Beech Mountain Mine has $71K in proposed MSHA penalties and $269 outstanding across 5 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
Watch this mine
Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at Beech Mountain Mine.
Fatalities
0
Total incidents
3
Years on record
2020–2021
Latest incident
Dec 2021
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2018
273
citations
49
significant & substantial
$70,601
proposed penalties
$63,123
paid to date
89% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $7,478 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.
273 citations across 3,975 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Beech Mountain Mine has $71K in proposed MSHA penalties and $269 outstanding across 5 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.
$71K
proposed penalties
$63K
current assessed
$63K
paid to date
$269
outstanding
271 assessments are final orders; 5 contested dockets.
Of $19K in penalties contested before the Commission, $10K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2023-06-13.
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.
10citations taken to the federal commission · 4% of citations on record
Settled
8 · 80%
Stood as issued
1 · 10%
Vacated or withdrawn
1 · 10%
90%
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 Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.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 10 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
47%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$19K proposed, $10K 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 2020-12-06.
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 Beech Mountain Mine shows 99% of 879 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: 2023-06-30, 3 years ago
99%
within 1.5 mg/m3
879
samples
4.21
dust max (mg/m3)
3
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.
181 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 698 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.
Beech Mountain Mine 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 coal mining average was 3.26 and the all-US-mining average was 2.12 cases per 100 workers.
In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 3.68 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 *
4.76
4.76
0.000
2020 *
11.65
11.65
0.000
2019 *
0.00
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
ⓘCoal production is reported quarterly and lags the current period; the most recent quarters may be incomplete.
Year
Employees
Coal produced (tons)
2023
18
53,139
2022
18
103,042
2021
18
105,116
2020
15
83,348
2019
18
52,695
2018
9
6,744
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Beech Mountain Mine sits in Randolph County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 2.6% 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.
Randolph County, West Virginia · Population 27,782
2.6%
Mining share of county employment
$55,057
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 Q2
11,313
3
0
265.2
2023 Q1
11,036
1
0
90.6
2022 Q4
10,544
7
2
663.9
2022 Q3
11,144
45
7
4038.0
2022 Q2
9,119
12
2
1315.9
2022 Q1
8,526
3
0
351.9
2021 Q4
11,301
9
2
796.4
2021 Q3
9,671
13
1
1344.2
Show 14 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2021 Q2
10,366
3
0
289.4
2021 Q1
10,701
10
3
934.5
2020 Q4
9,508
7
2
736.2
2020 Q3
8,640
13
3
1504.6
2020 Q2
7,675
17
2
2215.0
2020 Q1
8,513
18
2
2114.4
2019 Q4
8,815
12
0
1361.3
2019 Q3
9,194
12
0
1305.2
2019 Q2
10,656
23
6
2158.4
2019 Q1
13,311
50
15
3756.3
2018 Q4
8,326
8
2
960.8
2018 Q3
1,555
0
0
0.0
2018 Q2
1,320
0
0
0.0
2018 Q1
0
0
0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
3 on file
2021 · 1 incident
December 27, 2021WV · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)HANDLING OF MATERIALS
April 19, 2020WV · Coallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanHANDLING OF MATERIALS
Knox Operating, LLC · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object
3 workers were cleaning up and moving items from the ground. A metal rub board was stood up against the continuous miner frame. When it started to fall, the employee grabbed it with left hand. It continued to fall causing employee's hand to come into contact with the miner frame. Bone fracture requiring a cast.
April 11, 2020WV · Coalsection foreman, bullgang foreman, labor foreman, leadman, shift bossHANDLING OF MATERIALS
On 4/15/20 employee reported that on 4/11 at about 10:30 am, EE hurt EE's back while helping pull the miner cable. EE states that yesterday and today EE had pain in the right side of EE's lower back after certain body movements. Written off work for 3 days due to back strain.