Long Fork Surface Mine has $13K in proposed MSHA penalties and $5K outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
3
Years on record
2017–2018
Latest incident
Aug 2018
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2017
35
citations
10
significant & substantial
$12,521
proposed penalties
$7,131
paid to date
57% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $5,390 gap.
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: 665 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Long Fork Surface Mine has $13K in proposed MSHA penalties and $5K outstanding across 0 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.
$13K
proposed penalties
$13K
current assessed
$7K
paid to date
$5K
outstanding
34 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-09-16.
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.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
MSHA sampling at Long Fork Surface Mine shows 100% of 62 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: 2026-05-15
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
62
samples
0.70
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.
29 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 33 by the operator.
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.
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.
Long Fork Surface Mine recorded 6.18 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2018.
Injury rate, 2018
ⓘ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.
6.18
total case rate
6.18
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.34 and the all-US-mining average was 2.33 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 3.81 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
2018 *
6.18
6.18
0.000
2017 *
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.
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
7
6,561
2025
2
6,744
2024
2
2,511
2023
1
2022
2
2021
1
2020
1
2019
5
1,802
2018
24
108,923
2017
16
104,837
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Long Fork Surface Mine sits in Pike County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 5.1% 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.
Pike County, Kentucky · Population 57,466
5.1%
Mining share of county employment
$42,179
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
7,360
0
0
0.0
2026 Q1
1,577
0
0
0.0
2025 Q4
3,120
0
0
0.0
2025 Q3
2,639
1
0
378.9
2025 Q2
110
0
0
0.0
2025 Q1
1,215
0
0
0.0
2024 Q4
1,481
0
0
0.0
2024 Q3
905
2
0
2209.9
Show 30 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2
1,836
0
0
0.0
2024 Q1
1,530
0
0
0.0
2023 Q4
20
0
0
0.0
2023 Q3
459
0
0
0.0
2023 Q2
660
0
0
0.0
2023 Q1
2,177
2
0
918.7
2022 Q4
1,404
0
0
0.0
2022 Q3
30
0
0
0.0
2022 Q2
272
0
0
0.0
2022 Q1
1,179
0
0
0.0
2021 Q4
123
0
0
0.0
2021 Q3
90
0
0
0.0
2021 Q2
78
0
0
0.0
2021 Q1
114
0
0
0.0
2020 Q4
486
0
0
0.0
2020 Q3
0
0
0
2020 Q2
564
0
0
0.0
2020 Q1
240
0
0
0.0
2019 Q4
1,043
0
0
0.0
2019 Q3
0
0
0
2019 Q2
0
0
0
2019 Q1
10,571
2
1
189.2
2018 Q4
18,956
5
2
263.8
2018 Q3
15,422
1
1
64.8
2018 Q2
16,189
13
5
803.0
2018 Q1
14,188
2
0
141.0
2017 Q4
17,299
0
0
0.0
2017 Q3
16,193
0
0
0.0
2017 Q2
9,225
3
1
325.2
2017 Q1
2,778
1
0
360.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
3 on file
2018 · 2 incidents
August 28, 2018KY · Coalgreaser, grease man, oiler, lube man, dragline oilerSLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Employee was servicing a front end loader and was walking away from loader tripped and fell to the ground catching themselves with right hand to break fall.