Mining Incidents

Imperial Hollow Mine: 24 MSHA citations Coal

Alden Resources · Surface
Controlled by Ferroglobe PLC
Williamsburg, Whitley County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519818

Imperial Hollow Mine has $19K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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
2018
Latest incident
Feb 2018
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2017
24
citations
5
significant & substantial
$18,768
proposed penalties
$9,668
paid to date
52% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $9,100 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2017
16
inspections on record
383
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: 383 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Imperial Hollow Mine has $19K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$19K
proposed penalties
$10K
current assessed
$10K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
24 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $16K in penalties contested before the Commission, $6K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2019-11-14.
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.
20.8%
significant & substantial
4.2%
high negligence or reckless
20.8%
reasonably likely or greater
4.2%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 95.8% moderate, 4.2% 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.
2 citations taken to the federal commission · 8% of citations on record
  • Settled 2 · 100%
50%
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%
58%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$16K proposed, $6K 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 2019-11-10.
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 2020-0023 Settlement Manning 2020 $16K → $6K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Imperial Hollow Mine shows 100% of 56 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: 2020-01-09, 6 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
56
samples
1.24
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.
27 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 29 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR27
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR17
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER6

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2019-06-19, 7 years ago
9.2
silica avg (%)
3
samples
10.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR3

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: 2020-01-09, 6 years ago
0%
over PEL
21
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR9
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER6
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE4
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
2020 100% 2
2019 100% 22
2018 100% 22
2017 100% 10
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2019 9.8 2
2018 8.2 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2020 0% 2
2019 0% 9
2018 0% 5
2017 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Imperial Hollow Mine recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2019.

Injury rate, 2019
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 3.39 and the all-US-mining average was 2.32 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.10 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
2019 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2018 * 4.12 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. Alden Resources 2017 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)
2019 21 59,950
2018 23 31,610
2017 12 4,298
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Imperial 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
2019 Q4 7,305 1 0 136.9
2019 Q3 13,944 4 2 286.9
2019 Q2 14,063 2 1 142.2
2019 Q1 10,134 7 0 690.7
2018 Q4 9,606 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 12,056 3 0 248.8
2018 Q2 15,207 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 11,725 0 0 0.0
Show 2 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2017 Q4 7,737 3 1 387.7
2017 Q3 1,435 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2018 · 1 incident

February 12, 2018 KY · Coal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator POWERED HAULAGE
Alden Resources · Struck against a moving object

Loader operator was loading mud and rock when they raised the bucket the rear wheels came off the ground. When the mud slid out of the bucket it threw them against the windshield causing them to cut their head. (Raining and very muddy conditions.)