Mining Incidents

Mine #1: 518 MSHA citations Coal

Clark Mining Inc · Underground
Controlled by Joshua Clark
Jenkins, Letcher County, KY  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1518987

Mine #1 has $817K in proposed MSHA penalties and $781K outstanding across 6 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2006
518
citations
198
significant & substantial
$817,261
proposed penalties
$35,920
paid to date
4% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $781,341 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2006
35
inspections on record
2,309
inspection hours
22.4
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.
518 citations across 2,309 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Mine #1 has $817K in proposed MSHA penalties and $781K outstanding across 6 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.
$817K
proposed penalties
$817K
current assessed
$36K
paid to date
$781K
outstanding
493 assessments are final orders; 6 contested dockets.
Of $24K in penalties contested before the Commission, $1K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2010-11-15.
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.
40.2%
significant & substantial
9.3%
high negligence or reckless
40.2%
reasonably likely or greater
11.6%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 7.3% low, 83.4% moderate, 7.1% high, 2.2% 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.
84 citations taken to the federal commission · 16% of citations on record
  • Stood as issued 8 · 10%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 76 · 90%
6%
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 32 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
95%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$24K proposed, $1K 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 2010-10-08.
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 2011-34 Withdrawal Simonton 2013 $12K → $0
KENT 2010-1289 Withdrawal Simonton 2013 $7K → $0
KENT 2010-1398 Withdrawal Simonton 2013 $3K → $0
KENT 2010-1028 Default Lesnick 2011 $948 → $948
KENT 2010-828 Default Lesnick 2011 $200 → $200
KENT 2011-33 Withdrawal Simonton 2013 $100 → $0
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Mine #1 shows 94% of 144 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: 2010-10-14, 15 years ago
94%
within 1.5 mg/m3
144
samples
5.29
dust max (mg/m3)
92 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 52 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR57
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)14
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR9

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2010-10-26, 15 years ago
7.1
silica avg (%)
18
samples
10.7
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR10

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: 2010-10-14, 15 years ago
7%
over PEL
29
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR5
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)5
  • ELECTRICIAN3
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
2010 92% 48
2009 97% 32
2008 100% 7
2007 92% 36
2006 100% 21
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2010 6.0 6
2009 9.2 2
2007 7.7 6
2006 6.7 4
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2010 0% 6
2009 0% 8
2007 10% 10
2006 20% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Coal Express Inc 2006 to 2007
  2. CSA Mining Inc 2007 to 2008
  3. Clark Mining Inc 2008 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)
2010 8 23,557
2009 5 21,752
2008 5
2007 10 6,093
2006 9 1,336
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Mine #1 sits in Letcher County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 3.5% 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.
Letcher County, Kentucky · Population 21,146
3.5%
Mining share of county employment
$40,501
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
2010 Q3 4,330 39 16 9006.9
2010 Q2 3,845 46 18 11963.6
2010 Q1 2,028 16 4 7889.5
2009 Q4 3,340 11 6 3293.4
2009 Q3 3,060 34 12 11111.1
2009 Q2 2,880 18 6 6250.0
2009 Q1 1,920 1 0 520.8
2008 Q4 2,400 6 1 2500.0
Show 3 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2008 Q3 80 56 34 700000.0
2007 Q1 2,876 35 18 12169.7
2006 Q2 795 35 18 44025.2

No reportable incidents on file.

MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents for this mine in the current dataset. New reports appear here within a week of being filed.