Mining Incidents

No 1: 84 MSHA citations Coal

Champion Coal Company Inc · Underground
Controlled by Garrick Miller
Wise, Dickenson County, VA  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 4406922

No 1 has $9K in proposed MSHA penalties and $5K outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
5
Years on record
2000–2003
Latest incident
Aug 2003
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
84
citations
30
significant & substantial
$9,060
proposed penalties
$4,415
paid to date
49% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $4,645 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
61
inspections on record
1,077
inspection hours
7.8
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.
84 citations across 1,077 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

No 1 has $9K in proposed MSHA penalties and $5K 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.
$9K
proposed penalties
$9K
current assessed
$4K
paid to date
$5K
outstanding
82 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2003-09-24.
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.
36.6%
significant & substantial
3.7%
high negligence or reckless
36.6%
reasonably likely or greater
14.6%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.9% low, 91.5% moderate, 1.2% high, 2.4% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at No 1 shows 96% of 204 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: 2003-10-08, 22 years ago
96%
within 1.5 mg/m3
204
samples
3.71
dust max (mg/m3)
70 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 134 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR101
  • MOBILE BRIDGE OPERATOR25
  • ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)20

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2002-04-29, 24 years ago
11.3
silica avg (%)
7
samples
18.9
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR3

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: 2003-09-23, 22 years ago
5%
over PEL
19
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)8
  • MOBILE BRIDGE OPERATOR6
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR4
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
2003 100% 52
2002 99% 76
2001 95% 58
2000 78% 18
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2002 10.2 3
2001 13.5 3
2000 8.3 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2003 0% 5
2002 0% 5
2001 20% 5
2000 0% 4
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

No 1 recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2002.

Injury rate, 2002
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 6.89 and the all-US-mining average was 5.05 cases per 100 workers.
In Virginia, coal mining averaged 6.43 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. Fleetwood Energy Inc 1998 to 1999
  2. Papaw Coal Company Inc 1999 to 2001
  3. Champion Coal Company Inc 2001 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)
2005 0
2003 13 53,300
2002 14 74,798
2001 8 31,653
2000 21 13,038
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

No 1 sits in Dickenson County, Virginia, where the Census mining category is 9.8% 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.
Dickenson County, Virginia · Population 13,920
9.8%
Mining share of county employment
$43,831
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
2005 Q1 0 0 0
2003 Q4 2,061 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 6,174 3 3 485.9
2003 Q2 5,431 7 1 1288.9
2003 Q1 5,967 3 2 502.8
2002 Q4 7,545 12 7 1590.5
2002 Q3 8,256 8 5 969.0
2002 Q2 7,809 8 2 1024.5
Show 7 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2002 Q1 7,057 10 3 1417.0
2001 Q4 6,894 7 2 1015.4
2001 Q3 6,442 10 2 1552.3
2001 Q2 3,972 8 3 2014.1
2001 Q1 0 0 0
2000 Q2 3,186 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 9,492 4 0 421.4
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

5 on file

2003 · 2 incidents

August 18, 2003 VA · Coal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman STRIKING OR BUMPING
Champion Coal Company Inc · Struck against stationary object

VICTIM WAS WORKING ON STACKER BELT. VICTIM WALKED UNDER CATWALK AND RAISED HIS HEAD UP BEFORE CLEARING STRUCTURE. VICTIM'S HEAD STRUCK CATWALK CAUSING INJURY.

June 4, 2003 VA · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) MACHINERY
Champion Coal Company Inc · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

ROOF BOLT OPERATOR BENDING (36" BOLT)

2001 · 1 incident

September 25, 2001 VA · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) MACHINERY
Champion Coal Company Inc · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

ROOF BOLT OPERATOR. BENDING (36" BENDABLE RESIN BOLTS) ROOF BOLTS AND STRAINED MUSCLES IN BACK.

2000 · 2 incidents

April 18, 2000 VA · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) MACHINERY
Papaw Coal Company Inc · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

BOLTING ROOF OF MINE - CAUGHT LEFT INDEX FINGER BETWEEN PUSHER & FINISHING STEEL ON ROOF BOLTER MACHINE CAUSING FINGER TO BE SMASHED.

January 13, 2000 VA · Coal beltman, conveyor man, conveyor belt worker, mobile bridge carrierman, feeder operator, conveyor rider HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Papaw Coal Company Inc · Over-exertion in pulling or pushing objects

MOVING WATER LINE. BENDING OVER MOVING AND PULLING WATER LINE AWAY FROM MOBILE BRIDGE. STATED HIS BACK POPPED.