Mining Incidents

Ester: 17 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Jerry Sadler
Ester, Fairbanks North Star County, AK  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 5001556

Ester has $4K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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
2013
Latest incident
Jul 2013
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2012
17
citations
7
significant & substantial
$3,594
proposed penalties
$3,594
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2012
11
inspections on record
113
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: 113 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Ester has $4K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$4K
proposed penalties
$4K
current assessed
$4K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
17 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2020-06-26.
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.
41.2%
significant & substantial
11.8%
high negligence or reckless
41.2%
reasonably likely or greater
52.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 23.5% low, 64.7% moderate, 11.8% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Sphinx Mining Inc 1988 to 2012
  2. Airport Equipment Rentals Inc 2012 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 1
2025 0
2024 1
2023 0
2022 1
2021 0
2020 5
2019 5
2015 4
2014 8
2013 9
2012 9
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Ester sits in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, where the Census mining category is 2.6% 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.
Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska · Population 95,555
2.6%
Mining share of county employment
$84,722
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 459 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 0 0 0
2025 Q4 0 0 0
2025 Q3 0 0 0
2025 Q2 0 0 0
2025 Q1 0 0 0
2024 Q4 0 0 0
2024 Q3 1,335 0 0 0.0
Show 34 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 340 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 0 0 0
2023 Q4 0 0 0
2023 Q3 0 0 0
2023 Q2 0 0 0
2023 Q1 0 0 0
2022 Q4 0 0 0
2022 Q3 1,948 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 0 0 0
2022 Q1 0 0 0
2021 Q4 0 0 0
2021 Q3 0 0 0
2021 Q2 0 0 0
2021 Q1 0 0 0
2020 Q4 0 0 0
2020 Q3 7,394 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 4,200 2 0 476.2
2020 Q1 0 0 0
2019 Q3 2,600 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 1,223 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 728 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 4,225 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 1,641 6 3 3656.3
2015 Q1 756 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 1,642 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 7,926 2 2 252.3
2014 Q2 6,398 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 512 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 1,742 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 10,068 6 1 595.9
2013 Q2 3,730 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 680 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 795 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 5,076 1 1 197.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2013 · 1 incident

July 25, 2013 AK · Metal/Non-Metal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Airport Equipment Rentals Inc · Over-exertion in lifting objects

Five gallon bucket are filled with concentrates in the Gold Room then sent to town. While lifting the bucket on to a pickup, employee had a partial left shoulder separation. Bucket weigh 75 to 100 lbs.