Mining Incidents

Black Butte Mine: 16 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

GCC Trident LLC · Surface
Controlled by GCC SAB de CV
White Sulfur Springs, Meagher County, MT  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 2402423

Black Butte Mine has $2K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2005
16
citations
2
significant & substantial
$1,916
proposed penalties
$1,916
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2005
29
inspections on record
266
inspection hours
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: 266 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Black Butte Mine has $2K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$2K
proposed penalties
$2K
current assessed
$2K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
16 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $100 in penalties contested before the Commission, $100 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2018-10-29.
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.
12.5%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
12.5%
reasonably likely or greater
6.2%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 31.2% low, 68.8% moderate, 0.0% 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 · 6% of citations on record
  • Settled 1 · 100%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$100 proposed, $100 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 2010-01-13.
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 2010-514M Settlement Lesnick 2010 $100 → $100
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
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: 2010-07-20, 16 years ago
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
1
samples
1
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (1)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2010-07-20 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.28 1.41 0.20 Front-end Loader Operator

Area samples (mill and shop air)

Last sampled: 2016-10-25, 9 years ago
1
samples
Show the individual readings (1)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Area sampled
2016-10-25 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 SF ORE TRANSFER
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.
Ownership history
  1. Holcim (US) Inc 2005 to 2015
  2. CRH US 2015 to 2018
  3. GCC Trident LLC 2018 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 3
2025 3
2024 0
2023 0
2022 0
2021 0
2020 1
2019 2
2018 2
2017 2
2016 2
2015 2
2014 2
2013 3
2012 3
2011 2
2010 1
2009 2
2008 2
2007 3
2006 3
2005 2
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Black Butte Mine sits in Meagher County, Montana, where the Census mining category is 3.0% 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.
Meagher County, Montana · Population 1,979
3.0%
Mining share of county employment
$56,215
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 144 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 0 0 0
2025 Q4 0 0 0
2025 Q3 102 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 0 0 0
2024 Q3 0 0 0
2024 Q2 8 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 0 0 0
Show 71 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2023 Q4 0 0 0
2023 Q3 32 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 0 0 0
2023 Q1 0 0 0
2022 Q4 0 0 0
2022 Q3 0 0 0
2022 Q2 48 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 0 0 0
2021 Q4 0 0 0
2021 Q3 0 0 0
2021 Q2 2 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 0 0 0
2020 Q4 0 0 0
2020 Q3 148 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 2 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 0 0 0
2019 Q4 2 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 67 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 4 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 0 0 0
2018 Q4 0 1 0
2018 Q3 32 1 0 31250.0
2018 Q2 96 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 8 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 32 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 72 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 24 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 32 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 152 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 50 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 0 0 0
2015 Q4 24 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 78 3 0 38461.5
2015 Q2 0 0 0
2015 Q1 0 0 0
2014 Q4 40 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 32 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 48 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 28 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 48 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 28 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 583 1 1 1715.3
2012 Q2 45 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 0 0 0
2011 Q4 69 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 428 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 0 0 0
2011 Q1 0 0 0
2010 Q4 13 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 63 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 0 0 0
2010 Q1 0 0 0
2009 Q4 40 1 0 25000.0
2009 Q3 244 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 32 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 0 0 0
2008 Q4 54 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 144 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 10 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 0 0 0
2007 Q4 38 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 381 2 0 5249.3
2007 Q2 246 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 0 0 0
2006 Q4 51 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 227 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 37 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 0 0 0
2005 Q4 24 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 291 1 0 3436.4

No reportable incidents on file.

MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents for this mine in the current dataset. New reports appear here within a week of being filed.