Mining Incidents

Ellinger Sand & Gravel: 1 recorded fatality Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Ruben Salinas Sr
Fayetteville, Fayette County, TX  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 4104891

Ellinger Sand & Gravel has $84K in proposed MSHA penalties and $9K outstanding across 3 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2025
Latest incident
Jan 2025
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2011
166
citations
51
significant & substantial
$84,063
proposed penalties
$64,437
paid to date
77% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $19,626 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2011
48
inspections on record
889
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: 889 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
A Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.
1
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2014-04-24.
On record since 2014.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.

Ellinger Sand & Gravel has $84K in proposed MSHA penalties and $9K outstanding across 3 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.
$84K
proposed penalties
$73K
current assessed
$64K
paid to date
$9K
outstanding
151 assessments are final orders; 3 contested dockets.
Of $41K in penalties contested before the Commission, $30K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-04-22.
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.
33.8%
significant & substantial
16.6%
high negligence or reckless
33.8%
reasonably likely or greater
40.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 6.0% low, 77.5% moderate, 16.6% 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.
11 citations taken to the federal commission · 7% of citations on record
  • Settled 11 · 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 9 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
27%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$41K proposed, $30K 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 2026-02-22.
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
CENT 2026-0098 Settlement Simonton 2026 $17K → $13K
CENT 2014-0468 Settlement Rae 2016 $17K → $12K
CENT 2014-0467 Settlement Manning 2015 $7K → $6K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
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: 2023-08-01, 3 years ago
9
samples
0
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg9
Show the individual readings (9)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2023-08-01 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2020-10-14 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Backhoe Operator
2020-10-14 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Backhoe Operator
2020-10-14 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Complete Load-Haul-Dump
2016-09-27 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Utility Man
2016-09-27 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Dry Screen Plant Operator
2012-11-28 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Mechanic
2012-11-28 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2012-11-28 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 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.

Ellinger Sand & Gravel recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2021.

Injury rate, 2021
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 metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.87 and the all-US-mining average was 2.19 cases per 100 workers.
In Texas, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.57 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
2021 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2020 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2019 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2018 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2017 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2016 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2014 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2013 * 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.
Ownership history
  1. Ellinger Materials 2011 to 2016
  2. Ellinger Sand & Gravel 2016 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 3
2025 2
2024 5
2023 5
2022 6
2021 9
2020 9
2019 9
2018 7
2017 8
2016 9
2015 7
2014 8
2013 7
2012 7
2011 7
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Ellinger Sand & Gravel sits in Fayette County, Texas, where the Census mining category is 1.6% 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.
Fayette County, Texas · Population 24,783
1.6%
Mining share of county employment
$76,541
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
2026 Q2 89 2 0 22471.9
2026 Q1 58 3 1 51724.1
2025 Q4 0 0 0
2025 Q3 982 3 2 3055.0
2025 Q2 1,736 13 0 7488.5
2025 Q1 2,670 41 14 15355.8
2024 Q4 3,838 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 3,243 0 0 0.0
Show 52 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 3,155 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 3,155 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 3,267 1 0 306.1
2023 Q3 3,484 3 0 861.1
2023 Q2 2,870 3 0 1045.3
2023 Q1 3,157 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 3,787 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 4,795 24 9 5005.2
2022 Q2 4,149 2 0 482.0
2022 Q1 4,109 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 5,412 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 6,019 4 0 664.6
2021 Q2 7,883 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 7,177 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 7,244 2 1 276.1
2020 Q3 6,268 1 0 159.5
2020 Q2 6,089 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 6,158 2 1 324.8
2019 Q4 6,185 1 1 161.7
2019 Q3 6,954 7 2 1006.6
2019 Q2 7,084 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 6,354 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 5,194 1 0 192.5
2018 Q3 5,232 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 5,529 2 0 361.7
2018 Q1 5,135 2 0 389.5
2017 Q4 4,894 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 5,200 3 1 576.9
2017 Q2 6,937 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 6,110 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 6,314 2 2 316.8
2016 Q3 8,508 1 0 117.5
2016 Q2 6,365 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 5,747 3 0 522.0
2015 Q4 3,267 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 5,723 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 5,141 2 0 389.0
2015 Q1 5,644 4 2 708.7
2014 Q4 5,648 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 6,516 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 6,291 13 8 2066.4
2014 Q1 5,452 5 3 917.1
2013 Q4 5,683 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 5,804 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 6,365 6 2 942.7
2013 Q1 4,821 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 5,398 1 0 185.3
2012 Q3 5,295 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 5,507 2 0 363.2
2012 Q1 4,813 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 5,604 5 1 892.2
2011 Q3 4,889 2 1 409.1

Fatalities at this mine

1 recorded
January 30, 2025 TX · Metal/Non-Metal outside foreman, leadman Fatality · MACHINERY
Ellinger Sand & Gravel · Caught in, under or between running or meshing objects

Miner did not follow protocol. Therefore causing the death of the same.