The Crandall Canyon Mine disaster inspired a state-wide goal to prevent mining fatalities, and with a new endowed chair for mining safety at the U, that goal is closer within reach.
The $1.5 million presidential chair will give the department of mining engineering funds to hire a professor to train students and mining professionals in safety precautions at work.
“I really think it will have a positive effect,” said Hilary Gordon, the mayor of Huntington, where the mining collapse occurred in August 2007. “I know we will never bring back those nine men; we can’t go back two years, but I think it’s a step forward.”
Michael Nelson, mining engineering department chair, said the idea for the endowment came from J. Brett Harvey, a U alumnus and CEO of CONSOL Energy, who wanted to donate to his alma mater. With the help of Greg Lang, president of Barrick Gold North America, Harvey organized donations from companies throughout the United States to establish the chair.
“It was a year or two after some of the accidents took place that (Harvey) decided supporting an endowed chair in mining safety would be a good idea,” Nelson said.
With the endowment, the department will have an independent source of money to use for research and classes, which can’t be diminished through budget cuts.
Nelson said the department already plans to find a recipient for the chair who could train students more thoroughly in mining safety, as well as establish additional classes at the U.
“When I started in the field of mining, the goal was to have fewer accidents than the previous year, and now almost every mining company’s policy is to have zero accidents,” Nelson said. “And that’s right. It doesn’t matter the situation8212;it’s not
acceptable to do something dangerous and risk lives.”
The endowed chair is just one part of an effort to increase mine safety.
Garth Nielsen, director of the Office of Coal Mine Safety in Utah, said his position was created to train people on safety precautions and prevent incidents like the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster from occurring again.
“I think there’s been more awareness toward safety in the last two years,” Nielsen said. “In two more years, hopefully it will have improved even more. I don’t think you can get to a point with zero fatalities and zero accidents, though.”
By training the upcoming generation, Nelson said the department hopes to provide mining companies with well-trained professionals intent on safe practices.
The chair might also increase the number of students enrolled in mining engineering. Currently, the department has 52 students, making it one of the smallest on campus.
The funds will need to accrue interest for the next 12 to 18 months before the department can hire a recipient, but Nelson said the department plans to start looking for someone to fill the position in a few months.
The chair is only the second the department has received. The first was donated in 1978 by the widow of U alumnus Malcolm McKinnon.
Nelson said the new chair helps the department financially, but it will also help mining companies by implanting the necessity of safety over faster, cheaper work.
“We would really like to emphasize a disaster like that (at Crandall Canyon) should never happen,” Nelson said. “We would like to provide the training that students need to prevent those kinds of accidents.”