Allen Branch Surface Mine has $63K in proposed MSHA penalties and $3K outstanding across 4 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
4
Years on record
2014–2015
Latest incident
Sep 2015
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2014
142
citations
55
significant & substantial
$63,019
proposed penalties
$53,311
paid to date
85% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $9,708 gap.
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.
142 citations across 2,253 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Allen Branch Surface Mine has $63K in proposed MSHA penalties and $3K outstanding across 4 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.
$63K
proposed penalties
$56K
current assessed
$53K
paid to date
$3K
outstanding
141 assessments are final orders; 4 contested dockets.
Of $30K in penalties contested before the Commission, $23K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-02-10.
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.
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.
9citations taken to the federal commission · 6% of citations on record
Settled
9 · 100%
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 Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.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 8 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
22%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$30K proposed, $23K 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 2016-06-07.
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.
MSHA sampling at Allen Branch Surface Mine shows 100% of 218 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: 2026-05-20
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
218
samples
1.75
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.
118 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 100 by the operator.
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.
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.
Allen Branch Surface Mine recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2025.
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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.19 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.08 cases per 100 workers that year.
Under 100,000 employee-hours were reported that year, so a single case moves the rate by two or more. Read the figure as approximate.
Year
total case rate
days-away
fatal
2025 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2024 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2023 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2022 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2018 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2017 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2016 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2015 *
7.18
7.18
0.000
* Fewer than 100,000 employee-hours that year; the rate is less stable.
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.
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)
2026
10
7,016
2025
30
67,654
2024
31
61,413
2023
37
66,500
2022
27
57,394
2021
1
2020
0
2019
3
2018
11
21,762
2017
12
55,606
2016
18
41,892
2015
37
84,674
2014
44
179,741
2013
2
1,335
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Allen Branch Surface Mine sits in Pike County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 5.1% 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.
Pike County, Kentucky · Population 57,466
5.1%
Mining share of county employment
$42,179
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
2026 Q2
42
0
0
0.0
2026 Q1
9,784
3
0
306.6
2025 Q4
14,363
0
0
0.0
2025 Q3
13,517
0
0
0.0
2025 Q2
17,390
4
0
230.0
2025 Q1
18,675
0
0
0.0
2024 Q4
18,018
1
0
55.5
2024 Q3
18,784
0
0
0.0
Show 40 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2
17,317
4
1
231.0
2024 Q1
17,149
0
0
0.0
2023 Q4
14,882
1
0
67.2
2023 Q3
22,024
0
0
0.0
2023 Q2
24,568
3
1
122.1
2023 Q1
23,616
5
4
211.7
2022 Q4
26,699
0
0
0.0
2022 Q3
22,985
6
2
261.0
2022 Q2
10,327
0
0
0.0
2022 Q1
5,029
5
0
994.2
2021 Q4
696
0
0
0.0
2020 Q4
0
0
0
2020 Q3
0
0
0
2020 Q2
0
0
0
2020 Q1
0
0
0
2019 Q4
0
0
0
2019 Q3
0
0
0
2019 Q2
2,085
0
0
0.0
2019 Q1
5,382
0
0
0.0
2018 Q4
7,409
0
0
0.0
2018 Q3
6,946
3
1
431.9
2018 Q2
8,427
0
0
0.0
2018 Q1
8,213
2
0
243.5
2017 Q4
10,861
0
0
0.0
2017 Q3
10,543
3
1
284.5
2017 Q2
9,233
6
5
649.8
2017 Q1
2,778
5
2
1799.9
2016 Q4
5,155
2
2
388.0
2016 Q3
7,799
2
1
256.4
2016 Q2
5,530
6
3
1085.0
2016 Q1
5,497
7
5
1273.4
2015 Q4
6,662
5
3
750.5
2015 Q3
6,858
29
6
4228.6
2015 Q2
10,854
2
0
184.3
2015 Q1
3,489
11
6
3152.8
2014 Q4
15,774
0
0
0.0
2014 Q3
18,283
2
1
109.4
2014 Q2
17,072
0
0
0.0
2014 Q1
6,915
3
2
433.8
2013 Q4
242
0
0
0.0
Fatalities at this mine
1 recorded
May 28, 2015KY · Coaloutside foreman, leadmanFatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Apex Energy, Inc. · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object
The employee was connecting a chain around the bumper of a tractor to a road grader when the grader rolled back and pinned him between to bumper of the tractor and Grader.
Employee was being loaded in the pit area when a rock rolled out of the overburden being loaded and struck the left corner of the truck bed. This caused the employee to be thrown around in the seat. The seat belt pulled him causing pain in lower back and hips.
August 25, 2014KY · Coalfront-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operatorSLIP OR FALL OF PERSON