87% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,479,680 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2007
1,772
inspections on record
144,504
inspection hours
9.1
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.
13,124 citations across 144,504 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
ⓘA Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.
5
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2026-01-14.
On record since 2012.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, 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.
$11.3M
proposed penalties
$10.1M
current assessed
$9.8M
paid to date
$271K
outstanding
12,690 assessments are final orders; 237 contested dockets.
Of $3.4M in penalties contested before the Commission, $2.2M was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-23.
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.
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.
1.96
total case rate
0.81
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
2.54
1.27
0.019
2025
1.96
0.81
0.000
2024
2.35
0.82
0.000
2023
3.06
1.02
0.000
2022
3.01
0.98
0.000
2021
2.83
1.03
0.000
2020
2.54
0.81
0.000
2019
2.66
1.05
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: 2026-07-27
17%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
1,297
samples
817
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz558133 over
Iron oxide fumes971 over
Manganese fumes971 over
Vanadium fumes961 over
Area samples (mill and shop air)
Last sampled: 2026-06-02
27
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.
1,479citations taken to the federal commission · 11% of citations on record
Settled
1,186 · 80%
Stood as issued
266 · 18%
Vacated or withdrawn
9 · 1%
Still open
18 · 1%
63%
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 785 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
36%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$3.4M proposed, $2.2M 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 2026-05-20. 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.
Our mixer driver was hauling for Freeport McMoRan at their Morenci mine location, the load was rejected and sent back, driver followed the escort down a hill with a full load, lost brakes and turned the mixer on its driver's side.
September 15, 2021AZ · Metal/Non-Metalwelder (non-shop)Fatality · OTHER
Weld crew initiated an argon purge on a 30" pipe that had been fit up afternoon prior. When argon purge was established, two welders began to make their root pass welds. Upon inspection "sugaring" was observed. a welder entered the open end of the 30" pipe for unknown reasons where they were found by a coworker to be unresponsive. No witnesses observed them enter the pipe.
March 6, 2019NM · Metal/Non-Metalmaintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service techFatality · MACHINERY
While preparing to perform side frame/track repairs on a 4100A shovel. When the relief valve was ejected from the jack. Employee was struck by a pressure relief valve in the lower left abdominal/waist area. The injury resulted in the death of the employee.
October 25, 2018NM · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanFatality · OTHER
An employee, assisting with shovel maintenance, entered the man lift at the shovel house level to descend and retrieve a needed part. After entering the man lift, the support arm broke, causing the basket and employee to fall to the ground. An investigation is ongoing. Amendment: Employee passed away 6/27/19.
April 9, 2016AZ · Metal/Non-Metalwarehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operatorFatality · ELECTRICAL
Employee went to prime the diaphragm pump located outside the stripping machine building, adjacent to the hydraulic room. Eight minutes pass where EE is unaccounted for prior to being found unresponsive, kneeling in liquid, face against the stainless steel flange of the tank house return HDPE line.
The crew was attempting to align a section of pipe, which is 40 feet long, when the 2 pipes disconnected and 1 end of the pipe that the crew was trying to install slipped out of the joint and struck the employee. An excavator was being used to position a 36" pipe diameter by 40' long section pipe to connect it to another section of pipe.
January 9, 2010AZ · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanFatality · FALLING/SLIDING/ROLLING MATERIALS
Employees were placing 24" HDPE pipe, when the pipe suddenly shifted and rolled on top of one of the workers. He was treated and stabilized at the scene. He was subsequently transported to a hospital, where he later passed away.
March 19, 2009NM · Metal/Non-Metalfront-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operatorFatality · OTHER
Employee got out of cab and stepped toward window & knee gave out. Employee did not slip or trip, footing was good, maintained 3 point contact, from a flat surface, but as employee shifted his weight his knee gave out.
September 1, 2008AZ · Metal/Non-Metalwarehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operatorFatality · SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
An electrician that was trouble shooting an installation was electrocuted by a single leg of a 3 phase 4160 volt service.
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Freeport-McMoRan Inc 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.