Mining Incidents

Cane Creek Mine: 40 MSHA citations Coal

Gunner-Reilly Corporation · Surface
Controlled by Jeffery Elkins
Cordova, Walker County, AL  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 0103056

Cane Creek Mine has $7K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2004
Latest incident
Jun 2004
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
40
citations
5
significant & substantial
$6,940
proposed penalties
$6,940
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
39
inspections on record
301
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: 301 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Cane Creek Mine has $7K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 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.
$7K
proposed penalties
$7K
current assessed
$7K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
34 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $4K in penalties contested before the Commission, $2K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2004-07-02.
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.
14.3%
significant & substantial
14.7%
high negligence or reckless
11.8%
reasonably likely or greater
20.6%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 11.8% low, 73.5% moderate, 14.7% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
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
SE 20030108 Settlement Lesnick 2003 $3K → $1K
SE 20030135 Dismissal Lesnick 2003 $734 → $734
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Cane Creek Mine shows 98% of 89 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: 2004-08-25, 22 years ago
98%
within 1.5 mg/m3
89
samples
2.91
dust max (mg/m3)
33 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 56 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER31
  • OUTSIDE FOREMAN23
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE22

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2004-03-31, 22 years ago
8.1
silica avg (%)
9
samples
21.0
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE3
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR2
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER2

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: 2004-09-08, 22 years ago
23%
over PEL
22
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER6
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE6
  • MECHANIC4
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
2004 91% 11
2003 100% 20
2002 100% 14
2001 100% 11
2000 97% 33
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2004 7.8 2
2002 3.5 1
2001 21.0 1
2000 6.5 5
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2004 0% 2
2003 0% 5
2002 0% 4
2001 60% 5
2000 33% 6
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Cane Creek Mine recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2000.

Injury rate, 2000
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 coal mining average was 7.74 and the all-US-mining average was 5.64 cases per 100 workers.
In Alabama, coal mining averaged 10.94 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. Beaird Mining & Mineral Company Inc 1995 to 2010
  2. Gunner-Reilly Corporation 2010 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)
2005 0
2004 7 8,396
2003 8 21,410
2002 6 1,500
2000 13 16,920
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Cane Creek Mine sits in Walker County, Alabama, where the Census mining category is 3.3% 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.
Walker County, Alabama · Population 64,886
3.3%
Mining share of county employment
$54,509
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
2005 Q1 0 0 0
2004 Q4 1 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 720 1 0 1388.9
2004 Q2 4,396 4 0 909.9
2004 Q1 3,308 4 0 1209.2
2003 Q4 5,623 1 0 177.8
2003 Q3 2,763 1 0 361.9
2003 Q2 3,290 0 0 0.0
Show 8 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2002 Q4 240 3 0 12500.0
2002 Q3 360 1 0 2777.8
2002 Q2 5,280 3 0 568.2
2002 Q1 4,400 2 0 454.5
2000 Q4 4,950 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 5,705 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 5,203 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 5,308 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2004 · 1 incident

June 3, 2004 AL · Coal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Beaird Mining & Mineral Company Inc · Struck against stationary object

Employee repairing Rock Truck, bolt slipped, elbow hit something and tore a plug of skin, requiring six stitches.