California Hectorite Pit: 5 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal
BYK USA LLC
· Surface
Controlled by
Altana Group (Germany)
Amargosa Valley, NV,
Inyo County,
CA
·
Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 0405884
California Hectorite Pit has $590 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 2017
5
citations
0
significant & substantial
$590
proposed penalties
$590
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2017
7
inspections on record
61
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: 61 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
California Hectorite Pit has $590 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.$590
proposed penalties
$590
current assessed
$590
paid to date
$0
outstanding
5 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $116 in penalties contested before the Commission, $0 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2019-04-02.
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.0.0%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
0.0%
reasonably likely or greater
0.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 60.0% low, 40.0% 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 · 20% of citations on record
- Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 100%
100%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$116 proposed, $0 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 2018-01-21.
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 2018-0187 | Withdrawal | Miller | 2018 | $116 → $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: 2019-04-02, 7 years ago
ⓘ
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.1
samples
0
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
- Respirable dust, <.1mg1
Show the individual readings (1)
| Date | Contaminant | Concentration | Limit | Conc / limit | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-04-02 | Respirable dust, <.1mg | 0 | Front-end Loader Operator |
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
- BYK Additives Inc. 2014 to 2017
- BYK USA LLC 2017 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
| Year | Employees |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2017 | 1 |
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
California Hectorite Pit sits in Inyo County, California, where the Census mining category is 1.7% 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.Inyo County, California · Population 18,803
1.7%
Mining share of county employment
$72,432
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024 Q3 | 410 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2019 Q1 | 142 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2018 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 Q3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 Q2 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2017 Q4 | 96 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2017 Q3 | 264 | 2 | 0 | 7575.8 |
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.