Mining Incidents

#2: 32 MSHA citations Coal

Sundance Mining Inc · Underground
Controlled by Bobby Blackburn
Coal Creek, Lawrence County, KY  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1518443

#2 has $2K in proposed MSHA penalties and $2K outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2002
Latest incident
Jan 2002
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
32
citations
9
significant & substantial
$1,880
proposed penalties
$0
paid to date
0% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,880 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
19
inspections on record
392
inspection hours
n/a
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.
Rate withheld: 392 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

#2 has $2K in proposed MSHA penalties and $2K outstanding across 0 contested dockets.

Penalty disposition
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.
$2K
proposed penalties
$2K
current assessed
$0
paid to date
$2K
outstanding
32 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2003-03-13.
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.
28.1%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
28.1%
reasonably likely or greater
0.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 12.5% low, 87.5% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at #2 shows 100% of 17 respirable coal dust samples met the 1.5 mg/m3 standard.

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: 2002-03-21, 24 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
17
samples
0.93
dust max (mg/m3)
17 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • COAL DRILL OPERATOR3
  • CUTTING MACHINE OPERATOR3
  • LABORER3

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2002-03-29, 24 years ago
8.3
silica avg (%)
3
samples
19.5
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CUTTING MACHINE OPERATOR2
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Health sampling trend
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 by year
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.
Year within 1.5 mg/m3 samples
2002 100% 12
2001 100% 5
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2002 2.8 2
2001 19.5 1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Sundance Mining Inc 2001 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Coal production is reported quarterly and lags the current period; the most recent quarters may be incomplete.
Year Employees Coal produced (tons)
2002 1
2001 4 4,000
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

#2 sits in Lawrence County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 3.4% of county employment.

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.
Lawrence County, Kentucky · Population 16,171
3.4%
Mining share of county employment
$45,584
Median household income
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates.
Quarterly safety rates
Citations per million reported employee-hours. Rates begin in 2000, when MSHA's quarterly employment data starts; earlier incidents are counted but cannot be rate-adjusted. Quarters under 100,000 reported hours are greyed: too few hours for a stable rate.
Citations per million employee-hours, as reported to MSHA
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2002 Q1 10 5 1 500000.0
2001 Q4 1,408 21 8 14914.8
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2002 · 1 incident

January 12, 2002 KY · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Sundance Mining Inc · Struck by falling object

REPLACING A NEW AUGER BARREL ON A 16RB CUTTING MACHINE THEY HAD LAID THE NEW ONE ON TOP OF CUTTER HEAD WHILE THE INJ EE WAS TAKING THE OLD BARRELL OFF. THE PERSON ASSISTING HIM KNOCKED THE NEW BARREL OFF, THEREFORE LANDING ON HIS INDEX FINGER CUTTING IT OFF ABOVE THE KNUCKLE