SALT LAKE CITY – A settlement was reached with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration in connection with the 2007 collapse at Crandall Canyon Mine that killed six miners and three rescue workers.
An investigation by the MSHA revealed that a grossly deficient mine design led to pillar failures and the collapse. Genwal Resources was issued 20 enforcement violations with penalties of more than $1.5 million.
Genwal Resources and Andalex Rescources, the companies that operates the mine, announced the settlement on Thursday morning. Genwal and Andalex have agreed to nearly $1 million to resolve all the alleged violations related to the disaster.
Genwal Resources released a statement saying, in part, “Genwal, and its former employees, have always maintained that they believed the plan for mining the Crandall Canyon Mine was safe, a belief that was shared by MSHA, who approved the plan, and the mine engineering firm on which Genwal relied.”
Genwal says the settlement was made as a way to avoid putting former employees and their families through the process of a trial.
Earlier this year, Genwal Resources was fined $500,000 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for failure to report a March 2007 bounce and for mining in a prohibited area, both misdemeanors that carry a maximum $250,00 fine.
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Crandall Canyon Mine disaster five years laterMine operator pleads guilty, fined $500,000 in Crandall Canyon disaster
