Operator of this rig lucky to be alive. His piece of equipment slipped on the greasy mica and flipped. He was thrown out of the cage to safety. Owners are having some difficulty righting the equipment as the arm is lodged into the cliff. More rigging or heavy equipment will be needed to “right” the digger.

The equipment is owned by Pacific Silica.

“No one got hurt in the accident. The operator was scaling the wall when the ground gave out and the machine went into a slide then rolled onto the bench he had built earlier. The saying “Shiny Side Up” doesn’t work for excavators.” Laura Venables