Cyprus Industrial Minerals Company v. Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, and Raymond J. Donovan, Secretary of Labor

After a fatal accident, a Federal Mine Safety and Health inspector cited Cyprus for a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 57.3-22 (1980) and issued a withdrawal order. An unsuccessful review petition before the Mine Safety and Health Administration led Cyprus to petition this court for review. Cyprus contends: (1) that the operation where the accident occurred was not a mine within the meaning of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act, 30 U.S.C. § 802 (h)(1) (Supp. III 1979); and (2) that the employment of an independent contractor to perform the operation effectively insulated Cyprus from liability under the Act. Neither point is well taken, and the petition is denied.

Cyprus grounds its contention substantially on the assertion that the accident site was not a mine because the work under way consisted of driving exploratory drifts in search of a commercially exploitable deposit of talc rather than in the extraction of minerals.

The broad language of the statute and the legislative history do not support Cyprus’ interpretation of the definition of a mine under the Act. The relevant Senate Report stated:

Cases in this and other circuits interpreting Section 3(h)(1) have interpreted the…