A construction worker for a Nevada gold mining exploration project fell 800 feet to his death on the job in May, sparking an investigation from state mining safety regulators.

Lon Shane Jarvis, 56, had been operating a 2009 John Deer 240D LC excavator to build a drill pad for the Lapon Canyon Gold project, according to a fatality investigation report obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The machine rolled down a cliffside onto an access road.

Regulators found that the construction contractor, Merritt Construction Inc., did not conduct mandatory examinations of equipment or workplace conditions, nor did Jarvis get adequate training. As a result of the investigation, the company must hold a safety meeting to train all mobile equipment operators and supervisors on necessary paperwork a

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