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Events/Disaster · 1984

Wilberg mine fire

Disaster, 1984-12-19, United States.

What happened

A fire at the Wilberg mine in Emery County, Utah on 19 December 1984 killed 27 men, according to MSHA.1,2

Why it matters

MSHA lists it as a fire, while most coal disasters on its list are explosions.1,2

Story cards

Around the same time

  1. Gina Rinehart born

    Gina Rinehart born (date from Wikidata).3

  2. Asbestos mining at Wittenoom ends

    The legacy is disease: the WA government says the remnants have already caused thousands of deaths among miners, residents and visitors.4,5,6

  3. Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969

    The Act is the British statute on the security of tips. The opened page does not link it to Aberfan.7,8

  4. Panguna mine: inception

    Panguna mine: inception.9

  5. Escondida porphyry copper found

    Escondida became the largest copper mine in the world.10,11

  6. Rammelsberg and Goslar inscribed

    UNESCO World Heritage listing event.12

  7. BHP leaves Ok Tedi after river damage claims

    It links a miner's exit from a mine to claims over river damage.13,14

  8. Pike River Mine disaster

    Pike River Mine disaster.15

Open the full timeline

Where next

Events

An example ofGranite Mountain shaft fire at ButteMost US coal disasters are explosions. Wilberg in 1984 was a fire that killed 27.1An example ofScotia mine explosionsScotia's second blast killed 11 of 13 workers sent to recover.1

Sources

  1. Fact Sheet 95-8: Historical Data on Mine Disasters in the United States US Mine Safety and Health Administration
  2. Orangeville (item Q482419), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  3. Wikidata item Q242982 (Gina Rinehart)
  4. Mining and Energy Western Australia: Asbestos (exhibition page) State Library of Western Australia
  5. Information on the former town of Wittenoom (brochure PDF) Government of Western Australia
  6. Wittenoom (item Q3569521), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  7. Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969 (c. 10), arrangement of sections UK National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
  8. London (item Q84), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  9. Wikidata item Q17060798 (Panguna mine: inception)
  10. La genesis de Escondida: el hallazgo que transformo la mineria chilena (opinion column by a participant) Guia Minera de Chile
  11. Escondida Mine (item Q14995147), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  12. Mines of Rammelsberg, Historic Town of Goslar and Upper Harz Water Management System UNESCO World Heritage Centre
  13. BHP lawsuit re Papua New Guinea (Ok Tedi) Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
  14. Ok Tedi environmental disaster (item Q7081685), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  15. Wikidata item Q928629 (Pike River Mine disaster)

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0; Chuquicamata from the ISS by Alexander Gerst (ESA), CC BY-SA 2.0.