COLDIRON OWL MINE: 18 MSHA citations
Coal
Cumberland,
Harlan County,
KY
·
Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519954
COLDIRON OWL MINE has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $151 outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 2
- Years on record
- 2024–2025
- Latest incident
- Jan 2025
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2024
0
significant & substantial
$2,710
proposed penalties
94% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $151 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2024
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: 970 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
COLDIRON OWL MINE has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $151 outstanding across 0 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.
18 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-11-06.
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.
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, 38.9% low, 61.1% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
MSHA sampling at COLDIRON OWL MINE shows 100% of 227 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: 2025-08-29
40 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 187 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)68
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR66
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)57
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2025-07-25
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR5
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)5
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)3
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: 2025-08-01
Most-sampled occupations
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)6
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR5
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (INTAKE SIDE)4
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 |
| 2025 |
100% |
198 |
| 2024 |
100% |
29 |
Silica (quartz) by year
| Year |
silica avg (%) |
samples |
| 2025 |
5.8 |
11 |
| 2024 |
7.5 |
2 |
Noise by year
| Year |
over PEL |
samples |
| 2025 |
10% |
21 |
| 2024 |
60% |
5 |
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
COLDIRON OWL MINE recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2025.
Injury rate, 2025
ⓘ
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.
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 3.19 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.08 cases per 100 workers that year.
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.
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) |
| 2025 |
39 |
161,079 |
| 2024 |
31 |
7,881 |
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
COLDIRON OWL MINE sits in Harlan County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 4.3% 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.
Harlan County, Kentucky · Population 26,185
4.3%
Mining share of county employment
$37,198
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 |
| 2025 Q4 |
3,476 |
1 |
0 |
287.7 |
| 2025 Q3 |
32,477 |
6 |
0 |
184.7 |
| 2025 Q2 |
28,664 |
4 |
0 |
139.5 |
| 2025 Q1 |
36,518 |
3 |
0 |
82.2 |
| 2024 Q4 |
3,631 |
2 |
0 |
550.8 |
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
2 on file
2025 · 1 incident
January 31, 2025
KY · Coal
roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)
MACHINERY
Bluegrass Natural Resources, LLC · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)
EE was bolting top & bent a bolt causing the bolt plate to strike EE's arm causing a laceration. EE was taken to a hospital.