Dangerous mining sites should be reported – especially if you know that there are dangerous activities going on there. You can start by reporting to your local police.

Abandoned mine accidents claim the lives of people of all ages. Children sometimes enter mines without supervision, and adults sometimes take children with them when entering an abandoned mine site. A table on this page shows the age distribution of abandoned and inactive mine deaths. Most victims are young and die by drowning. Older victims…

The buildings, structures, and equipment left at abandoned mines are also dangerous. The buildings and structures can be old and unstable. Floors can collapse when they are walked on. Supports can be rusted away. Chemicals, explosives, or electrical equipment and other dangers are sometimes left inside. Don’t explore equipment and structures at abandoned mines. Underground…

Today all mining operations must be reclaimed when work is completed. Miners are expected to return the land to a condition similar to before the mining was done – or in an alternative condition specified in their approved mining permit. To assure that reclamation is done, the mining company must post a performance bond. The…

Falls are also deadly. Rock climbing in a mine or quarry is especially dangerous. The rock of a high wall or a mine has been fractured by blasting and can be highly unstable. The rocks that the climber depends upon for support can break free, or the climber’s weight can destabilize an entire face of…

ATV accidents are the second leading cause of death. Quarries and surface mines are dangerous places to ride an ATV. Riders unfamiliar with the quarry can speed over a quarry’s high wall or embankment. Death can result when an ATV is driven too close to a high wall and the rock, previously fractured from blasting,…

Most deaths that occur in abandoned mines and quarries are drownings. Most of the people who drown didn’t fall in by accident. They went there to swim. Don’t swim in a quarry. The water can be dangerously cold, there are no lifeguards, no rescue equipment, and it is simply not safe. ATV Accidents ATV accidents…

Drowning is the number one cause of death in abandoned mines. Most people involved in this type of accident went to a quarry for swimming. Quarries are extremely dangerous places to swim. Steep drop-offs, deep water, sharp rocks, flooded equipment, submerged wire, and industrial waste make swimming risky. Another risk factor is the very cold…

Deaths in abandoned and inactive mines occur across the United States. Many of them occur in the eastern coal fields, the sand and gravel quarries of the upper Mississippi Valley, limestone quarries in the southeast, or the metal mines in the southwest. Deadly accidents can happen in any type of abandoned mine or quarry. Stay…

Abandoned mines and quarries are dangerous places! In a typical year, several people die in accidents that occur in abandoned mines across the United States. Some of these deaths can be prevented if citizens know the danger of these properties; if landowners make better efforts to warn and limit access; and, if governments have improved…