MSHA Part 48 Online Training: Surface Mining Refresher Course


MSHA Part 48 Surface Mining Refresher

Our MSHA Part 48 Online Surface Mining Refresher course is designed to assist you in meeting Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Part 48 requirements for most above-ground mines or above-ground operations at underground mines. Part 48 applies to coal mines, underground metal and nonmetal mines, surface metal mines, and certain surface nonmetal mines that are not in the following industries: surface stone, surface clay, sand and gravel, surface limestone, colloidal phosphate, and shell dredging mines and other surface operations that produce marble, granite, sandstone, slate, shale, traprock, kaolin, cement, feldspar, and lime. These mining industries must comply with the training requirements of Part 46. If your work is in both Part 48 and Part 46 mines, Part 48 training may be used to comply with Part 46 requirements.

You should be aware of what regulations cover your activity at the mine. There may be additional training requirements or stipulations not covered here.

You must have a copy of your company's training plan or know the time constraints for each topic of study and be sure your study meets the minimum hours outlined in your particular plan. Note that while this course covers the majority of subjects required for the refresher training, your plan may require material not covered here or have additional subjects required by your MSHA District. The total time of study spent on the refresher must be a minimum of eight hours. If you are training under another company's training plan, which is allowed for contractors, you should be sure they will accept online training as fulfilling the training requirements.

ALL PART 48 TRAINING MUST BE DONE UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF AN MSHA CERTIFIED TRAINER.

While our course material was developed by an MSHA certified trainer, there must be a certified instructor available to the person(s) participating in this course to satisfy MSHA requirements. If you have any questions about whether this training will work for you, please contact us.

The course design here closely matches the template for Part 48 training provided by MSHA. When completed, your training will need to be certified by the person in your company responsible for mine safety and health training.

Please note that Eduwhere does not sign your training documentation.

Please Consider...


We emphasize the following critical points before you begin any MSHA training:

  • Always check with the mine (and your employer, if different than the mine) to confirm the type of training they require and will accept. Please confirm the training you invest in is acceptable under your company's training plan. We may be able to refund your money. We cannot refund your time.
  • Who Signs the Pink Sheet? Always Identify the "person responsible for training" who will sign your Form 5000-23 on line 6. Generally, the person signing the form is an approved MSHA trainer acting on behalf of the operator. For example, a qualified company safety official or trainer contracted by the mine. Eduwhere is not the signatory for line 6 on the MSHA 5000-23 form.
  • Eduwhere does not sign the 5000-23 form.

MSHA Part 48 (30 CFR Part 48.28) Course Details

Because there are so many serious health and safety risks associated with surface mining and surface areas of underground mining, all miners who have worked in the field for at least a year must complete MSHA Part 48 refresher training annually. Eduwhere’s training materials educates miners on how to identify and ameliorate mining hazards and provides an overview of safety fundamentals and emergency response procedures. Attendees will also review miners’ rights and responsibilities.

Course Fee
$135.00 USD

Includes:

  • Instant Access, Online, On-Demand
  • Form 5000-23 (Unsigned)
  • Accepted by: MSHA

For help call Toll-Free 866-523-9108

Group Discount Information

More MSHA Training Opportunities
While our MSHA Part 48 Surface Mining Refresher course is offered in an immediate, on-demand format, we also offer the training in a scheduled online classroom environment with a live instructor for those who need an MSHA certified instructor. If you need a MSHA certified trainer to supervise your training, please consider: You may also be interested in our other MSHA courses:

Topics

Topics include:
  • Mandatory Health and Safety Standards
  • Transportation Controls and Communication Systems
  • Escape and Emergency Evacuation Plans; Firewarning and Firefighting
  • Roof or Ground Control
  • First Aid
  • Electrical Hazards
  • Self-Rescue and Respiratory Devices
  • Prevention of Accidents
  • Explosives
  • Health

Who Should Take Eduwhere’s MSHA Part 48 Surface Mining Refresher Training?

Mines must offer this safety and awareness training to persons performing all types of mining activities in MSHA Part 48 operations and to contractors who have frequent or extended exposures during maintenance activities. Examples of personnel who need this training are listed below.

  • mining personnel: drillers, blasters, equipment operators, truck drivers, welders, crane operators, electricians, and other maintenance and construction workers
  • independent contractors
  • other facility personnel as required by the mines

Do You Perform Activities Related to Surface Mining Operations?

A variety of personnel that perform duties related to surface mining operations may be required to receive annual MSHA Part 48 Refresher training. Positions that spend a significant amount of time either at mining sites or performing mining operations are typically required to be knowledgeable of all mining-related safety regulations and standards. Typical surface mining operations positions that require MSHA Part 48 Training include personnel that operate machinery that:

  • Load or prepare mining materials, such as bulldozer operators
  • Move or transport mining materials, such as conveyor belt operators
  • Crush or sort mining materials, such as ore sorting equipment operators

Do You Work in an Underground Mine?

While MSHA Part 46 applies to miners of coal or nonmetal materials, such as Shale, Marble, Feldspar, Lime, Cement components, Granite, etc., the MSHA Part 48 Refresher Training primarily applies to miners working in surface mining operations, as well as miners that work in underground mines or certain types of metal and nonmetal surface mines. The most common types of mined materials that MSHA Part 48 Refresher applies to includes:

  • Coal
  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Ore
  • Clay (underground)
  • Limestone (underground)

Are You an Independent Contractor Performing Surface Mining Operations or Underground Mining?

Independent contractors that either perform surface mining operations or primarily work in any of the underground or surface mines listed above may also require MSHA Part 48 Training. This also holds true for new mining apprentices and mineworkers that are new to surface mining operations or certain types of underground or surface mines.

Industries that Require MSHA Part 48 Surface Mining Refresher Courses

A broad range of industries require MSHA Part 48 Surface Mining Refresher training. Workers in the following sectors are required to complete the training, regardless of whether they are full-time miners, facility personnel involved with mining, or contractors:

  • Personnel that operate drillers, blasters, crushers, or any other surface mining equipment
  • Drivers and equipment operators that perform duties related to surface mining operations
  • Electricians, welders and any other personnel that perform construction or maintenance services at mining operations
  • Miners and independent contractors that work in underground mines or certain types of surface mines

Objectives

The goal of this course is to provide the information necessary for you to learn the requirements of a safe workplace while meeting the requirements of the annual MSHA Part 48 refresher. Information is presented to help you recognize and avoid hazards you may be exposed to on a regular basis and those which occur unexpectedly. An overall understanding of all mining hazards is also presented.

Note: Although this course covers much of the information required by the regulations, many employers may find it to necessary to augment this online training with additional site-specific information and hands on training (such as reviewing site-specific health and safety risks and/or providing equipment-specific training).

Instructor

Randy Newcomer, CMSP, COHC

Randy is Director of Training and Services for Complete Safety Solutions out of Pennsylvania. He is an MSHA Certified Trainer and has designed award winning training programs. Randy is a Certified Mine Safety Professional and member of the International Society of Mine Safety Professionals. He is active with the Holmes Safety Association and past president of the Southeast Pennsylvania Regional Holmes Council. He is also a certified instructor for first aid, CPR, and AED, a member of the National Safety Council, and a Certified Occupational Hearing Conservationist. He has worked as Director of Compliance at Rohrer's Quarry and involved in the mining industry for over twenty-four years.

Randy has made many presentations including several at MSHA's Metal/Nonmetal Northeastern District programs, the National Mine Safety Academy, National Holmes Association Meeting, and the Pennsylvania Aggregate and Concrete Association. He has designed many kinds of training and educational programs including a first place winner in MSHA's Annual Training Materials Competition.

Contact Hours

8 Contact Hours
This represents the estimated time to complete the online course, including exercises. Actual times may vary from user to user.

Training Requirement

Citation: 30 CFR Part 48.28

30 CFR § 48.28 (http://www.msha.gov/30cfr/48.28.htm)

Annual refresher training of miners; minimum courses of instruction; hours of instruction.

(a) Each miner shall receive a mimimum of 8 hours of annual refresher training as prescribed in this section.

(b) The annual refresher training program for all miners shall include the following courses of instruction:

(1) Mandatory health and safety standards. The course shall include mandatory health and safety standard requirements which are related to the miner's tasks.

(2) Transportation controls and communication systems. The course shall include instruction on the procedures for riding on and in mine conveyances; the controls in effect for the transportation of miners and materials; and the use of the mine communication systems, warning signals, and directional signs.

(3) Escape and emergency evacuation plans; firewarning and firefighting. The course shall include a review of the mine escape system; escape and emergency evacuation plans in effect at the mine; and instruction in the firewarning signals and firefighting procedures.

(4) Ground control; working in areas of highwalls, water hazards, pits, and spoil banks; illumination and night work. The course shall include, where applicable, a review and instruction on the highwall and ground control plans in effect at the mine; procedures for working safely in areas of highwalls, water hazards, pits, and spoil banks; the illumination of work areas; and safe work procedures during hours of darkness.

(5) First aid. The course shall include a review of first aid methods acceptable to MSHA.

(6) Electrical hazards. The course shall include recognition and avoidance of electrical hazards.

(7) Prevention of accidents. the course shall include a review of accidents and causes of accidents, and instruction in accident prevention in the work environment.

(8) Health. The course shall include instruction on the purpose of taking dust measurements, where applicable, and noise and other health measurements, and any health control plan in effect at the mine shall be explained. The health provisions of the Act and warning labels shall also be explained.

(9) Explosives. The course shall include a review and instruction on the hazards related to explosives. The only exception to this course component is when there are no explosives used or stored on the mine property.

(10) Self-rescue and respiratory devices. The course shall include instruction and demonstration in the use, care, and maintenance of self-rescue and respiratory devices, where applicable.

(11) Such other courses as may be required by the District Manager based on circumstances and conditions at the mine.

(c) Refresher training may include other health and safety subjects that are relevant to mining operations at the mine. Recommended subjects include, but are not limited to, information about the physical and health hazards of chemicals in the miner's work area, the protective measures a miner can take against these hazards, and the contents of the mine's HazCom program.

(d) All coal supervisors who are subject to § 77.107-1 of this chapter must receive annual refresher training required by this section within 12 months of October, 1998.

(d) All persons employed as shaft or slope construction workers on June 28, 2006 must receive annual refresher training within 12 months of June 2006.

(e) Where annual refresher training is conducted periodically, such sessions shall not be less than 30 minutes of actual instruction time and the miners shall be notified that the session is part of annual refresher training.

How Often Does the MSHA Part 48 Surface Mining Certification Need to Be Updated?



After their initial training, miners must complete at least 8 hours of refresher training every year. This refresher training ensures that personnel engaged in surface mining operations are fully aware of all health and safety risks and up to date with any changes in best practices concerning them.


Refresher Training Required: Every 1 year(s).

Why Choose Eduwhere for Your MSHA Part 48 Surface Mining Refresher Course?

Eduwhere’s affordable, accessible online MSHA Surface Mining Refresher Course is the perfect resource for reviewing your primary training and learning about new health and safety updates that affect miners and mining personnel of all kinds. And you’ll receive Form 5000-23 ready for your supervisor to sign upon completion.

Your MSHA-certified trainer is Randy Newcomer, CMSP, COHC, an award-winning instructor with over 24 years of mining experience. You’ll complete the course from the comfort of your home or workplace, on your own schedule. Best of all, you’ll benefit from Randy’s expertise in a variety of critical roles, including as past Director of Compliance at Rohrer’s Quarry and past president of the Southeast Pennsylvania Regional Holmes Council. In these eight required hours of refresher training, you’ll review health and safety standards, communication systems and transportation controls, emergency evacuation plans, firefighting and firewarning, ground or roof control, first aid, electrical hazards, respiratory and self-rescue devices, accident prevention, explosives, and much more. When you complete Eduwhere’s MSHA Part 48 online training, you’ll come away with a refreshed understanding of up-to-date mining health and safety protocols and can rest assured that you are in compliance with MSHA regulations for your industry.

Course FAQs

MSHA considers online training courses to be a perfectly acceptable means of training just as they do for courses available on CD-ROM or video. However, MSHA makes the important distinction that all of these means of training (online, video, CD-ROM) are to assist companies in complying with the requirements for annual refresher training. There are some components of the training, site-specific hazards, etc., that have to be provided by your employer.
No, this course should only be used for assistance in meeting the requirements for the Part 48 annual refresher requirements.
No, while Part 48 does cover underground mining activities this course does not discuss the topics required for underground mining. This course covers the surface operations at both coal and noncoal mines but also includes the surface parts of underground operations (people who work at underground mines, but work in the processing plants or other parts of the operation that are not underground).
Yes. Part 48 training can be used to fulfill Part 46 training. However, Part 46 training can NOT be used to fulfill Part 48 training.
30 CFR § 48.3 requires that each operator of an underground mine must have an MSHA approved plan. Contractors can train under a mine's existing plan or can submit their own to the District Manager. If a contractor trains under a mine's plan, they can operate in other mines. We recommend that you have a copy available of whichever plan you are training under.

If you plan to train under a mine's existing plan, we recommend that you check with the mine to see that they will accept the type of training (online, video, CD-rom, classroom) that you plan to use for the refresher training. If you have your own training plan you can make that determination yourself.
Yes, and no. When you complete the course, we will send you an uncompleted, unsigned MSHA 5000-23 form, also known as a pink ticket. You will also receive a certificate of course completion and a copy of your exam scores for your training record. These should be used as support documents for the person at your company to complete the MSHA 5000-23 form..

An electronic, printable version of he form along with detailed instructions may be found on MSHA's website. On the form Eduwhere should be listed as the competent person (institution) providing training along with your company's information in block 7. Remember that ultimately, the person signing block 6 must verify that all training was completed according to the regulatory requirements and to the company's satisfaction. That person should also make sure that Eduwhere is included in the list of competent persons and agencies in the training plan prior to your training.
Eduwhere is not allowed to sign the form per MSHA regulations. Per the regulations, the responsible party for health and safety training at your facility or organization must sign the form and attest that you have completed your 8-hour annual refresher training requirement.
No, we have not submitted a training plan to MSHA as we are just providing the necessary content for training. If you are an independent contractor and wish to use this training, you need to have your own MSHA approved training plan or be able to train under the mine's training plan.
Beyond being the required topics and material required, training is only as good as what you invest in it. Classroom training has the benefit of more interaction with other attendees and active question and answer periods. On the other hand, particularly in large groups it is possible to 'zone out' in the classroom (whether intentionally or unintentionally) and miss important parts. In a classroom, instruction is provided to a group with diverse knowledge levels and you can find yourself spending a lot of time on something you know while other times spending insufficient time on something you don't understand. Online training has the benefit of being more easily individualized. You can spend more time where you need it and less on material you already understand. Our courses provide some ability for you to spend time on topics of more interest or application to your specific job while meeting all the topic requirements. Since the MSHA class requires a specific number of hours that you MUST spend on a course, online training allows you to spend this time on material which is most beneficial to you. At the same time the questions at the end of each module make sure you have understood the basic safety issues concerned. No matter how you spend your time training, whether online or in a classroom, Eduwhere hopes you make the most of it. It's YOUR safety that is at risk. We'd like to see you come back safely for many more courses.
It is possible to complete the required modules and tests in less than the required eight hours. You can supplement this course with the extra materials suggested in the course using the links to MSHA's website or you or your company can add other materials as long as the material fits the guidelines of your training plan. At the end of the online class you are asked to affirm that the time requirement has been met. If you falsely state that it has you are cheating yourself, your company, and BREAKING THE LAW! When the person at your company signs the MSHA 5000-23 form or whatever form your company uses to document the training, he or she is making a legal statement that the training was completed as required and is subject to punishment which may include a fine and prison.
When an experienced miner returns to the same mine following an absence of 12 months or less, the miner must complete annual refresher training before starting work. Also, the miner must receive training that covers major changes affecting safety or health that have occurred at the mine, before the miner starts work. When an experienced miner returns to the mine following an absence of more than 12 months, the operator must provide Experienced Miner Training before the miner begins work. This starts a new annual refresher training date for this miner. In either case, if the miner is assigned a new work task, the operator must provide New Task Training prior to having the miner perform that task. Experienced underground miners assigned to work on the surface for the first time must receive new miner training.
They have basically the same requirements except the Experienced Miner Training also covers Introduction to the Work Environment (visit and tour of mine), Authority and responsibility of supervisors and miners' representatives, Hazard Recognition, Emergency Medical Procedures, and Health and Safety Aspects of the tasks to which the experienced miner is assigned.

The course fee entitles a single user to participate in the online course for at least six (6) months. Requests for additional time will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but are almost always honored. Hardcopy certificates are mailed (first class for domestic locations/standard airmail for international locations) and included in the course fee. Expedited shipping costs are additional.