What happened at Sibanye Stillwater Mine? Accident claims life of 24-year old worker as wife shares heartbreaking final texts

Tragedy struck at the Sibanye Stillwater Mine in Montana on Monday, November 13, when 24-year-old contractor Noah Dinger died due to an accident involving the mine's rotating machinery. The Mine Safety and Health Administration is currently investigating the incident.

Dinger is survived by his wife, Kaylei, and two sons, aged one and three. Although work in the mine was halted on Monday, it resumed the next day. Noah and his high school sweetheart Kaylei had only been married for a year. Hours before his death, Kayley had texted Noah, saying, "I love you with my whole heart, Noah Jon," and Noah responded, "I love you with everything I have, Kaylei Marie."

Kaylie and Noah (Image via Facebook/Kaylei Dinger)

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Sibanye Stillwater Mine contract worker dies while on duty

Noah Dinger used to work at the Sibanye Stillwater Mine in Montana. His grandfather was a miner, and so was his father, who was still working alongside Noah. In an interview with KTVQ, Noah's wife Kaylie said he always wanted to be a miner.

According to AP, on Monday, November 13, Noah was working at the Sibanye Stillwater Mine near Nye, at an elevation of 7,200 feet. He was prepping an area for future mining by bolting wire panels onto the walls of the mine. Dinger reportedly got tangled on the rotating shaft of the bolt driller.

Sibanye Stillwater (Image via X)

As per AP, Sibanye Stillwater Vice President Heather McDowell revealed that Dinger's father found him tangled in the rotator shaft. He had reportedly died at around 1.30 am. Nobody had witnessed the accident. Following the incident, the United States' only platinum and palladium mine stopped work on Monday. The mine resumed work on Tuesday.

Sibanye, a South African company, owns the Stillwater Mining Co. This is not the first time the company has reported an accidental death. In 2021, the Stillwater mine saw two casualties from a utility vehicle collision. In 2018, the company's gold mines in South Africa reported the death of 24 employees.

Stillwater and East Boulder (Image via Sibanye Stillwater)

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"I'm so glad you're all mine": Kaylie Dinger hours before Noah's death

Noah Dinger was a Kellog, Idaho resident. He was married to his high school sweetheart, 23-year-old Kaylie. The couple had been married for only a year and had two children, Maddox (1) and Rylan (3).

Kaylie and Noah (Image via Facebook/Kaylei Dinger)

In a heartbreaking Facebook post, Kaylie described Noah as the "absolute best daddy and husband" she could have asked for. She called Noah "an unbelievable dream come true" and reassured him that their children would know how amazing their dad was.

"I'm so mad.. you weren't supposed to leave me.. we had so many plans and things we were gonna do.. like grow old together, go on all the silly trips we had planned with our babies, GROW OLD TOGETHER..

"I'm not mad at you and never will be but I'm mad at the world for taking such an amazing human who DID NOT deserve this..I love you.. Our sweet boys love you.. WE LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH NOAH JON DINGER," she wrote.

She published another Facebook post 24 hours after she had been informed of his death. "It's been 37 hours and 35 minutes since we last spoke.." she wrote that this was the longest they've ever gone without talking.

She wrote that she needed him and that she was not okay. Along with the post, she provided screenshots of the last texts they had sent each other hours before the incident. Kaylie texted:

"I love you with my whole heart Noah Jon❤️"

He responded:

"I love you with everything I have kaylie Marie ❤️❤️❤️"

She texted back:

"😩😩😩 you're the best man in the entire universe 😩❤️ I'm so glad you're all mine 🤭🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🤤🤤🤤,"

A GoFundMe for the late Sibanye Stillwater Mine contract worker was organized on behalf of his wife by friend Laureeann Fee. The fundraiser amassed $30,266, exceeding the target of $20,000.

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