Mining Incidents

No. 11: 20 MSHA citations Coal

Argus Energy WV, LLC · Underground
Controlled by James H Booth
Dunlow, Wayne County, WV  ·  Temporarily Idled
MSHA Mine ID: 4609470

No. 11 has $11K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 6 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2013
20
citations
6
significant & substantial
$10,984
proposed penalties
$8,902
paid to date
81% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,082 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2013
24
inspections on record
341
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: 341 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. 11 has $11K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 6 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.
$11K
proposed penalties
$9K
current assessed
$9K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
20 assessments are final orders; 6 contested dockets.
Of $10K in penalties contested before the Commission, $8K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2013-11-05.
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.
30.0%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
30.0%
reasonably likely or greater
5.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 20.0% low, 80.0% moderate, 0.0% 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.
7 citations taken to the federal commission · 35% of citations on record
  • Settled 7 · 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 6 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
21%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$10K proposed, $8K 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 2014-03-26.
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
WEVA 2013-1289 Settlement Simonton 2014 $8K → $6K
WEVA 2014-402 Settlement Lesnick 2014 $460 → $414
WEVA 2014-49 Settlement Lesnick 2014 $460 → $460
WEVA 2013-1270 Settlement Lesnick 2014 $308 → $308
WEVA 2014-491 Settlement McCarthy 2014 $308 → $277
WEVA 2014-0728 Settlement Lesnick 2015 $243 → $243
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at No. 11 shows 100% of 28 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: 2013-09-07, 12 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
28
samples
0.47
dust max (mg/m3)
16 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 12 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR12
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)4
  • BELT MAN/CONVEYOR MAN2

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: 2013-06-25, 13 years ago
0%
over PEL
9
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)2
  • ROCK DUSTER1
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Argus Energy WV, LLC 2013 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)
2026 0
2025 0
2024 0
2023 0
2022 0
2021 0
2020 0
2019 0
2018 0
2017 0
2016 0
2015 0
2014 0
2013 18 52,860
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

No. 11 sits in Wayne County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 0.7% 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.
Wayne County, West Virginia · Population 38,498
0.7%
Mining share of county employment
$55,539
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
2026 Q2 0 0 0
2026 Q1 0 0 0
2025 Q4 0 0 0
2025 Q3 0 0 0
2025 Q2 0 0 0
2025 Q1 0 0 0
2024 Q4 0 0 0
2024 Q3 0 0 0
Show 45 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 0 0 0
2024 Q1 0 0 0
2023 Q4 0 0 0
2023 Q3 0 0 0
2023 Q2 0 0 0
2023 Q1 0 0 0
2022 Q4 0 0 0
2022 Q3 0 0 0
2022 Q2 0 0 0
2022 Q1 0 0 0
2021 Q4 0 0 0
2021 Q3 0 0 0
2021 Q2 0 0 0
2021 Q1 0 0 0
2020 Q4 0 0 0
2020 Q3 0 0 0
2020 Q2 0 0 0
2020 Q1 0 0 0
2019 Q4 0 0 0
2019 Q3 0 0 0
2019 Q2 0 0 0
2019 Q1 0 0 0
2018 Q4 0 0 0
2018 Q3 0 0 0
2018 Q2 0 0 0
2018 Q1 0 0 0
2017 Q4 0 0 0
2017 Q3 0 0 0
2017 Q2 0 0 0
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 0 0 0
2016 Q3 0 0 0
2016 Q2 0 0 0
2016 Q1 0 0 0
2015 Q4 0 0 0
2015 Q3 0 0 0
2015 Q2 0 0 0
2015 Q1 0 0 0
2014 Q4 0 0 0
2014 Q3 0 0 0
2014 Q2 0 0 0
2014 Q1 0 0 0
2013 Q4 0 1 0
2013 Q3 20,311 7 1 344.6
2013 Q2 10,031 9 3 897.2

No reportable incidents on file.

MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents for this mine in the current dataset. New reports appear here within a week of being filed.