Mining Incidents
MSHA mine register by county

Mines in Swain County, North Carolina

Swain County, North Carolina has 3 mines on MSHA's register: 1 active, 2 abandoned. 37 accidents have been reported at these mines between 1985 and 2023. Inspectors have issued 131 citations.

Every mine MSHA has registered in Swain County, working or not, with the accident, fatality and citation record each one carries on this site. Active mines are listed first, then the rest by the weight of their record.

Abandoned and historical mine features in Swain County →

Mines on register
3
Active
1
Fatalities on record
0
Citations issued
131
0 underground · 3 surface · 0 facilities 0 coal · 3 metal and non-metal 2 abandoned 37 reported accidents, 1985–2023
Local economic context
County figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 5-year pooled estimates, so the 2023 vintage covers 2019 through 2023. The Census category is 'mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction', which is broader than MSHA jurisdiction and includes oil and gas workers no mine employs. These figures describe the surrounding county, not this mine, and are not a factor in any specific incident.
Swain County, North Carolina · Population 14,065
0.0%
Mining share of county employment
$55,429
Median household income
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates.
On the map 
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MSHA-registered mine, any status

Mines plot only where MSHA holds a surveyed coordinate for the site; mines the agency locates to a town, county or state centroid are in the counts and the list above but not drawn. Click a point for the mine's status and record.

Operators with the most mines herecurrent operator of record
Operator Mines Active Fatalities
Buff Mountain Stone Company 1 0 0
Nantahala Talc & Limestone Company Inc 1 1 0
Triple M Stone Inc 1 0 0
Mines in Swain County3 on register
  1. Hewitt Quarry
    Surface metal/non-metal · Nantahala Talc & Limestone Company Inc · MSHA ID 3100036
    Active
  2. Big Cove Pit & Mill
    Surface metal/non-metal · Triple M Stone Inc · MSHA ID 3101368
    Abandoned
  3. Silver Creek Flagstone Mine
    Surface metal/non-metal · Buff Mountain Stone Company · MSHA ID 3100190
    Abandoned

Status, type and operator are as reported to MSHA. Fatality and accident counts are MSHA's reportable accident records for the mine; citations are inspector-issued violations on record. Each mine's own page carries the full detail.

Other counties in North CarolinaAll counties →
How to read these numbers

The register is MSHA's Mine Data Retrieval System: every operation ever assigned a mine ID, including ones abandoned decades ago, so the count is a history of mining in the county, not a count of working mines. A mine's county is the one its operator reported to MSHA. Fatality and accident counts start with MSHA's reportable-accident records (1983 onward); citation counts are inspector-issued violations on record. We are an independent research tool, not MSHA.