large pieces of equipment," said St. Louis County mine inspector Barry Lesar. "The potential for disaster is always there."

Mining safety has been in the national spotlight after separate incidents in West Virginia killed a total of 16 miners over the past month.

There hasn't been a fatality in an Iron Range mine since a Hibbing Taconite worker died in 2000. Before that, a worker at Minntac died in 1998.

In 2004, there were no worker fatalities in the six mines on the Iron Range. There were 24 time-off reportable injuries in all six mines: Two at Keewatin Taconite, six at Hibbing Taconite, four at Minntac, six at United Taconite, three at Mittal Steel (Ispat Island, Minorca Mine), and three at Northshore Mining, the Mesabi Daily News reported.

According to a federal mine safety Web site, there were 25 injuries in five of the six mines in 2005.

In the early days of mining on the Iron Range, it was common to have 30 or more fatalities each year in about 100 iron mines. Officials said the record has improved in open-pit, taconite mining due to unions, government safety inspectors and changes in company attitudes.

St. Louis County's Inspector of Mines division has four employees who visit each mine every two months to look for problems, Lesar said. A worker is at Minntac two days a week, because of its large size. In addition, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration also has inspectors at mines twice a year.

Gerry Knaeble, safety representative for Local 6115 at Mittal Steel, said he is grateful for the inspections.

"They help us a lot," he said. "They try to analyze things and try to make things better."

Union and management safety officials get together monthly, and go over anything needed for better safety.

"It's a dangerous job. We try to keep things up to code," Knaeble noted.

At Mittal Steel, new miners get 24 hours of training, while every miner is required to take eight hours of safety training annually. There is a new emphasis on using the right equipment and following safety rules, he added.

Safety is essential for Joe Prebeg Jr., a blast crew leader at Minntac. Training for the blast crew can take six months to a year as workers learn how to wire a pattern for timing, to blow a certain direction, and check for air shock and ground vibrations.

Crew members also go through continuous in-house training.

"We've had zero accidents dealing with explosives," Prebeg said. He added that injuries such as sprained knees and back injuries can happen from slipping or tripping on ice and rocks, from sprained knees to back injuries.

According to spokespersons for both U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., emphasis is put on personal protective equipment, such as hats, safety shoes, earplugs and glasses.

At mines managed by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (United Taconite, Hibbing Taconite and Northshore Mining), employees take an active part in safety training, said Cliffs spokeswoman Kimberly Regan. "We take it very seriously. We investigate, we take action, we educate."

At U.S. Steel's Minntac, employees on safety teams "are highly trained," said John Armstrong, a U.S. Steel spokesman.

A new program started last year sets safety goals as a factor in profit-sharing, and workers can see the benefit to reducing accident rates, he said.

(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)