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: 484 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
ⓘA Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.
1
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2020-06-10.
On record since 2020.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.
Cactus has $121K in proposed MSHA penalties and $118K outstanding across 11 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.
$121K
proposed penalties
$121K
current assessed
$3K
paid to date
$118K
outstanding
21 assessments are final orders; 11 contested dockets.
Of $3K in penalties contested before the Commission, $2K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-05-06.
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.
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.
40citations taken to the federal commission · 82% of citations on record
Settled
14 · 35%
Stood as issued
1 · 3%
Vacated or withdrawn
2 · 5%
Still open
23 · 57%
44%
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 Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.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 9 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
33%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$3K proposed, $2K 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 2026-02-04.
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.
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year
Employees
2026
0
2025
4
2024
3
2023
0
2022
0
2021
6
2020
6
2019
6
2018
7
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Cactus sits in Crane County, Texas, where the Census mining category is 16.5% 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.
Crane County, Texas · Population 4,623
16.5%
Mining share of county employment
$59,915
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