Mining Incidents

39MC: 26 MSHA citations Coal

Ashford, Fayette County, WV  ·  Temporarily Idled
MSHA Mine ID: 1519126

39MC has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $3K outstanding across 3 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2016
Latest incident
Oct 2016
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2010
26
citations
9
significant & substantial
$3,341
proposed penalties
$500
paid to date
15% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,841 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2007
42
inspections on record
630
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: 630 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
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.
1
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2014-03-20.
On record since 2014.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.

39MC has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $3K outstanding across 3 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.
$3K
proposed penalties
$3K
current assessed
$500
paid to date
$3K
outstanding
24 assessments are final orders; 3 contested dockets.
Of $1K in penalties contested before the Commission, $1K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2022-05-31.
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.
37.5%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
37.5%
reasonably likely or greater
8.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 16.7% low, 83.3% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, 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.
8 citations taken to the federal commission · 31% of citations on record
  • Settled 1 · 13%
  • Stood as issued 7 · 88%
100%
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 2 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$1K proposed, $1K 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 2020-12-02.
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 mine contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
PENN 2021-0002 Default 2021 $738 → $738
KENT 2015-0076 Settlement Lesnick 2015 $343 → $343
PENN 2021-0017 Default 2021 $123 → $123
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at 39MC shows 96% of 25 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: 2022-05-31, 4 years ago
96%
within 1.5 mg/m3
25
samples
3.07
dust max (mg/m3)
0
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.
25 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • AUGER HELPER10
  • AUGER OPERATOR9
  • UTILITY MAN2

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: 2020-09-01, 5 years ago
5%
over PEL
19
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • AUGER HELPER7
  • AUGER OPERATOR7
  • UTILITY MAN2
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
2022 100% 2
2020 100% 2
2019 100% 3
2015 100% 3
2014 83% 6
2012 100% 2
2011 100% 3
2010 100% 2
2007 100% 2
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2020 0% 2
2019 0% 4
2015 0% 3
2014 0% 2
2011 0% 3
2010 33% 3
2007 0% 2
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Tri-State Augering Inc 2007 to 2009
  2. Augustus Augering & Contracting Inc. 2009 to 2012
  3. K-JAC Energy, Inc. 2012 to 2012
  4. Augustus Augering and Contracting Inc 2012 to 2013
  5. MJK Mining Inc 2013 to 2013
  6. Augustus Augering & Contracting Inc 2013 to 2018
  7. DENALI ENERGY GROUP LLC 2018 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)
2023 0
2022 2 2,000
2021 0
2020 1
2019 2 65
2016 0
2015 2 340
2014 1 1,800
2013 1
2012 2 2,151
2011 1 2,300
2010 2 1,801
2008 0 4,210
2007 2 7,451
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

39MC sits in Fayette County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 3.0% 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.
Fayette County, West Virginia · Population 39,987
3.0%
Mining share of county employment
$52,672
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
2023 Q4 0 0 0
2023 Q3 0 0 0
2023 Q2 0 0 0
2023 Q1 0 0 0
2022 Q4 750 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 750 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 1,200 5 4 4166.7
2022 Q1 1,200 0 0 0.0
Show 31 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2021 Q4 0 0 0
2021 Q3 0 0 0
2021 Q2 0 0 0
2021 Q1 0 0 0
2020 Q2 120 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 0 0 0
2019 Q4 900 3 2 3333.3
2019 Q3 100 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 0 0 0
2015 Q4 60 2 0 33333.3
2015 Q3 0 0 0
2014 Q4 0 0 0
2014 Q2 460 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 0 2 1
2013 Q4 0 0 0
2013 Q3 0 0 0
2013 Q1 2 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 112 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 0 0 0
2012 Q2 365 1 0 2739.7
2011 Q4 360 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 180 2 1 11111.1
2011 Q2 0 0 0
2011 Q1 0 1 0
2010 Q4 120 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 180 2 0 11111.1
2010 Q2 0 0 0
2008 Q3 0 0 0
2008 Q2 0 0 0
2008 Q1 343 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 1,050 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2016 · 1 incident

October 1, 2016 WV · Coal FIRE
Augustus Augering & Contracting Inc · Accident type, without injuries

Doing maintenance on coal auger welding & cutting on frame and heads, fire started. Location where it's too dangerous to get to fire extinguishers.