On Thursday, February 20, 2003, a 44-year old preparation plant operator with 25 years of total experience fell approximately 19 feet through a four-foot square opening in the upper level flooring at a conveyor drive station onto a conveyor tail pulley at a lower level of a surface facility. The flooring had been removed to allow materials to be lowered for construction work. The opening had been protected with nylon rope and flagging. The victim, a plant foreman, was aware of the work being performed. He was taken to the hospital for emergency medical treatment and died of his injuries on Tuesday, February 25, 2003. 