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Mine No. 12: 349 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by James River Coal Company
Pikeville, Pike County, KY  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1519314

Mine No. 12 has $174K in proposed MSHA penalties and $51K outstanding across 11 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
9
Years on record
2010–2013
Latest incident
Dec 2013
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2008
349
citations
138
significant & substantial
$174,261
proposed penalties
$84,724
paid to date
49% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $89,537 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See McCoy Elkhorn Coal Corporation's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2008
51
inspections on record
2,300
inspection hours
15.2
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.
349 citations across 2,300 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Mine No. 12 has $174K in proposed MSHA penalties and $51K outstanding across 11 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.
$174K
proposed penalties
$136K
current assessed
$85K
paid to date
$51K
outstanding
334 assessments are final orders; 11 contested dockets.
Of $101K in penalties contested before the Commission, $62K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2013-08-15.
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.
41.3%
significant & substantial
3.9%
high negligence or reckless
41.9%
reasonably likely or greater
22.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.3% none, 9.9% low, 85.9% moderate, 3.9% 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.
54 citations taken to the federal commission · 15% of citations on record
  • Settled 50 · 93%
  • Stood as issued 4 · 7%
96%
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 46 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
38%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$101K proposed, $62K 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 2012-07-13.
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 2012-193 Settlement McCarthy 2013 $38K → $15K
KENT 2012-1312 Settlement McCarthy 2013 $17K → $12K
KENT 2012-1106 Settlement McCarthy 2013 $14K → $11K
KENT 2012-871 Settlement McCarthy 2013 $10K → $7K
KENT 2012-422 Settlement Lesnick 2012 $5K → $4K
KENT 2012-1314 Settlement Zielinski 2013 $4K → $3K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Mine No. 12 shows 95% of 173 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: 2012-06-05, 14 years ago
95%
within 1.5 mg/m3
173
samples
3.67
dust max (mg/m3)
80 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 93 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR91
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)20
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR11

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2012-05-17, 14 years ago
8.6
silica avg (%)
11
samples
22.3
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR6
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: 2011-11-09, 14 years ago
7%
over PEL
28
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)7
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR4
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)4
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
2012 91% 35
2011 94% 66
2010 100% 27
2009 98% 45
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2012 7.1 3
2011 9.6 4
2010 15.5 1
2009 6.5 3
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2011 0% 9
2010 15% 13
2009 0% 6
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Mine No. 12 recorded 6.88 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2011.

Injury rate, 2011
ⓘ 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.
6.88
total case rate
6.88
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.83 and the all-US-mining average was 3.08 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.28 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
2011 * 6.88 6.88 0.000
2010 * 12.49 12.49 0.000
2009 * 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. McCoy Elkhorn Coal Corp 2008 to 2010
  2. GR Mining Inc 2010 to 2012
  3. McCoy Elkhorn Coal Corporation 2012 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)
2013 0
2012 16 45,160
2011 25 105,055
2010 15 45,663
2009 25 69,085
2008 10 5,466
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Mine No. 12 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
2013 Q4 10 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 0 2 0
2013 Q2 0 2 0
2013 Q1 0 4 0
2012 Q4 0 3 1
2012 Q2 14,316 53 19 3702.2
2012 Q1 15,145 22 11 1452.6
2011 Q4 15,351 18 8 1172.6
Show 12 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2011 Q3 14,153 14 5 989.2
2011 Q2 15,350 39 14 2540.7
2011 Q1 13,324 13 5 975.7
2010 Q4 11,521 15 4 1302.0
2010 Q3 12,820 52 18 4056.2
2010 Q2 4,541 21 6 4624.5
2010 Q1 3,151 2 0 634.7
2009 Q4 2,416 2 0 827.8
2009 Q3 7,208 9 8 1248.6
2009 Q2 22,545 39 21 1729.9
2009 Q1 24,477 13 5 531.1
2008 Q4 4,378 5 1 1142.1
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

9 on file

2013 · 1 incident

2012 · 3 incidents

June 4, 2012 KY · Coal shuttle car operator, mantrip operator, ramcar operator, rail runner, buggy operator HANDLING OF MATERIALS
GR Mining Inc · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Employee was loading supplies into scoop bucket and the bucket slipped onto his right foot.

March 8, 2012 KY · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
GR Mining Inc · Accident type, without injuries

1-intersection outby spad #286. Roof fall - #1 entry - return approximately 4800' from surface. Fall 25' long, 18' wide, 5'-6' high. Did not effect air way. Did not effect travelway.

January 17, 2012 KY · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
GR Mining Inc · Accident type, without injuries

Had roof fall on intake break 66, in an intersection. Spad #250. 18'wide - 15'-18'high.

2011 · 3 incidents

August 8, 2011 KY · Coal electrician, lineman FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
GR Mining Inc · Struck by falling object

Employee was seated waiting for miner operator to assist him during which time a rock fell from mine top striking lower right leg/ankle

June 27, 2011 KY · Coal bull gang foreman, labor foreman, leadman, section foreman, shift boss FALLING/SLIDING/ROLLING MATERIALS
GR Mining Inc · Struck by falling object

Was checking on fellow employee changing flat tire on equipment. Crib block fell landing on foot.

April 28, 2011 KY · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
GR Mining Inc · Accident type, without injuries

Rock fall in #5 entry 85' inby spad #245, approximately 25' Long & 8' High by 20' Wide.

2010 · 2 incidents

November 18, 2010 KY · Coal discontinued 1/31/2014. several other codes cover scoop car operator SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
GR Mining Inc · Fall to the walkway or working surface

Employee stated that he lost his balance, slipped and fell landing on back.

August 19, 2010 KY · Coal bull gang foreman, labor foreman, leadman, section foreman, shift boss SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
GR Mining Inc · Fall to the walkway or working surface

Employee stated that he had been installing mining timbers - when returning to equipment, he slipped on mat causing him to fall, striking rt. knee.