Mining Incidents

Apollo Gold Corporation: 4 recorded fatalities controller

MSHA controller ID: M04771

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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine Apollo Gold Corporation controls.

Fatalities
4
Total incidents
612
Mines on record
9
Years on record
1983–2008
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
175
citations
20
significant & substantial
$28,899
proposed penalties
$24,996
paid to date
86% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $3,903 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
69
inspections on record
2,027
inspection hours
8.6
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.
175 citations across 2,027 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.
$29K
proposed penalties
$25K
current assessed
$25K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
170 assessments are final orders; 4 contested dockets.
Of $11K in penalties contested before the Commission, $7K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2008-01-10.
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.
11.6%
significant & substantial
2.3%
high negligence or reckless
12.8%
reasonably likely or greater
46.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 12.8% low, 84.9% moderate, 2.3% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2008
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.
6.38
total case rate
2.13
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 3.15 and the all-US-mining average was 3.61 cases per 100 workers.
Under 100,000 employee-hours were reported that year, so a single case moves the rate by two or more. Read the figure as approximate.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2008 * 6.38 2.13 0.000
2007 2.48 0.99 0.000
2006 3.98 1.33 0.000
2005 5.86 1.72 0.000
2004 2.77 0.92 0.000
2003 3.76 0.54 0.000
2002 3.44 1.15 0.000
2001 3.16 0.29 0.000
* Fewer than 100,000 employee-hours that year; the rate is less stable.
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: 2007-05-31, 19 years ago
14%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
32
samples
28
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz223 over
  • Silver fumes41 over
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg4
  • Aluminum oxide fumes1
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.
8 citations taken to the federal commission · 5% of citations on record
  • Settled 8 · 100%
60%
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%
35%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$11K proposed, $7K 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 2008-05-20. 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 2005-59M Settlement Hodgdon 2005 $6K → $5K
WEST 2008-1051M Settlement Melick 2009 $2K → $497
WEST 2005-399M Settlement Weisberger 2006 $1K → $1K
WEST 2008-862M Settlement Feldman 2009 $759 → $435
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2008
3
2007
8
2006
3
2005
20
2004
13
2003
17
2002
12
2001
11
2000
16
1999
33
1998
29
1997
22
1996
23
1995
23
1994
19
1993
25
1992
38
1991
33 (1f)
1990
45
1989
61 (1f)
1988
42
1987
40
1986
44 (1f)
1985
7
1984
14 (1f)
1983
11

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

Fatalities under this controller

4 recorded
April 24, 1991 MT · Metal/Non-Metal drill operator Fatality · FALLING/SLIDING/ROLLING MATERIALS
Zortman Mining Inc · Caught in, under or between collapsing material or buildings

AT APPROX 10:00 AM ON 4-24-91, THE MINE EMPLOYEE WAS OPERATING A DRILL WHEN A PORTION OF THE OPEN PIT FLOOR COLLAPSED. THE OPERATOR FELL INTO THIS OPENING. SEARCH FOR THE DRILL OPERATOR INDIC ATED THAT HE WAS NOT ON THE SURFACE. THE HOLE HAD DUST COMING OUT OF THE OPENING, THUS VISIBILITY INTO THE HOLE WAS RESTRICTED. RESCUE OPERATIONS COMMENCED IMMEDIATELY.

November 1, 1989 MT · Metal/Non-Metal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator Fatality · MACHINERY
Beal Mountain Mining Inc · Caught in, under or between two or more moving objects

THE INJURED WAS CLEANING OUT THE BUNKER ON THE CRUSHER WHEN THE GENERATOR WAS SHUT OFF AND THE GATES CLOSED ON HIM,CRUSHING HIM.

November 11, 1986 MT · Metal/Non-Metal greaser, grease man, oiler, lube man, dragline oiler Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Montana Tunnels Mining Inc · Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

I.NAME GREASING3THE 992C FRONT END LOADER THE BUCKET WAS ROLLED AND I.NAME WAS PINNED BETWEEN THE BUCKET ARM AND THE DIFFERENCIAL DEATH -TRAUMATIC INTERNAL INJURIES

August 7, 1984 MT · Metal/Non-Metal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Pegasus Gold Corp · Struck against a moving object

DRIVER LOST CONTROL OF WATER TRUCK CRASHING INTO ROADWAY BANK.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Apollo Gold 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.

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