Mining Incidents

Mine #3: 1 recorded fatality Coal

Controlled by Michael Blubaugh
Middlesboro, Bell County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519268

Mine #3 has $49K in proposed MSHA penalties and $28K outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
3
Years on record
2009–2020
Latest incident
Oct 2020
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2009
154
citations
26
significant & substantial
$49,116
proposed penalties
$18,685
paid to date
38% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $30,431 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2008
73
inspections on record
2,729
inspection hours
5.6
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.
154 citations across 2,729 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Mine #3 has $49K in proposed MSHA penalties and $28K outstanding across 1 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.
$49K
proposed penalties
$47K
current assessed
$19K
paid to date
$28K
outstanding
143 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $5K in penalties contested before the Commission, $2K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2023-03-09.
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.
18.2%
significant & substantial
4.2%
high negligence or reckless
18.2%
reasonably likely or greater
14.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.2% low, 91.6% moderate, 4.2% 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.
1 citations taken to the federal commission · 1% of citations on record
  • Settled 1 · 100%
100%
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 1 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
50%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$5K proposed, $2K 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 2021-06-14.
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 2021-0099 Settlement 2021 $5K → $2K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Mine #3 shows 100% of 177 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: 2023-03-31, 3 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
177
samples
1.34
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.
106 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 71 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR78
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR44
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE23

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2023-03-20, 3 years ago
7.9
silica avg (%)
27
samples
45.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR16
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR11

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: 2023-02-15, 3 years ago
0%
over PEL
88
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR27
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE19
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR11
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
2023 100% 7
2022 100% 11
2021 100% 22
2020 100% 24
2018 100% 7
2017 100% 39
2016 100% 26
2015 100% 27
2014 100% 9
2009 100% 5
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2023 10.8 3
2022 5.0 2
2021 6.4 7
2020 3.0 6
2018 4.8 1
2017 9.9 5
2016 4.2 2
2015 45.1 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2023 0% 3
2022 0% 5
2021 0% 14
2020 0% 16
2018 0% 5
2017 0% 16
2016 0% 10
2015 0% 9
2014 0% 5
2009 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Mine #3 recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2023.

Injury rate, 2023
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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
No reportable injury cases in any year shown. Employee-hours were reported in each of those years, so these are true zeros rather than missing data. Citations, listed in the compliance record above, are inspector-found violations and are counted separately from worker injuries.
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.17 and the all-US-mining average was 2.10 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.32 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
2023 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2022 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2021 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2020 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2017 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2016 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2015 * 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. Strata Mining, Inc 2008 to 2016
  2. Middlesboro Mining Operations, Inc 2016 to 2016
  3. Double Mountain Mining LLC 2016 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)
2024 4
2023 24 36,145
2022 39 97,557
2021 38 109,701
2020 18 38,413
2019 4 3,710
2018 10 9,915
2017 33 135,413
2016 21 86,091
2015 16 83,083
2014 15 48,538
2009 12 56
2008 10 1,673
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Mine #3 sits in Bell County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 3.6% 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.
Bell County, Kentucky · Population 23,878
3.6%
Mining share of county employment
$32,403
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
2024 Q3 3,154 0 0 0.0
2024 Q2 3,154 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 2,661 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 3,231 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 6,143 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 15,015 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 22,191 15 4 675.9
2022 Q4 23,737 0 0 0.0
Show 36 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2022 Q3 23,629 2 1 84.6
2022 Q2 19,411 6 2 309.1
2022 Q1 18,848 4 0 212.2
2021 Q4 23,785 1 0 42.0
2021 Q3 22,596 10 2 442.6
2021 Q2 18,432 1 0 54.3
2021 Q1 21,144 9 2 425.7
2020 Q4 25,790 4 1 155.1
2020 Q3 12,476 14 1 1122.2
2020 Q2 795 1 0 1257.9
2020 Q1 449 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 1,220 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 3,073 4 0 1301.7
2019 Q1 62 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 468 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 1,069 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 0 0 0
2018 Q1 15,429 3 0 194.4
2017 Q4 17,990 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 17,554 7 0 398.8
2017 Q2 20,208 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 22,921 6 0 261.8
2016 Q4 15,810 16 2 1012.0
2016 Q3 6,692 7 0 1046.0
2016 Q2 10,467 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 10,062 3 0 298.2
2015 Q4 11,224 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 10,942 4 0 365.6
2015 Q2 9,209 2 1 217.2
2015 Q1 7,499 2 0 266.7
2014 Q4 10,031 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 9,407 5 1 531.5
2014 Q2 8,508 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 3,868 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 6,005 2 0 333.1
2008 Q4 5,092 0 0 0.0

Fatalities at this mine

1 recorded
October 9, 2020 KY · Coal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman Fatality · MACHINERY
Double Mountain Mining LLC · Struck against stationary object

Employee was on Hydro seeder and changed barrels on the gun and pointed the gun at self and engaged the clutch. The pressure knocked employee back against the rails on the truck. CPR was provided but had no effect.

Reportable incidents

2 on file (excluding fatalities above)

2016 · 1 incident

September 27, 2016 KY · Coal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver POWERED HAULAGE
Middlesboro Mining Operations, Inc · Fall from machine

Driver was descending a hill at mine, loaded with coal, when suddenly EE lost air pressure, causing loss of the braking system. EE jumped from the truck, landing on the roadway causing lacerations and possible cracked shoulder.

2009 · 1 incident

January 19, 2009 KY · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Strata Mining, Inc · Fall to the walkway or working surface

Employee was walking from his escavator to his vehicle as he was leaving work when he slipped and fell on ice. He later went to the Emergency Room where it was determined that he had broken his left arm.