Another mining death

In Nevada:

36-year-old Curtis Johnson was working with heavy equipment in the Getchell Mine about 45 miles outside of Winnemucca when the accident happened. "It was a rock bolting machine, which is used to re-enforce and support the rock. It's a big machine and he was doing that bolting work at the time of the rock failure," says manager Brent Kristof.

At about 2am Tuesday rock inside the gold mine buried Johnson and the rock bolter he was using. He was about 2,000 feet into the mine from the entrance.

Rescuers found the machine, but it took them longer to find Johnson; they finally found his body late Wednesday morning....

The Getchell Mine is a joint venture owned by Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. and Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp. It is operated by Small Mining Development LLC, or SMD, an independent contractor based in Boise, Idaho.

It's been the worst year for mine fatalities since 1926.

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