U.S. Silver-Idaho, Inc. · Struck by falling object
Miner was working in the 3200-033 raise. EE was bolting the hanging wall. A large wedge slipped off the wall and pinned the Miner to the foot wall causing fatal crushing injuries.
Americas Gold and Silver Corporation: 1 recorded fatality controller
MSHA controller ID: 0151001
Watch this controller
Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine Americas Gold and Silver Corporation controls.
Public-issuer link
Pershing Gold Corp. discloses mines under this controller in its SEC Dodd-Frank Section 1503 (EX-95) mine-safety filings.
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2019
482
citations
86
significant & substantial
$236,609
proposed penalties
$208,219
paid to date
88% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $28,390 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2019
146
inspections on record
8,246
inspection hours
5.8
citations per 100 inspection hours
ⓘ
This rate is recorded citations divided by MSHA inspection hours, per 100 hours. It reflects inspection effort, not mine size or production.482 citations across 8,246 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Penalty disposition
ⓘ
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.$237K
proposed penalties
$226K
current assessed
$208K
paid to date
$18K
outstanding
443 assessments are final orders; 5 contested dockets.
Of $55K in penalties contested before the Commission, $44K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-24.
Source: MSHA assessed-violations and conference/litigation data, updated weekly.
Violation severity profile
ⓘ
Shares are computed over citations that carry the MSHA gravity and negligence coding; a small share of records are uncoded.18.1%
significant & substantial
9.1%
high negligence or reckless
18.1%
reasonably likely or greater
41.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.2% none, 13.1% low, 77.7% moderate, 9.1% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2025
ⓘ
This rate is reportable injury cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers per year, computed as 200,000 times cases divided by MSHA operator-reported employee-hours. Cases are injuries MSHA graded degree 01 through 07; accident-only events that hurt no one are excluded, and so are contractor injuries, whose hours do not attach to a single mine. Rates begin in 2000, when quarterly employment reporting starts, and are withheld below 20,000 hours in a year.7.22
total case rate
0.80
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
| Year | total case rate | days-away | fatal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3.31 | 2.48 | 0.000 |
| 2025 | 7.22 | 0.80 | 0.000 |
| 2024 | 8.02 | 3.06 | 0.000 |
| 2023 | 6.74 | 1.87 | 0.375 |
| 2022 | 4.01 | 3.21 | 0.000 |
| 2021 | 5.21 | 3.35 | 0.000 |
| 2020 | 6.46 | 3.95 | 0.000 |
| 2019 | 5.26 | 1.32 | 0.000 |
Source: injury cases from MSHA accident and injury records; employee-hours from MSHA quarterly employment reports. Rate is cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers, operator employees only.
Health sampling
ⓘ
A sample is a point in time compliance measurement, not an individual exposure history. These figures describe MSHA sampling records and do not establish causation or personal dose.Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
ⓘ
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.
Last sampled: 2026-07-29
ⓘ
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.28%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
49
samples
46
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
- Diesel particulate (total carbon)186 over
- Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz126 over
- Lead fumes31 over
- Lead, inorganic dust8
Area samples (mill and shop air)
Last sampled: 2026-07-2913
samples
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), updated weekly.
When citations were contested
ⓘ
Contesting a citation before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is a lawful right. These figures state the public outcomes of that process, from MSHA's Contested Violations file.
14
citations taken to the federal commission · 3% of citations on record
- Settled 7 · 50%
- Still open 7 · 50%
80%
S&S designation survived the contest
ⓘ
Counts a Significant & Substantial citation as surviving when a settlement or judge's decision kept the designation, or the contest was dismissed or defaulted so the citation stands as issued. Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.of 5 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
20%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$55K proposed, $44K after decisions · industry: 39%
Source: MSHA Contested Violations file (public record), updated weekly. A dismissed or defaulted contest leaves the citation standing as issued; a vacated or withdrawn citation is removed from the violation record. Latest contest filed 2026-05-31. Vacated and withdrawn citations are removed from the file this view attributes through, so that outcome is slightly undercounted here.
Contested penalties
ⓘ
A reduction or dismissal at the Commission is a lawful outcome of contesting a proposed penalty. Figures are the proposed amount and the amount upheld in the docket's decision.Largest penalties this controller contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
| Docket | Decision | Judge | Year | Proposed / upheld |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WEST 2024-0237 | Settlement | Lewis | 2025 | $38K → $38K |
| WEST 2024-0089 | Settlement | Manning | 2024 | $14K → $5K |
| WEST 2021-0268 | Settlement | Miller | 2022 | $3K → $2K |
| WEST 2026-0136 | Decision pending | |||
| WEST 2026-0222 | Decision pending |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- FALL OF ROOF OR BACK 1 fatality · 16 non-fatal
- HOISTING 33 non-fatal
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 32 non-fatal
- MACHINERY 23 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 21 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 8 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2026
15
2025
19
2024
21
2023
19 (1f)
2022
15
2021
25
2020
31
2019
12
Operators under this controller
Mines on record
- Galena ID
- Relief Canyon Mine NV
- Crescent Mine ID
Fatalities under this controller
1 recordedFor insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Americas Gold and Silver Corporation stands on silica, penalties, and injury rate
MSHA's standard limits respirable silica to 50 micrograms per cubic metre, but MSHA publishes dust and quartz as separate files and never the silica figure itself. We derive it per sample, score it against the limit, and set the operator's injury rate against a benchmark built from the full MSHA operator record. With the 26-year penalty trail, contest posture, and fatality history. Delivered as a PDF with the underlying data as CSV.
The federal record itself stays free on this site. What costs money, and why.