Big Blossom: 8 MSHA citations
Metal/Non-Metal
Beatty,
Esmeralda County,
NV
·
Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 2602732
Big Blossom has $54K in proposed MSHA penalties and $4K outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 2
- Years on record
- 2013
- Latest incident
- Feb 2013
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2013
3
significant & substantial
$53,869
proposed penalties
4% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $51,569 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2013
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: 60 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Big Blossom has $54K in proposed MSHA penalties and $4K outstanding across 1 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.
7 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $52K in penalties contested before the Commission, $5K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2013-03-08.
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.
42.9%
significant & substantial
42.9%
high negligence or reckless
42.9%
reasonably likely or greater
42.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 42.9% low, 14.3% moderate, 42.9% 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.
1
citations taken to the federal commission · 13% of citations on record
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 1 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
90%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$52K proposed, $5K 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 2013-08-01.
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 |
| WEST 2013-1011M |
Settlement |
Miller |
2014 |
$52K → $5K |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
-
Payday Mines, LLC
2013 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Big Blossom sits in Esmeralda County, Nevada, where the Census mining category is 21.1% 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.
Esmeralda County, Nevada · Population 962
21.1%
Mining share of county employment
Not reported
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 |
| 2013 Q1 |
80 |
5 |
1 |
62500.0 |
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
2 on file
2013 · 2 incidents
Unknown operator · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)
Sub contractors were on their 1st blast and the round prematurely ignited causing two miners to receive serious injuries .
Unknown operator · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)
Sub contractors were attempting their first blast and the explosives prematurely ignited. Causing severe injuries to two workers