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King Mine: 32 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Elliot Finley
Hiawatha Townsite, Carbon County, UT  ·  Temporarily Idled
MSHA Mine ID: 4202157

King Mine has $11K in proposed MSHA penalties and $100 outstanding across 4 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
1997
Latest incident
Jan 1997
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2005
32
citations
7
significant & substantial
$10,824
proposed penalties
$8,824
paid to date
82% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,000 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Hiawatha Coal Company Inc's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
48
inspections on record
528
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: 528 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

King Mine has $11K in proposed MSHA penalties and $100 outstanding across 4 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.
$11K
proposed penalties
$9K
current assessed
$9K
paid to date
$100
outstanding
32 assessments are final orders; 4 contested dockets.
Of $10K in penalties contested before the Commission, $6K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2024-04-23.
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.
21.9%
significant & substantial
12.5%
high negligence or reckless
21.9%
reasonably likely or greater
0.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 6.2% low, 81.2% moderate, 12.5% 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.
8 citations taken to the federal commission · 25% of citations on record
  • Settled 5 · 63%
  • Stood as issued 1 · 13%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 2 · 25%
60%
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 5 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
45%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$11K 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 2016-08-29.
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
WEST 2014-0363 Settlement Manning 2017 $8K → $6K
WEST 2014-0372 Settlement Manning 2017 $2K → $100
WEST 2008-1324 Prevail Lesnick 2009 $112 → $112
WEST 2008-1325 Default Lesnick 2010 $100 → $100
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at King Mine shows 100% of 9 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: 2025-02-06
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
9
samples
0.14
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.
5 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 4 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER9

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2024-04-29
10.9
silica avg (%)
1
samples
10.9
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER1
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2025-02-06
0%
over PEL
3
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER3
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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
2025 100% 2
2024 100% 3
2023 100% 2
2022 100% 1
2013 100% 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2025 0% 1
2022 0% 1
2013 0% 1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. United States Fuel Company 1996 to 1997
  2. Hiawatha Coal Company Inc 1997 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2025 1
2024 2
2023 3
2022 3
2018 1
2017 1
2016 1
2015 2
2014 3
2013 17
2012 1
2011 1
2010 2
2009 1
2008 1
2007 0
2006 1
2005 1
2004 1
2003 2
2001 4
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

King Mine sits in Carbon County, Utah, where the Census mining category is 5.9% 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.
Carbon County, Utah · Population 20,446
5.9%
Mining share of county employment
$53,673
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
2025 Q1 40 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 103 0 0 0.0
2024 Q2 88 1 0 11363.6
2024 Q1 20 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 120 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 50 1 0 20000.0
2022 Q2 62 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 263 0 0 0.0
Show 61 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2018 Q2 334 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 204 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 197 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 254 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 225 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 149 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 159 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 268 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 272 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 70 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 75 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 254 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 376 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 358 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 511 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 426 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 601 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 301 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 68 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 1,960 7 3 3571.4
2013 Q2 1,756 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 204 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 113 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 74 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 63 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 62 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 6 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 3 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 6 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 3 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 20 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 220 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 234 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 120 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 104 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 96 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 96 1 0 10416.7
2009 Q1 240 1 0 4166.7
2008 Q4 206 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 0 0 0
2008 Q2 480 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 0 0 0
2007 Q4 0 0 0
2007 Q3 0 0 0
2007 Q2 0 1 0
2007 Q1 994 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 210 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 75 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 0 1 0
2005 Q4 90 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 24 1 0 41666.7
2005 Q2 6 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 0 0 0
2004 Q4 163 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 375 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 466 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 361 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 570 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 656 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 990 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 4,221 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

1997 · 1 incident

January 15, 1997 UT · Coal crane operator, mobile equipment operator (meo), dragline operator, dropball operator, rigger SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
United States Fuel Company · Fall to the walkway or working surface

EE REPORTED HE SLIPPED ON SNOW AND INJURED RT KNEE.