Mining Incidents

Caney Shaft Surface: 20 MSHA citations Coal

Lovely, Martin County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519553

Caney Shaft Surface has $11K in proposed MSHA penalties and $2K outstanding across 1 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
Aug 2011
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2011
20
citations
9
significant & substantial
$10,549
proposed penalties
$8,443
paid to date
80% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,106 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2011
8
inspections on record
330
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: 330 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Caney Shaft Surface has $11K in proposed MSHA penalties and $2K 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.
$11K
proposed penalties
$11K
current assessed
$8K
paid to date
$2K
outstanding
20 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $6K in penalties contested before the Commission, $6K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2012-10-16.
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.
45.0%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
45.0%
reasonably likely or greater
35.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 100.0% 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.
2 citations taken to the federal commission · 10% of citations on record
  • Stood as issued 2 · 100%
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 2 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$6K proposed, $6K 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 2013-01-16.
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 2013-395 Default Lesnick 2013 $6K → $6K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Caney Shaft Surface shows 100% of 9 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: 2012-10-03, 13 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
9
samples
0.36
dust max (mg/m3)
9 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • GROUNDMAN2
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE2
  • AUGER OPERATOR1

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: 2012-10-03, 13 years ago
0%
over PEL
9
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE3
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR2
  • AUGER OPERATOR1
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
2012 100% 4
2011 100% 5
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2012 0% 4
2011 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Martin County Coal Corp 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)
2013 0
2012 1
2011 21 30,167
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Caney Shaft Surface sits in Martin County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 8.0% 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.
Martin County, Kentucky · Population 11,181
8.0%
Mining share of county employment
$46,185
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
2013 Q1 0 0 0
2012 Q4 0 1 0
2012 Q3 0 0 0
2012 Q2 119 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 1,598 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 7,326 1 0 136.5
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2011 · 1 incident

August 19, 2011 KY · Coal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Martin County Coal Corp · Fall to the walkway or working surface

Employee was walking down the steps from the highwall miner launch and when he stepped off the last step onto the ground he stumbled and twisted his right ankle.