Mining Incidents

Benchmark Mine: 2 reportable incidents Coal

Pound, Wise County, VA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4406072

MSHA record for Benchmark Mine (mine ID 4406072). Fatalities, non-fatal incidents grouped by year, current operator and controller, and mine context.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
1985
Latest incident
Apr 1985
Ownership history
  1. Benchmark Mining Company Inc 1984 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.

Benchmark Mine sits in Wise County, Virginia, where the Census mining category is 5.9% 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.
Wise County, Virginia · Population 35,727
5.9%
Mining share of county employment
$50,740
Median household income
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates.
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

1985 · 2 incidents

April 22, 1985 VA · Coal drill operator SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Benchmark Mining Company Inc · Fall from machine

OP WAS UP ON DRILL ABOVE DUST COLLECTOR TO MAKE REPAIR ON DRILL MAST. WHILE DESCENDING FOOT SLIPPED WHEN STEPPING ON TOP OF DUST COLLECTOR & EE FELL TO GROUND.

February 6, 1985 VA · Coal mechanic helper HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Benchmark Mining Company Inc · Over-exertion in lifting objects

EE WAS MANUALLY UNLOADING CUTTING EDGES FOR 355 DOZER OUT OF THE BACK OF PICKUP TRUCK. AFTER LIFTING THE EDGES HE THOPUGHT HE H AD PULLED A MUSCLE ON HIS RIGHT SIDE BUT LATER DISCOVERED A RU PTURE.