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Mine Features and Hazards

 

When working in an area, which is known or suspected for past mining activities, be aware of the serious hazard which may or may not be visible.

Surface features at abandoned mines:

  • Mine buildings (mill sites, assorted support structures).
  • Waste rock dumps.
  • Glory holes (large open pits).
  • Trenches and shallow pits.
  • Tailing piles.
  • Chemical hazards (explosives, 55-gallon drums, meth lab supplies).​

Underground features:

  • Vertical openings (shafts, winzes, raises, ore chutes, stopes, ladders, stulls).
  • Horizontal openings (often contain an unforeseen vertical component).
  • Adits (single opening).
  • Tunnels (two openings).

Hazards associated with these features:

  • Rock fall (near portals, highwalls, shaft collars, or ore chutes).
  • Collapse and entrapment while underground.
  • Instability.
  • Perimeter or overhanging rock slips.
  • Trips and falls (especially down a winze/shaft inside an adit).
  • Mine gases (carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, etc.).
  • Entanglement on wiring and debris within puddles.
  • Collision between your head and the overlying rock.
  • Unknown substances.
  • Explosives, blasting caps, or chemicals.

 

Category
Misc Fireline Hazards
References
USFS: Mine Safety Website
BLM: Abandoned Mine Lands (AML)

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