Mining Incidents

Hubbs Hollow Mine: 28 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Ferroglobe PLC
Williamsburg, Whitley County, KY  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 1519916

Hubbs Hollow Mine has $22K in proposed MSHA penalties and $14K outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2024
Latest incident
Nov 2024
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2022
28
citations
4
significant & substantial
$21,588
proposed penalties
$7,816
paid to date
36% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $13,772 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2022
25
inspections on record
805
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: 805 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Hubbs Hollow Mine has $22K in proposed MSHA penalties and $14K outstanding across 1 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.
$22K
proposed penalties
$22K
current assessed
$8K
paid to date
$14K
outstanding
27 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-08.
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.
14.3%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
14.3%
reasonably likely or greater
21.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 28.6% low, 71.4% moderate, 0.0% 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.
1 citations taken to the federal commission · 4% of citations on record
  • Still open 1 · 100%
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 2026-05-12.
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
KENT 2026-0065 Decision pending
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Hubbs Hollow Mine shows 100% of 108 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: 2026-07-21
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
108
samples
0.76
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.
58 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 50 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR56
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR24
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE16

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2026-02-27
7.3
silica avg (%)
11
samples
12.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR7
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR4

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.

Last sampled: 2026-04-23
5%
over PEL
57
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR24
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE14
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR9
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
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.
Year within 1.5 mg/m3 samples
2026 100% 19
2025 100% 21
2024 100% 33
2023 100% 22
2022 100% 13
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2026 7.2 1
2025 6.8 2
2024 7.8 6
2023 4.4 1
2022 8.3 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2026 21% 14
2025 0% 6
2024 0% 20
2023 0% 9
2022 0% 8
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Hubbs Hollow Mine recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2025.

Injury rate, 2025
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 3.19 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.08 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
2025 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2024 * 6.05 0.00 0.000
2023 * 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. Ferroglobe USA Mining, LLC 2022 to present
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)
2026 18 8,798
2025 10 24,790
2024 10 21,508
2023 9 21,903
2022 5 2,799
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Hubbs Hollow Mine sits in Whitley County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 0.0% 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.
Whitley County, Kentucky · Population 36,755
0.0%
Mining share of county employment
$41,719
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 10,233 1 1 97.7
2026 Q1 9,865 2 0 202.7
2025 Q4 7,801 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 8,025 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 6,742 2 0 296.6
2025 Q1 7,708 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 6,913 2 0 289.3
2024 Q3 7,885 2 0 253.6
Show 10 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 10,057 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 8,188 2 0 244.3
2023 Q4 7,003 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 7,931 1 0 126.1
2023 Q2 8,857 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 6,109 2 0 327.4
2022 Q4 5,410 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 4,029 1 1 248.2
2022 Q2 4,711 3 0 636.8
2022 Q1 3,745 2 0 534.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2024 · 1 incident

November 19, 2024 KY · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech MACHINERY
Ferroglobe USA Mining, LLC · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Mechanic was drilling a hole in EE's mechanic's truck to install a work light. The drill bit "hung" causing the drill to suddenly twist hitting EE in the mouth. This resulted in a laceration. EE was taken to the ER where EE received 3 stitches. EE returned to work the next day.