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MAST MINE: 250 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by KTRV LLC
MEYERSDALE, Somerset County, PA  ·  Temporarily Idled
MSHA Mine ID: 3610150

MAST MINE has $354K in proposed MSHA penalties and $210K outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
2021–2024
Latest incident
Jul 2024
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2015
250
citations
61
significant & substantial
$353,651
proposed penalties
$143,695
paid to date
41% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $209,956 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Heritage Coal & Natural Resources,LLC's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2015
36
inspections on record
2,686
inspection hours
9.3
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.
250 citations across 2,686 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
ⓘ A Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.
1
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2021-03-09.
On record since 2021.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.

MAST MINE has $354K in proposed MSHA penalties and $210K outstanding across 2 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.
$354K
proposed penalties
$354K
current assessed
$144K
paid to date
$210K
outstanding
245 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-05-19.
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.
24.5%
significant & substantial
7.2%
high negligence or reckless
24.5%
reasonably likely or greater
36.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 28.9% low, 63.9% moderate, 6.8% high, 0.4% 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.
4 citations taken to the federal commission · 2% of citations on record
  • Still open 4 · 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 2024-10-16.
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
PENN 2025-0002 Decision pending
PENN 2025-0003 Decision pending
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at MAST MINE shows 100% of 395 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: 2025-05-28
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
395
samples
2.18
dust max (mg/m3)
1
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.
251 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 144 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR144
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR74
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE46

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2024-12-05
12.0
silica avg (%)
18
samples
56.5
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR10
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR8
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: 2025-02-18
0%
over PEL
132
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR32
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE26
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR16
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% 16
2024 100% 69
2023 100% 55
2022 98% 48
2021 100% 50
2020 100% 38
2019 100% 45
2018 100% 42
2017 100% 21
2016 100% 8
2015 100% 3
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2024 4.3 5
2023 5.2 4
2022 17.7 3
2019 30.1 2
2018 7.2 2
2017 23.1 2
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2025 0% 3
2024 0% 35
2023 0% 15
2022 0% 17
2021 0% 18
2020 0% 9
2019 0% 16
2018 0% 10
2016 0% 7
2015 0% 2
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

MAST MINE recorded 1.27 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2024.

Injury rate, 2024
ⓘ 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.
1.27
total case rate
1.27
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.16 and the all-US-mining average was 2.08 cases per 100 workers.
In Pennsylvania, coal mining averaged 3.30 cases per 100 workers that year.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2024 1.27 1.27 0.000
2023 0.00 0.00 0.000
2022 0.00 0.00 0.000
2021 1.61 0.00 0.000
2020 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2019 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2018 * 0.00 0.00 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.
Ownership history
  1. Heritage Coal & Natural Resources,LLC 2015 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)
2025 43 44,177
2024 73 146,124
2023 71 274,679
2022 70 377,031
2021 56 285,457
2020 35 178,971
2019 44 314,312
2018 44 386,353
2017 23 268,526
2016 6 22,866
2015 3 7,097
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

MAST MINE sits in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, where the Census mining category is 1.6% 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.
Somerset County, Pennsylvania · Population 73,255
1.6%
Mining share of county employment
$59,378
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 Q3 3,060 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 15,652 5 0 319.4
2025 Q1 41,354 3 1 72.5
2024 Q4 42,849 17 1 396.7
2024 Q3 33,474 10 1 298.7
2024 Q2 43,355 25 11 576.6
2024 Q1 37,259 12 3 322.1
2023 Q4 44,581 0 0 0.0
Show 32 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2023 Q3 44,144 11 0 249.2
2023 Q2 38,569 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 39,793 15 4 377.0
2022 Q4 37,252 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 37,937 11 4 290.0
2022 Q2 43,815 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 38,451 15 5 390.1
2021 Q4 39,987 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 32,679 12 3 367.2
2021 Q2 30,245 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 21,315 8 3 375.3
2020 Q4 21,277 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 11,559 11 5 951.6
2020 Q2 19,859 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 16,050 6 3 373.8
2019 Q4 9,097 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 18,095 16 3 884.2
2019 Q2 26,251 2 0 76.2
2019 Q1 29,208 11 1 376.6
2018 Q4 29,095 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 21,296 9 0 422.6
2018 Q2 22,003 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 16,083 4 1 248.7
2017 Q4 14,652 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 10,888 10 2 918.4
2017 Q2 7,821 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 8,980 2 0 222.7
2016 Q4 4,135 3 0 725.5
2016 Q3 76 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 217 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 1,388 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 1,190 6 1 5042.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2024 · 1 incident

July 10, 2024 PA · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Heritage Coal & Natural Resources,LLC · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Mechanic cutting zip tie from radiator on D11 dozer. Stabbed self in left forearm approx. one inch deep with small utility knife when knife slipped.

2021 · 1 incident

February 19, 2021 PA · Coal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Heritage Coal & Natural Resources,LLC · Absorption of radiations, caustics, toxic and noxious substances

3/4" black PVC caustic line plugged. Employee turned the feed pump power off and disconnected the outlet end of the line and got sprayed with caustic soda(sodium hydroxide solution) mainly on EE's face. Personal Protective Equipment was available at the site for use and there is a sign posted at location stating "Safety equipment must be used".