MSHA mine inspections by year
MSHA completed 35,770 mine inspections in 2025, 9,414 at coal mines and 26,356 at metal and nonmetal mines, for 963,172 inspection hours across 12,760 mines. 2026 stands at 24,784 through September 3, 2026, against 25,422 at the same point in 2025. The record holds 1,157,491 inspections since 2000.
Every inspection, investigation and audit event in the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspection record, counted by the year it closed, refreshed weekly. The current year fills in as inspections close.
2026 so far
- 2026 to date
- 24,784
- inspections closed by September 3, 2026
- Same point 2025
- 25,422
- through the same date
- 2025 full year
- 35,770
- 9,414 coal · 26,356 metal/nonmetal
- Since 2000
- 1,157,491
- inspections on file; busiest year 2002 (60,293)
Closed by September 3, 2026 in each year: 2026: 24,784 · 2025: 25,422 · 2024: 26,203 · 2023: 25,826 · 2022: 23,693. Comparing partial years against the same calendar cutoff keeps the running count honest.
A further 715 inspections are open on MSHA's file with no end date yet. They belong to no year until they close and are not in any count above.
Every year on record
2000–2026| Year | Inspections | Coal | Metal | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 to date |
|
6,376 | 18,408 | 24,784 |
| 2025 |
|
9,414 | 26,356 | 35,770 |
| 2024 |
|
10,360 | 27,351 | 37,711 |
| 2023 |
|
9,730 | 27,445 | 37,175 |
| 2022 |
|
9,173 | 24,500 | 33,673 |
| 2021 |
|
8,986 | 23,928 | 32,914 |
| 2020 |
|
10,365 | 25,908 | 36,273 |
| 2019 |
|
11,163 | 26,014 | 37,177 |
| 2018 |
|
11,687 | 23,847 | 35,534 |
| 2017 |
|
14,553 | 26,288 | 40,841 |
| 2016 |
|
13,966 | 29,186 | 43,152 |
| 2015 |
|
13,904 | 29,210 | 43,114 |
| 2014 |
|
14,959 | 25,941 | 40,900 |
| 2013 |
|
16,513 | 24,909 | 41,422 |
| 2012 |
|
17,020 | 25,269 | 42,289 |
| 2011 |
|
18,708 | 27,203 | 45,911 |
| 2010 |
|
18,599 | 28,420 | 47,019 |
| 2009 |
|
18,589 | 29,068 | 47,657 |
| 2008 |
|
16,598 | 29,802 | 46,400 |
| 2007 |
|
15,426 | 26,691 | 42,117 |
| 2006 |
|
14,853 | 28,532 | 43,385 |
| 2005 |
|
17,444 | 27,783 | 45,227 |
| 2004 |
|
23,530 | 28,455 | 51,985 |
| 2003 |
|
26,668 | 30,872 | 57,540 |
| 2002 |
|
28,317 | 31,976 | 60,293 |
| 2001 |
|
29,185 | 26,191 | 55,376 |
| 2000 |
|
28,173 | 23,679 | 51,852 |
Hours are MSHA's total inspection hours for the events that closed in the year. Mines is the number of distinct mines inspected that year. The last column is violations issued in the year (citations, orders and safeguards, by issue date) per 100 inspection hours in the year, the same pair every mine, operator and controlling company page shows for that entity in its inspection card.
Break the numbers down
- Operators by MSHA violations , with mines and controlling companies ranked the same way
- Fatalities by year on the same year-by-year footing
- National statistics across fatalities, violations, penalties and hours worked
- Imminent-danger orders by mine since 2010
Counts derive from MSHA's Inspections dataset, one row per inspection, investigation or audit event since 2000. An event files under the year its end date falls in, so an inspection that spans New Year counts in the year it closed; MSHA's own calendar-year field works the same way. Coal and metal/nonmetal follow the inspected mine's MSHA commodity flag. Violations are classified through the mine they were issued at, never from the inspecting district. Events with no end date on file are open and appear in no yearly figure.
Citing this page: Mining Incidents, “MSHA mine inspections by year,” MSHA inspection records 2000–2026, miningincidents.org/inspections-by-year (retrieved September 3, 2026). Formats and permanence guarantees are on the citation page.