Mining Incidents

Caja del Rio: 107 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Richard Hurworth
Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, NM  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 4503093

Caja del Rio has $48K in proposed MSHA penalties and $1 outstanding across 6 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
1996–2022
Latest incident
Apr 2022
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
107
citations
32
significant & substantial
$47,787
proposed penalties
$47,604
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $183 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
45
inspections on record
711
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: 711 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Caja del Rio has $48K in proposed MSHA penalties and $1 outstanding across 6 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.
$48K
proposed penalties
$48K
current assessed
$48K
paid to date
$1
outstanding
105 assessments are final orders; 6 contested dockets.
Of $2K in penalties contested before the Commission, $1K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-08-22.
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.
29.9%
significant & substantial
1.9%
high negligence or reckless
29.9%
reasonably likely or greater
67.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 8.4% low, 89.7% moderate, 1.9% 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.
15 citations taken to the federal commission · 14% of citations on record
  • Settled 12 · 80%
  • Stood as issued 1 · 7%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 2 · 13%
75%
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 4 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
23%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$2K proposed, $1K 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 2021-07-27.
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 2015-0099 Settlement Lesnick 2015 $816 → $708
CENT 2017-0292 Settlement Miller 2017 $305 → $244
WEST 2012-149M Settlement Lesnick 2012 $300 → $300
CENT 2021-0189 Settlement Simonton 2021 $125 → $125
CENT 2019-0193 Withdrawal Miller 2019 $121 → $0
CENT 2020-0099M Dismissal Miller 2021 $121 → $0
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: 2003-03-11, 23 years ago
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
9
samples
1
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz6
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg2
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (9)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2003-03-11 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.14 Truck Driver
2003-03-11 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.36 Crusher Oper/Worker
2003-03-11 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.45 2.13 0.21 Front-end Loader Operator
2003-03-11 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.21 Truck Driver
2003-03-11 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.21 Backhoe Operator
2002-04-11 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.15 Crusher Oper/Worker
2002-04-11 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 1.48 Crusher Oper/Worker
2001-12-19 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2001-12-19 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
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.

Caja del Rio recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2004.

Injury rate, 2004
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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
No reportable injury cases in any year shown. Employee-hours were reported in each of those years, so these are true zeros rather than missing data. Citations, listed in the compliance record above, are inspector-found violations and are counted separately from worker injuries.
Below average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 3.73 and the all-US-mining average was 4.33 cases per 100 workers.
In New Mexico, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 2.60 cases per 100 workers that year.
Under 100,000 employee-hours were reported that year, so a single case moves the rate by two or more. Read the figure as approximate.
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. DelHur Industries, Inc. 1986 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 3
2025 1
2024 1
2023 1
2022 3
2021 3
2020 1
2019 2
2018 5
2017 3
2016 3
2015 1
2014 3
2013 11
2012 7
2011 8
2009 5
2008 5
2007 4
2006 4
2005 3
2004 10
2003 4
2002 4
2001 4
2000 4
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Caja del Rio sits in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, where the Census mining category is 0.3% 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.
Santa Fe County, New Mexico · Population 155,175
0.3%
Mining share of county employment
$74,689
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 709 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 1,264 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 151 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 58 1 0 17241.4
2025 Q2 137 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 59 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 42 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 142 0 0 0.0
Show 82 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 56 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 65 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 149 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 110 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 499 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 36 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 709 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 2,528 1 0 395.6
2022 Q2 2,086 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 808 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 1,431 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 1,094 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 1,140 1 0 877.2
2021 Q1 20 1 0 50000.0
2020 Q3 669 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 0 0 0
2020 Q1 0 0 0
2019 Q4 196 1 0 5102.0
2019 Q3 1,577 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 296 1 0 3378.4
2019 Q1 0 0 0
2018 Q4 1,071 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 1,139 3 0 2633.9
2018 Q2 345 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 1,086 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 69 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 2,565 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 1,439 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 125 1 1 8000.0
2016 Q4 1,575 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 2,563 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 937 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 330 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 508 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 0 0 0
2015 Q2 893 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 0 0 0
2014 Q4 1,149 4 1 3481.3
2014 Q3 1,443 7 2 4851.0
2014 Q2 489 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 955 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 122 5 0 40983.6
2012 Q3 2,475 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 10 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 1,345 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 1,401 4 2 2855.1
2011 Q3 139 3 0 21582.7
2009 Q4 0 0 0
2009 Q3 2,458 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 3,316 2 0 603.1
2009 Q1 3,414 2 0 585.8
2008 Q4 3,187 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 2,886 21 11 7276.5
2008 Q2 2,714 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 1,544 8 3 5181.3
2007 Q4 1,450 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 2,787 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 1,895 6 2 3166.2
2007 Q1 1,428 2 1 1400.6
2006 Q4 1,620 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 2,778 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 3,321 2 0 602.2
2006 Q1 1,850 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 0 0 0
2005 Q3 1,920 1 0 520.8
2005 Q2 390 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 480 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 840 4 0 4761.9
2004 Q3 2,800 1 0 357.1
2004 Q2 19,088 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 1,931 2 0 1035.7
2003 Q3 2,100 1 1 476.2
2003 Q2 1,700 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 2,000 15 7 7500.0
2002 Q3 3,600 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 1,200 3 1 2500.0
2002 Q1 1,620 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 500 1 0 2000.0
2001 Q3 4,800 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 1,400 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 1,800 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 2,400 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2022 · 1 incident

April 25, 2022 NM · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
DelHur Industries, Inc. · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Employee pinched right ring finger while using a pry-bar. EE's finger was pinched between the steel frame and the pry-bar.

1996 · 1 incident

February 29, 1996 WA · Metal/Non-Metal mine manager, mine foreman, mine owner POWERED HAULAGE
DelHur Industries, Inc. · Struck by powered moving object

DURING AN ADJUSTMENT TO A CONVEYOR BELT WIPER, THE WIPER JAMMED THE HEADPULLY & STALLED IT. WHENTHE HEADPULLY STALLED; THE TURNBUCKLE THAT HOLDS& ADJUSTS THE GEAR BOX BROKE, ALLOWING THE GEAR BOX TO ROTATE ON THE HEADPULLY SHAFT. THE ADJUSTING TUBE FOR THE WIPER WAS IN LINE WITH THE GEARBOX. THE GEAR BOX ROTATED & STRUCK THE FINGERS, SEVERING LITTLE & RING FINGERS AT 1ST JOINT.