COLUMBUS - An employee of the Sibanye-Stillwater Mine who was killed in an accident was identified Tuesday.
The Stillwater County Sheriff's Office said 50-year-old Brian Hanson of Laurel was killed Saturday morning in what mine officials have described as an electrical incident.
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The sheriff's office, which also serves as the county coroner's office, said Hanson's death was the result of electrocution.
Further investigation into Hanson's death will be conducted at the Montana State Crime Lab, the agency said in a press release.
A mine official told MTN News on Sunday that Hanson was performing routine maintenance on the east side of the mine when the incident happened. Operations were immediately shut down. The official said Monday a small crew had returned to work at the mine, but there was no timeline for full operations to resume.
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration is also investigating the incident.
Hanson is the fourth worker to die at Stillwater Mine in the last four years. In 2021, two employees were riding in an underground utility vehicle when they were struck by a locomotive. In 2023, a contract worker from Moran Mining in Canada died when he contacted rotating machinery while operating a bolter.
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