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Blackhawk #1 Surface Mine: 67 MSHA citations Coal

Drift, Floyd County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519372

Blackhawk #1 Surface Mine has $28K in proposed MSHA penalties and $14K outstanding across 9 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2011
Latest incident
Mar 2011
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2010
67
citations
39
significant & substantial
$27,632
proposed penalties
$12,129
paid to date
44% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $15,503 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Blackhawk Mining LLC's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2010
9
inspections on record
443
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: 443 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Blackhawk #1 Surface Mine has $28K in proposed MSHA penalties and $14K outstanding across 9 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.
$28K
proposed penalties
$26K
current assessed
$12K
paid to date
$14K
outstanding
67 assessments are final orders; 9 contested dockets.
Of $23K in penalties contested before the Commission, $21K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2012-01-10.
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.
58.2%
significant & substantial
1.5%
high negligence or reckless
59.7%
reasonably likely or greater
34.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 6.0% low, 92.5% moderate, 1.5% 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.
36 citations taken to the federal commission · 54% of citations on record
  • Settled 21 · 58%
  • Stood as issued 15 · 42%
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 30 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
8%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$23K proposed, $21K 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 2012-03-13.
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
KENT 2012-403 Default Lesnick 2012 $13K → $13K
KENT 2011-242 Settlement Rae 2012 $3K → $2K
KENT 2011-46 Settlement Rae 2013 $2K → $2K
KENT 2011-1083 Settlement Lesnick 2012 $1K → $924
KENT 2012-721 Settlement Lesnick 2013 $1K → $850
KENT 2012-220 Settlement Lesnick 2012 $924 → $693
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Blackhawk #1 Surface Mine shows 100% of 28 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: 2011-12-09, 14 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
28
samples
0.43
dust max (mg/m3)
28 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE7
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER6
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR5

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2011-10-03, 14 years ago
14.6
silica avg (%)
1
samples
14.6
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR1
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: 2011-11-22, 14 years ago
8%
over PEL
13
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR6
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER2
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE2
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
2011 100% 22
2010 100% 6
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2011 0% 10
2010 33% 3
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Blackhawk #1 Surface Mine recorded 1.66 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2011.

Injury rate, 2011
ⓘ 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.
1.66
total case rate
1.66
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.83 and the all-US-mining average was 3.08 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.28 cases per 100 workers that year.
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.
Ownership history
  1. General Equipment Sales Inc 2009 to 2010
  2. Eagle Creek Mining LLC 2010 to 2011
  3. Blackhawk Mining LLC 2011 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)
2011 46 437,840
2010 29 226,786
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Blackhawk #1 Surface Mine sits in Floyd County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 4.4% 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.
Floyd County, Kentucky · Population 35,342
4.4%
Mining share of county employment
$41,582
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
2011 Q4 29,435 13 4 441.7
2011 Q3 34,895 8 3 229.3
2011 Q2 31,703 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 24,773 6 4 242.2
2010 Q4 21,173 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 10,407 8 7 768.7
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2011 · 1 incident

March 25, 2011 KY · Coal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Blackhawk Mining LLC · Fall from machine

Operator was dismounting from equipment to use the restroom. While dismounting he lost his footing and fell backward landing on his elbow. The impact caused a jarring motion and created pain in his shoulder.