Mining Incidents

Nassau Surface Mine: 3 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Gary Bowen II
Elbert, Mcdowell County, WV  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4608740

Nassau Surface Mine has $277 in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
1999
Latest incident
Apr 1999
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
3
citations
3
significant & substantial
$277
proposed penalties
$277
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
3
inspections on record
120
inspection hours
n/a
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: 120 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Nassau Surface Mine has $277 in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$277
proposed penalties
$277
current assessed
$277
paid to date
$0
outstanding
3 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2000-11-28.
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.
100.0%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
100.0%
reasonably likely or greater
0.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 33.3% low, 66.7% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Nassau Surface Mine shows 100% of 17 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: 2000-11-28, 25 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
17
samples
0.84
dust max (mg/m3)
12 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 5 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR9
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER4
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE3

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2000-12-04, 25 years ago
18.0
silica avg (%)
2
samples
29.5
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER1

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: 2000-03-22, 26 years ago
50%
over PEL
4
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER1
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Nassau Surface Mine recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2000.

Injury rate, 2000
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 7.74 and the all-US-mining average was 5.64 cases per 100 workers.
In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 8.87 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.
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. Split Fork Mining Company Inc 1998 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)
2001 5 8,685
2000 18 160,366
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Nassau Surface Mine sits in McDowell County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 13.0% 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.
McDowell County, West Virginia · Population 18,413
13.0%
Mining share of county employment
$29,980
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
2001 Q2 0 0 0
2001 Q1 3,254 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 7,460 1 1 134.0
2000 Q3 10,037 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 11,804 2 2 169.4
2000 Q1 10,877 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

1999 · 1 incident

April 2, 1999 WV · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer MACHINERY
Split Fork Mining Company Inc · Struck against a moving object

OPERATING DOZER OVER ROCKS AND JARRED NECK AND BACK, AND HIT KNEE.