John Mitch Potter: 2,438 MSHA citations controller
MSHA controller ID: 0144441
Watch this controller
Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine John Mitch Potter controls.
- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 102
- Mines on record
- 17
- Years on record
- 2019–2026
Public-issuer link
Coronado Global Resources Inc. (CODQL) discloses mines under this controller in its SEC Dodd-Frank Section 1503 (EX-95) mine-safety filings.
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2019
2,438
citations
416
significant & substantial
$1,539,109
proposed penalties
$1,046,745
paid to date
68% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $492,364 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2018
512
inspections on record
23,697
inspection hours
10.3
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.2,438 citations across 23,697 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.$1.5M
proposed penalties
$1.3M
current assessed
$1.0M
paid to date
$244K
outstanding
2,323 assessments are final orders; 64 contested dockets.
Of $575K in penalties contested before the Commission, $326K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-07-06.
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.17.4%
significant & substantial
2.8%
high negligence or reckless
17.5%
reasonably likely or greater
25.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.1% none, 50.3% low, 46.8% moderate, 2.8% 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.2.64
total case rate
1.93
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.19 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
| Year | total case rate | days-away | fatal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3.71 | 2.36 | 0.000 |
| 2025 | 2.64 | 1.93 | 0.000 |
| 2024 | 2.32 | 2.32 | 0.000 |
| 2023 | 3.05 | 2.54 | 0.000 |
| 2022 | 2.26 | 1.44 | 0.000 |
| 2021 | 1.64 | 1.10 | 0.000 |
| 2020 | 0.46 | 0.23 | 0.000 |
| 2019 | 1.74 | 1.74 | 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.Respirable coal dust
ⓘ
Respirable coal dust and silica figures cover coal facilities. Dust compliance is measured against the current 1.5 mg/m3 standard; samples predating the 2014 standard are included, so compliance rates are a coarse historical signal.
Last sampled: 2026-08-20
ⓘ
Respirable coal dust and silica figures cover coal facilities. Dust compliance is measured against the current 1.5 mg/m3 standard; samples predating the 2014 standard are included, so compliance rates are a coarse historical signal.100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
2,674
samples
4.23
dust max (mg/m3)
5
over MSHA ECV
ⓘ
The excessive concentration value (ECV) is MSHA's own per-sample enforcement threshold, which builds in measurement uncertainty; a sample over its ECV can trigger a citation. The count covers only samples MSHA assigned an ECV.984 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 1,690 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- BULLDOZER OPERATOR585
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR498
- HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR483
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2026-08-049.4
silica avg (%)
196
samples
51.2
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
- BULLDOZER OPERATOR51
- HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR50
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR37
Noise
ⓘ
The share counts noise samples whose measured dose exceeded the 90 dBA permissible exposure limit. It describes the sampled workplace, not what reached the miner's ear: hearing conservation programs and the hearing protection worn during the shift are recorded separately and are not reflected here.
Last sampled: 2026-07-09
ⓘ
The share counts noise samples whose measured dose exceeded the 90 dBA permissible exposure limit. It describes the sampled workplace, not what reached the miner's ear: hearing conservation programs and the hearing protection worn during the shift are recorded separately and are not reflected here.2%
over PEL
384
samples
Most-sampled occupations
- BULLDOZER OPERATOR92
- HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR43
- UTILITY MAN42
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: 2026-03-10
ⓘ
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.0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
11
samples
4
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
- Respirable dust, <.1mg7
- Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz4
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.
285
citations taken to the federal commission · 12% of citations on record
- Settled 243 · 85%
- Stood as issued 33 · 12%
- Still open 9 · 3%
75%
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 105 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
43%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$575K proposed, $326K 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 2026-08-10. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WEVA 2024-0264 | Settlement | Paez | 2024 | $64K → $38K |
| WEVA 2024-0292 | Settlement | Paez | 2024 | $50K → $32K |
| WEVA 2024-0002 | Settlement | 2024 | $46K → $25K | |
| WEVA 2026-0202 | Settlement | 2026 | $38K → $23K | |
| WEVA 2026-0188 | Settlement | Young | 2026 | $32K → $19K |
| WEVA 2025-0491 | Settlement | Young | 2025 | $27K → $22K |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 26 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 22 non-fatal
- MACHINERY 21 non-fatal
- POWERED HAULAGE 11 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 8 non-fatal
- FALL OF ROOF OR BACK 6 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2026
11
2025
19
2024
22
2023
23
2022
13
2021
7
2020
3
2019
4
Operators under this controller
Mines on record
- Deep Water Prep Plant P-2 WV
- Eagle Energy Mine No.1 WV
- Deepwater Surface Mine WV
- TWIN BRANCH NO 1 SURFACE WV
- Road Fork Deep Mine WV
- LITTLE EAGLE MINE NO 1 WV
- Delbarton Preparation Plant WV
- RAGLAND LOADOUT WV
- Holden #22 Surface WV
- Eagle Creek No 3 WV
- Snap Creek Loadout WV
- Cub Branch Surface WV
- Cherokee Rock Quarry TN
- Peach Orchard Prep Plant & Loading Facil WV
- MILLER CREEK PREP. PLANT WV
- Minway No. 1 WV
- Holden No 22 Preparation Plant WV
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where John Mitch Potter 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.