Mining Incidents

Golconda Mine: 29 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

C & H Westgate LLC · Underground
Controlled by Pinex S A
Courtside, La Paz County, AZ  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 0202795

Golconda Mine has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $507 outstanding across 5 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2000
Latest incident
Nov 2000
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
29
citations
3
significant & substantial
$2,778
proposed penalties
$1,572
paid to date
57% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,206 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
7
inspections on record
181
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: 181 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Golconda Mine has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $507 outstanding across 5 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.
$3K
proposed penalties
$2K
current assessed
$2K
paid to date
$507
outstanding
26 assessments are final orders; 5 contested dockets.
Of $3K in penalties contested before the Commission, $2K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2001-08-15.
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.
11.5%
significant & substantial
7.7%
high negligence or reckless
38.5%
reasonably likely or greater
53.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 3.8% none, 3.8% low, 84.6% moderate, 7.7% high, 0.0% reckless.
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.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
WEST20020191M Settlement Manning 2002 $1K → $1K
WEST20020555M Settlement Manning 2003 $400 → $200
WEST20020438M Default Barbour 2003 $317 → $317
WEST20010025M Default Barbour 2001 $243 → $243
WEST20020400M Default Barbour 2002 $55 → $55
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. C & H Westgate LLC 1998 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2002 2
2001 8
2000 8
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Golconda Mine sits in La Paz County, Arizona, where the Census mining category is 0.3% 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.
La Paz County, Arizona · Population 16,605
0.3%
Mining share of county employment
$49,506
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
2002 Q3 1,830 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 2,616 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 1,950 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 4,650 2 0 430.1
2001 Q3 5,250 5 0 952.4
2001 Q2 3,000 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 3,600 18 1 5000.0
2000 Q4 14,280 0 0 0.0
Show 2 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2000 Q2 260 4 2 15384.6
2000 Q1 4,320 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2000 · 1 incident

November 7, 2000 AZ · Metal/Non-Metal section foreman, bullgang foreman, labor foreman, leadman, shift boss MACHINERY
C & H Westgate LLC · Struck against a moving object

SLUFF MATERIAL PUSHED MINER FORWARD WHERE HE CUT HIS LIP MINER STATED IT WAS HIS FAULT & NO ONE ELSE 2 STITCHES TO UPPER LIP & WAS BACK TO WORK BY 11/11/00. NO IMPAIRMENT THAT WE KNOW OFF