ELKO, Nev. (AP) — An Idaho-based mine operator has been issued a citation for a death that occurred after a roof collapsed at its Nevada gold mine.
The Elko Daily Free Press reports that the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration released its final report Monday on the Oct. 25 fatality at Small Mine Development's Lee Smith Mine near Elko, Nevada.
The report says "the accident occurred because mine management policies, procedures and controls were inadequate to ensure the establishment and maintenance of safe ground conditions where persons work or travel."
Small Mine Development General Manager Keith Jones says he took exception with the root cause analysis and the agency's conclusions.
Smith says procedures at the time that 42-year-old powderman Jason Holman was fatally injured at the mine were very much industry standard.