Richwood, Greenbrier County,
WV
·
Temporarily Idled
MSHA Mine ID: 4609597
Elevation Surface Mine has $2K in proposed MSHA penalties and $1K outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2023
Latest incident
Jun 2023
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2022
12
citations
1
significant & substantial
$2,020
proposed penalties
$961
paid to date
48% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,059 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.
12 citations across 1,595 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Elevation Surface Mine has $2K in proposed MSHA penalties and $1K 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.
$2K
proposed penalties
$2K
current assessed
$961
paid to date
$1K
outstanding
12 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-05-15.
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.
MSHA sampling at Elevation Surface Mine shows 100% of 122 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: 2025-07-09
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
122
samples
0.33
dust max (mg/m3)
0
over MSHA ECV
ⓘThe excessive concentration value (ECV) is MSHA's own per-sample enforcement threshold, which builds in measurement uncertainty; a sample over its ECV can trigger a citation. The count covers only samples MSHA assigned an ECV.
62 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 60 by the operator.
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.
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.
Elevation Surface Mine recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2024.
Injury rate, 2024
ⓘ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
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.16 and the all-US-mining average was 2.08 cases per 100 workers.
In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 3.51 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.
Year
total case rate
days-away
fatal
2024 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2023
1.64
0.00
0.000
2022 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
* Fewer than 100,000 employee-hours that year; the rate is less stable.
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.
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)
2025
41
37,932
2024
44
76,198
2023
43
198,872
2022
37
96,431
2021
12
20,704
2020
0
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Elevation Surface Mine sits in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, 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.
Greenbrier County, West Virginia · Population 32,688
1.7%
Mining share of county employment
$48,662
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 Q2
25,783
2
0
77.6
2025 Q1
36,345
0
0
0.0
2024 Q4
9,606
0
0
0.0
2024 Q3
30,960
1
0
32.3
2024 Q2
10,835
1
0
92.3
2024 Q1
21,530
1
1
46.4
2023 Q4
35,452
0
0
0.0
2023 Q3
29,684
0
0
0.0
Show 12 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2023 Q2
27,865
3
0
107.7
2023 Q1
28,660
0
0
0.0
2022 Q4
24,580
1
0
40.7
2022 Q3
23,843
0
0
0.0
2022 Q2
22,923
1
0
43.6
2022 Q1
24,353
2
0
82.1
2021 Q4
16,564
0
0
0.0
2021 Q3
1,702
0
0
0.0
2021 Q2
0
0
0
2021 Q1
0
0
0
2020 Q4
0
0
0
2020 Q3
0
0
0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
1 on file
2023 · 1 incident
June 20, 2023WV · Coalfront-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operatorPOWERED HAULAGE
EE was cleaning the pit floor when a rock fell from the highwall and came through the windshield of the Komatsu WA600 loader EE was operating. Rock struck EE's right leg causing bruises/contusions, glass in EE's eyes, small lacerations.