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Black Bird: 313 MSHA citations Coal

LeJunior, Harlan County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1518488

Black Bird has $30K in proposed MSHA penalties and $29K outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2003
Latest incident
Nov 2003
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
313
citations
167
significant & substantial
$30,313
proposed penalties
$1,696
paid to date
6% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $28,617 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Black Mountain Resources, LLC's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2002
83
inspections on record
1,770
inspection hours
17.7
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.
313 citations across 1,770 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Black Bird has $30K in proposed MSHA penalties and $29K 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.
$30K
proposed penalties
$30K
current assessed
$2K
paid to date
$29K
outstanding
289 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $500 in penalties contested before the Commission, $500 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2022-03-21.
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.
57.2%
significant & substantial
2.1%
high negligence or reckless
58.6%
reasonably likely or greater
1.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 1.0% low, 96.9% moderate, 2.1% 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.
5 citations taken to the federal commission · 2% of citations on record
  • Settled 5 · 100%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$500 proposed, $500 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 2008-04-17.
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.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
KENT 2008-870 Settlement Barbour 2009 $500 → $500
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Black Bird shows 88% of 82 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: 2004-10-19, 21 years ago
88%
within 1.5 mg/m3
82
samples
12.83
dust max (mg/m3)
51 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 31 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR33
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)7
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (INTAKE SIDE)6

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2004-08-05, 22 years ago
7.7
silica avg (%)
7
samples
11.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR5
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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.

Last sampled: 2003-05-27, 23 years ago
0%
over PEL
15
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR3
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (INTAKE SIDE)3
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)3
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
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.
Year within 1.5 mg/m3 samples
2004 89% 57
2003 70% 10
2002 93% 15
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2004 8.3 5
2003 8.1 1
2002 4.8 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2003 0% 5
2002 0% 10
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Kelly Branch Resources, LLC 2001 to 2002
  2. Kelly Branch Mining Inc. 2002 to 2002
  3. Northpoint Resources LLC 2002 to 2002
  4. H & D Mining, Inc. 2002 to 2003
  5. CNS Mining, Inc. 2003 to 2003
  6. New Phase Mining, LLC 2003 to 2003
  7. Kelly Branch Resources, Inc. 2003 to 2006
  8. Rex Coal Company Inc 2006 to 2019
  9. Black Mountain Resources, LLC 2019 to present
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)
2018 0
2017 1
2016 1
2015 2
2008 4
2007 1
2006 2
2003 12 2,129
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Black Bird sits in Harlan County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 4.3% 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.
Harlan County, Kentucky · Population 26,185
4.3%
Mining share of county employment
$37,198
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
2018 Q4 0 0 0
2018 Q3 0 0 0
2018 Q2 0 0 0
2018 Q1 0 0 0
2017 Q4 0 0 0
2017 Q3 27 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 8 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 10 0 0 0.0
Show 15 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2016 Q3 18 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 0 0 0
2016 Q1 8 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 7 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 30 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 154 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 14 5 0 357142.9
2007 Q3 0 1 0
2007 Q2 10 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 0 0 0
2006 Q4 0 0 0
2006 Q3 31 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 81 2 0 24691.4
2006 Q1 37 2 0 54054.1
2003 Q4 1,692 15 10 8865.2
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2003 · 1 incident

November 3, 2003 KY · Coal laborer, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scaler
New Phase Mining, LLC · -

BUILDING A CRIB AND SOMEONE THREW HIM A CRIB BLOCK IT HIT HIS FINGER.