Cove/Upper Walker Pit has $15K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
5
Years on record
1996–1997
Latest incident
Dec 1997
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
35
citations
24
significant & substantial
$15,214
proposed penalties
$9,712
paid to date
64% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $5,502 gap.
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: 128 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Cove/Upper Walker Pit has $15K 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.
$15K
proposed penalties
$10K
current assessed
$10K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
35 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $11K in penalties contested before the Commission, $6K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2009-06-17.
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.
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.
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: 2004-06-16, 22 years ago
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
1
samples
1
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (1)
Date
Contaminant
Concentration
Limit
Conc / limit
Occupation
2004-06-16
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
0.14
0.59
0.24
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.
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year
Employees
2008
5
2007
1
2006
0
2005
0
2004
1
2003
1
2002
1
2001
2
2000
1
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Cove/Upper Walker Pit sits in Cache County, Utah, where the Census mining category is 0.2% 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.
Cache County, Utah · Population 137,031
0.2%
Mining share of county employment
$78,292
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
2008 Q2
3,567
2
2
560.7
2008 Q1
1
0
0
0.0
2007 Q4
0
0
0
2007 Q3
0
0
0
2007 Q2
80
0
0
0.0
2007 Q1
32
0
0
0.0
2006 Q4
0
0
0
2006 Q3
168
0
0
0.0
Show 25 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2006 Q1
0
0
0
2005 Q4
0
0
0
2005 Q3
0
0
0
2005 Q2
0
0
0
2005 Q1
0
1
1
2004 Q4
224
0
0
0.0
2004 Q3
202
0
0
0.0
2004 Q2
192
4
2
20833.3
2004 Q1
0
0
0
2003 Q4
0
0
0
2003 Q3
168
3
1
17857.1
2003 Q2
480
0
0
0.0
2003 Q1
64
0
0
0.0
2002 Q4
120
0
0
0.0
2002 Q3
240
15
11
62500.0
2002 Q2
0
0
0
2002 Q1
0
0
0
2001 Q4
480
0
0
0.0
2001 Q3
980
9
7
9183.7
2001 Q2
800
0
0
0.0
2001 Q1
160
0
0
0.0
2000 Q4
144
0
0
0.0
2000 Q3
480
0
0
0.0
2000 Q2
390
0
0
0.0
2000 Q1
0
0
0
Fatalities at this mine
1 recorded
April 10, 1996UT · Metal/Non-Metalwarehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operatorFatality · IGNITION OR EXPLOSION OF GAS OR DUST
INDIVIDUAL WAS MIXING MUD IN A SMALL HOPPER WHEN THE DRILLER ACCIDENTLY STEPPED ON THE FOOT THROTTLE OF THE RIG CAUSING EXCESSIVE PRESSSURE TO THE HOPPER AND IT FLEW OUT OF CONTROL AND STRUCK IDNIVIDUAL IN THE EYE.
INDIVIDUAL WAS GETTING A 5 GALLON BUCKE TO FOIL FROM THE BED OF A DRILL RIG,, WHICH IS 4' OFF THE GROUND AND HE JUMPED DOWN AND LANDED FLAT FOOTED AND JARRED HIS BACK.
EE WAS TRYING TO LOOSEN BOLT, WHEN WRENCH SLIPPED SPRINGING BACKWARD, LODGING FINGERS BETWEEN LOADER AND WRENCH, CAUSING NEAR AMPUTATION OF LEFT HAND INDEX FINGERTIP & LACERATION OF 3RD FINGER .