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: 990 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Altair Plant has $52K in proposed MSHA penalties and $553 outstanding across 11 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.
$52K
proposed penalties
$40K
current assessed
$39K
paid to date
$553
outstanding
167 assessments are final orders; 11 contested dockets.
Of $26K in penalties contested before the Commission, $11K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2024-02-13.
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.
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.
30citations taken to the federal commission · 17% of citations on record
Settled
17 · 57%
Stood as issued
10 · 33%
Vacated or withdrawn
3 · 10%
58%
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 Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.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 19 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
57%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$26K proposed, $11K 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 A dismissed or defaulted contest leaves the citation standing as issued; a vacated or withdrawn citation is removed from the violation record.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 2015-09-17.
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.
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.
Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
ⓘMany samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.
Last sampled: 2019-12-05, 6 years ago
1
samples
0
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Respirable dust, <.1mg1
Show the individual readings (1)
Date
Contaminant
Concentration
Limit
Conc / limit
Occupation
2019-12-05
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), updated weekly.
Altair Plant recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2022.
Injury rate, 2022
ⓘ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 metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.78 and the all-US-mining average was 2.12 cases per 100 workers.
In Texas, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.25 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
2022 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2021 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2018 *
8.77
0.00
0.000
2017 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2016 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2015 *
3.47
0.00
0.000
2014
0.00
0.00
0.000
2013
1.32
0.00
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
Year
Employees
2026
0
2025
6
2024
11
2023
15
2022
10
2021
7
2020
7
2019
5
2018
9
2017
11
2016
11
2015
22
2014
46
2013
50
2012
44
2011
34
2010
35
2009
32
2008
50
2007
51
2006
26
2005
17
2004
18
2003
15
2002
10
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Altair Plant sits in Colorado County, Texas, where the Census mining category is 3.2% 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.
Colorado County, Texas · Population 20,736
3.2%
Mining share of county employment
$68,554
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
0
0
0
2026 Q1
0
0
0
2025 Q4
424
0
0
0.0
2025 Q3
144
0
0
0.0
2025 Q2
205
0
0
0.0
2025 Q1
224
0
0
0.0
2024 Q4
284
0
0
0.0
2024 Q3
564
0
0
0.0
Show 88 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2
2,295
0
0
0.0
2024 Q1
2,958
1
0
338.1
2023 Q4
3,450
0
0
0.0
2023 Q3
2,315
0
0
0.0
2023 Q2
480
0
0
0.0
2023 Q1
1,015
0
0
0.0
2022 Q4
3,896
0
0
0.0
2022 Q3
6,560
0
0
0.0
2022 Q2
10,388
2
0
192.5
2022 Q1
5,574
0
0
0.0
2021 Q4
5,015
1
0
199.4
2021 Q3
3,802
0
0
0.0
2021 Q2
6,355
1
0
157.4
2021 Q1
8,258
0
0
0.0
2020 Q4
6,277
1
0
159.3
2020 Q3
3,469
0
0
0.0
2020 Q2
1,516
0
0
0.0
2020 Q1
2,550
0
0
0.0
2019 Q4
2,727
3
1
1100.1
2019 Q3
2,746
0
0
0.0
2019 Q2
2,741
2
0
729.7
2019 Q1
2,072
0
0
0.0
2018 Q4
3,107
0
0
0.0
2018 Q3
3,095
1
0
323.1
2018 Q2
6,509
0
0
0.0
2018 Q1
10,091
0
0
0.0
2017 Q4
9,504
2
0
210.4
2017 Q3
5,849
0
0
0.0
2017 Q2
3,880
0
0
0.0
2017 Q1
7,360
0
0
0.0
2016 Q4
7,571
1
0
132.1
2016 Q3
7,736
0
0
0.0
2016 Q2
8,507
0
0
0.0
2016 Q1
10,800
0
0
0.0
2015 Q4
13,494
1
0
74.1
2015 Q3
13,992
0
0
0.0
2015 Q2
15,799
1
0
63.3
2015 Q1
14,433
1
0
69.3
2014 Q4
15,414
0
0
0.0
2014 Q3
42,600
1
1
23.5
2014 Q2
43,951
0
0
0.0
2014 Q1
39,092
1
0
25.6
2013 Q4
38,689
0
0
0.0
2013 Q3
39,304
1
0
25.4
2013 Q2
41,344
1
0
24.2
2013 Q1
32,613
0
0
0.0
2012 Q4
39,376
2
1
50.8
2012 Q3
40,666
12
6
295.1
2012 Q2
35,328
0
0
0.0
2012 Q1
27,374
0
0
0.0
2011 Q4
28,230
1
0
35.4
2011 Q3
25,906
2
0
77.2
2011 Q2
24,341
0
0
0.0
2011 Q1
15,480
3
0
193.8
2010 Q4
16,013
0
0
0.0
2010 Q3
24,680
0
0
0.0
2010 Q2
27,954
1
0
35.8
2010 Q1
21,906
0
0
0.0
2009 Q4
19,872
2
1
100.6
2009 Q3
18,395
0
0
0.0
2009 Q2
18,276
0
0
0.0
2009 Q1
21,014
1
0
47.6
2008 Q4
30,396
16
2
526.4
2008 Q3
31,211
0
0
0.0
2008 Q2
41,947
7
4
166.9
2008 Q1
43,706
1
1
22.9
2007 Q4
49,411
9
6
182.1
2007 Q3
41,022
1
0
24.4
2007 Q2
40,474
3
3
74.1
2007 Q1
37,316
0
0
0.0
2006 Q4
27,994
0
0
0.0
2006 Q3
21,750
2
1
92.0
2006 Q2
19,898
5
3
251.3
2006 Q1
17,866
16
8
895.6
2005 Q4
16,444
0
0
0.0
2005 Q3
13,847
1
1
72.2
2005 Q2
11,044
1
0
90.5
2005 Q1
9,724
0
0
0.0
2004 Q4
12,869
0
0
0.0
2004 Q3
13,371
0
0
0.0
2004 Q2
13,146
2
0
152.1
2004 Q1
11,793
0
0
0.0
2003 Q4
11,918
1
0
83.9
2003 Q3
11,303
5
2
442.4
2003 Q2
10,412
0
0
0.0
2003 Q1
8,178
2
1
244.6
2002 Q4
6,502
0
0
0.0
2002 Q3
3,114
0
0
0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
5 on file
2018 · 1 incident
January 18, 2018TX · Metal/Non-Metalfront-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operatorPOWERED HAULAGE
The employee was cutting a stockpile with a front end loader when a large chunk of frozen road gravel fell from the top of the stockpile onto the front of the loader and into the cab. The employee suffered minor cuts on the right hand and lower back pain from removing material from their lap in order to exit loader.
Employee suffered an injury to her neck/rotator cuff. She attempted to reach across her body and behind her to retrieve a paper and her chair came out from underneath her and she grabbed the wall to break her fall and suffered a shoulder injury. She reported the incident to her manager but refused medical treatment. She went to the doctor on 8/10/15 for treatment.
EE lifted up the safety guard and inserted a tree limb with lubricant into the bull gear while it was operating. The gear pulled the tree limb along with his hand into the two gears. He reacted by pulling his arm away. The gears had mutilated his right hand off up to his wrist.
2005 · 1 incident
November 15, 2005TX · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanHANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)