88% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $573,906 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
2,303
inspections on record
81,401
inspection hours
10.2
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.
8,320 citations across 81,401 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.
19
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2021-04-15.
On record since 2010.
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.
$5.0M
proposed penalties
$4.4M
current assessed
$4.4M
paid to date
$25K
outstanding
8,190 assessments are final orders; 184 contested dockets.
Of $2.0M in penalties contested before the Commission, $1.4M was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-09.
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.
1.77
total case rate
0.44
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
3.25
1.26
0.000
2025
1.77
0.44
0.000
2024
1.63
0.43
0.000
2023
2.00
0.42
0.000
2022
2.04
0.74
0.000
2021
1.89
0.16
0.000
2020
2.43
0.32
0.000
2019
2.41
0.23
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: 2026-08-06
13%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
1,197
samples
877
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Diesel particulate (total carbon)18231 over
Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz12730 over
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz14429 over
Calcium oxide17220 over
Area samples (mill and shop air)
Last sampled: 2026-03-27
71
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.
524citations taken to the federal commission · 6% of citations on record
Settled
496 · 95%
Stood as issued
26 · 5%
Vacated or withdrawn
1 · 0%
Still open
1 · 0%
85%
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 315 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
28%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$1.9M proposed, $1.4M 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.
Fatal injury to a temporary employee with Gillman Services, Inc was experienced when they were engulfed by a flow of lime kiln dust while operating a CAT 336 Excavator.
May 9, 2018AL · Metal/Non-Metaldryer operator, kiln operator, dry plant operator, fluid operator, bed dryer operatorFatality · IGNITION OR EXPLOSION OF GAS OR DUST
The injured miner & the supervisor were attempting to light the #2 kiln's gas flame. While the miner was holding a flare attached to a metal pole at the end of the gas pipe, the supervisor turned on the gas. In the process of lighting, the gas ignited & blew back through the front of the kiln causing burns to the right side of the miner's body. On 5/28/18 the EE passed away.
Employee worked as lead maintenance mechanic. Believed on morning of accident, Employee went to area Kiln 2 Preheater, Ram 4 to respond to work order. Employee had two-way radio. No witness to accident. Unknown whether employee was inspecting work or performing work on the No 4 ram. Initial examination suggests Employee was injured when ram activated. Ram was not locked out.
May 5, 2010AL · Metal/Non-Metaldrill operatorFatality · MACHINERY
Drill operator was fatally injured by the drill rig he was operating. The likely scenario is that the drill rig began to roll forward while he was at the back of the rig operating the controls for the drill. The victim may have attempted to stop the drill rig and was caught up under the rig and suffered fatal injuries. There were no witnesses to the accident.
December 14, 2007CA · Metal/Non-Metalhaul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driverFatality · SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Plant maintenance employees were installing a bearing housing back into the fan on the #3 coal mill. An employee was fatally injuried by one of the tools being used to install the bearing.
VICTIM WAS ATTEMPTING TO CONNECT ELECTRICAL CABLES FOR A SUBMERSIBLE PUMP AT THE BOTTOM OF THE QUARRY. HE WAS WORKING AT THE SUMP AREA WHICH IS NEAR THE SOUTH HIGHWALL. ALTHOUGH NO ONE SAW A R OCK OR ROCKS HIT THE VICTIM, IT APPEARS HE WAS HIT BY FALLING ROCK. REPORTED TO MSHA IMMEDIATELY.
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Lhoist Group 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.