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Left Fork Ben Creek Strip: 2 reportable incidents Coal

Controlled by James River Coal Company
Wharncliffe, Mingo County, WV  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4606310

Left Fork Ben Creek Strip has had no fatalities among 2 reportable incidents since 1986.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
1986
Latest incident
Nov 1986
Ownership history
  1. Chafin Branch Coal Company 1981 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)
1994 0
1993 0
1990 0
1989 0
1988 0
1987 0
1986 21 85,799
1985 24 68,370
1984 16 107,259
1983 9 54,130
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly; years before 2000 come from MSHA's archived Part 50 employment files.

Left Fork Ben Creek Strip sits in Mingo County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 15.0% 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.
Mingo County, West Virginia · Population 22,979
15.0%
Mining share of county employment
$39,527
Median household income
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates.
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

1986 · 2 incidents

November 5, 1986 WV · Coal greaser, grease man, oiler, lube man, dragline oiler SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Chafin Branch Coal Company · Fall from machine

GETTING OIL SAM1LE ON TRUCK WHEN I.NAME WAS GETTING DOWN OFF TRUCK HE SLIPPED THEN HE JUMPED ON GROUND AND HURT HIS BACK.

June 9, 1986 WV · Coal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator FIRE
Chafin Branch Coal Company · Contact with hot objects or substances

I NAME WAS USIN1 A FIRE WXTINGUISHER TO PUT OUT A FIRE ON #6777 TRUCK WHICH WAS BURNING IN THE CAB HE WAS STANDING ON THE HOOD WHICH WAS MADE OF FIBER GLASS THAT BROKE THROUGH WITH HIM HE FE FELL DOWN ON TH9 MOTOR OF THE 777 TRUCK AND BURNED HIS HANDS AND BACK