Fairbanks Excavation Mine has $41K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
4
Years on record
2015–2023
Latest incident
Jul 2023
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2015
71
citations
20
significant & substantial
$40,961
proposed penalties
$30,610
paid to date
75% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $10,351 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: 497 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.
2
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2021-12-01.
On record since 2021.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.
Fairbanks Excavation Mine has $41K 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.
$41K
proposed penalties
$31K
current assessed
$31K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
68 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $15K in penalties contested before the Commission, $5K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2023-04-24.
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.
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.
2citations taken to the federal commission · 3% of citations on record
Settled
2 · 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 2 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
68%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$15K proposed, $5K 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 2021-12-15.
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: 2021-03-16, 5 years ago
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
4
samples
1
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz2
Respirable dust, <.1mg2
Show the individual readings (4)
Date
Contaminant
Concentration
Limit
Conc / limit
Occupation
2021-03-16
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
0.32
Truck Driver
2021-03-16
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Backhoe Operator
2015-06-27
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
0.23
1.78
0.13
Complete Load-Haul-Dump
2015-06-27
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Backhoe 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.
Fairbanks Excavation Mine recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2022.
Injury rate, 2022
ⓘ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 metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.78 and the all-US-mining average was 2.12 cases per 100 workers.
In Alaska, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.75 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
2022 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2021 *
9.50
9.50
0.000
2020 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2019 *
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
Year
Employees
2026
2
2025
3
2024
2
2023
4
2022
10
2021
9
2020
8
2019
10
2018
8
2017
7
2016
6
2015
8
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Fairbanks Excavation Mine 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
971
0
0
0.0
2025 Q4
0
0
0
2025 Q3
1,997
0
0
0.0
2025 Q2
1,973
0
0
0.0
2025 Q1
0
0
0
2024 Q4
0
0
0
2024 Q3
3,346
0
0
0.0
2024 Q2
0
0
0
Show 36 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2024 Q1
0
0
0
2023 Q4
0
0
0
2023 Q3
3,600
0
0
0.0
2023 Q2
3,948
1
0
253.3
2023 Q1
1,670
0
0
0.0
2022 Q4
4,388
2
0
455.8
2022 Q3
8,479
0
0
0.0
2022 Q2
9,818
1
0
101.9
2022 Q1
4,721
0
0
0.0
2021 Q4
3,780
10
4
2645.5
2021 Q3
5,097
0
0
0.0
2021 Q2
6,947
16
4
2303.2
2021 Q1
5,226
1
1
191.4
2020 Q4
4,411
3
0
680.1
2020 Q3
6,144
0
0
0.0
2020 Q2
6,926
0
0
0.0
2020 Q1
4,404
2
1
454.1
2019 Q4
5,473
0
0
0.0
2019 Q3
5,060
0
0
0.0
2019 Q2
6,928
0
0
0.0
2019 Q1
3,425
0
0
0.0
2018 Q4
5,675
5
0
881.1
2018 Q3
8,434
0
0
0.0
2018 Q2
5,863
2
0
341.1
2018 Q1
0
0
0
2017 Q4
1,911
0
0
0.0
2017 Q3
7,368
9
1
1221.5
2017 Q2
5,563
6
1
1078.6
2017 Q1
0
0
0
2016 Q4
3,129
0
0
0.0
2016 Q3
4,735
2
0
422.4
2016 Q2
3,814
0
0
0.0
2016 Q1
0
0
0
2015 Q4
0
0
0
2015 Q3
9,361
0
0
0.0
2015 Q2
7,881
11
8
1395.8
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
4 on file
2023 · 1 incident
July 27, 2023AK · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanOTHER
Bee hive inside trailer frame. While loading tires on trailer, demonic bees malevolently stung the miner causing an allergic reaction and the miners immediate administration of EE's prescribed auto-injection EpiPen dose for anaphylaxis and immediate transport for medical care.
2021 · 1 incident
June 17, 2021AK · Metal/Non-Metalbulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineerPOWERED HAULAGE
Previous shift evacuated mine early due to intense thunderstorm leaving mobile equipment parked hazardously. 1-30 769D truck parked on a slight-grade was started with parking brake off, no chocks and when air pressure released the brakes it rolled forward into 1-23 D400E crushing victim between bumpers.
Unknown cause of death, victim was found inside personal moterhome parked in employee camping area. Suspected drug overdose: Heroin and marijuana found inside motorhome.
2015 · 1 incident
May 13, 2015AK · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanHANDLING OF MATERIALS