Mining Incidents

No 1: 4 MSHA citations Coal

Laurel Creek Mining Corp · Underground
Controlled by James R Gibbs
Hurley, Buchanan County, VA  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 4406596

No 1 has $246 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
8
Years on record
1991–1997
Latest incident
Aug 1997
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
4
citations
1
significant & substantial
$246
proposed penalties
$246
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
16
inspections on record
82
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: 82 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

No 1 has $246 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.
$246
proposed penalties
$246
current assessed
$246
paid to date
$0
outstanding
4 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2006-08-07.
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.
25.0%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
25.0%
reasonably likely or greater
0.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 25.0% none, 0.0% low, 75.0% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Blankenship & Rife Inc 1990 to 1995
  2. Laurel Creek Mining Corp 1995 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2007 0
2002 0
2001 0
2000 0
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

No 1 sits in Buchanan County, Virginia, where the Census mining category is 11.2% 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.
Buchanan County, Virginia · Population 19,857
11.2%
Mining share of county employment
$42,216
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
2007 Q1 0 0 0
2002 Q3 0 0 0
2002 Q2 0 0 0
2002 Q1 0 0 0
2001 Q4 0 0 0
2001 Q3 0 0 0
2001 Q2 0 1 0
2001 Q1 0 1 0
Show 4 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2000 Q4 0 0 0
2000 Q3 0 0 0
2000 Q2 0 0 0
2000 Q1 0 0 0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

8 on file

1997 · 1 incident

August 22, 1997 VA · Coal laborer, bull gang, faceman, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scaler FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Laurel Creek Mining Corp · Struck by falling object

PIECE OF DRAW ROCK FELL INJURING EMPS BACK. DOING GENERAL WORK SETTING MINER BITS.

1994 · 1 incident

1993 · 2 incidents

1992 · 3 incidents

June 11, 1992 VA · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Blankenship & Rife Inc · Accident type, without injuries

THIS AREA OF THE MINES WAS DEVELOPED 5-4-92 THE ROOF BOLTER AFTER HE NOTICED THIS AREA WAS SOFT TIMBERED OFF ARE ENTERIES TO FAULT AREA ROOF FELL 6-11-92. FALL OCCURRED AT SENINTY SECTION 257 IN 10 HEADING FALL WAS 20X20.

1991 · 1 incident