Mining Incidents

No. 3: 187 MSHA citations Coal

War Eagle Energy, Inc. · Underground
Controlled by Terry L Matney
Iaeger, Mcdowell County, WV  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 4608755

No. 3 has $20K in proposed MSHA penalties and $14K outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at No. 3.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
3
Years on record
2003–2004
Latest incident
May 2004
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
187
citations
67
significant & substantial
$20,110
proposed penalties
$5,664
paid to date
28% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $14,446 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
56
inspections on record
1,507
inspection hours
12.4
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.
187 citations across 1,507 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

No. 3 has $20K in proposed MSHA penalties and $14K 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.
$20K
proposed penalties
$20K
current assessed
$6K
paid to date
$14K
outstanding
183 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2004-08-27.
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
4.9%
high negligence or reckless
36.6%
reasonably likely or greater
11.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 27.9% low, 67.2% moderate, 4.9% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at No. 3 shows 93% of 170 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: 2004-08-27, 21 years ago
93%
within 1.5 mg/m3
170
samples
7.78
dust max (mg/m3)
91 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 79 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR81
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)12
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (OFF STANDARD)11

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2004-09-02, 21 years ago
6.2
silica avg (%)
11
samples
11.0
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR8

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: 2004-09-08, 21 years ago
0%
over PEL
8
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (OFF STANDARD)2
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)2
  • CONTINUOUS MINER HELPER1
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
2004 98% 47
2003 98% 54
2002 90% 39
2001 91% 23
2000 43% 7
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2004 4.6 3
2003 6.8 1
2002 6.9 3
2001 6.6 3
2000 7.6 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2004 0% 3
2003 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

No. 3 recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2004.

Injury rate, 2004
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
Below average. The US coal mining average was 5.57 and the all-US-mining average was 4.33 cases per 100 workers.
In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 6.79 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
2004 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2003 * 4.33 4.33 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. P M I Coal Company Inc 1999 to 2000
  2. Rock N Roll Coal Company Inc 2000 to 2000
  3. Alpine Development Company 2000 to 2000
  4. Rock Branch Inc 2000 to 2001
  5. Lo-Vein Coal, Inc. 2001 to 2002
  6. War Eagle Energy, Inc. 2002 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)
2004 17 60,737
2003 25 76,472
2002 14 28,632
2001 5 12,404
2000 6 14,857
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

No. 3 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
2004 Q4 0 0 0
2004 Q3 9,718 7 2 720.3
2004 Q2 10,691 17 3 1590.1
2004 Q1 11,829 12 5 1014.5
2003 Q4 11,559 11 4 951.6
2003 Q3 10,225 16 3 1564.8
2003 Q2 12,344 8 5 648.1
2003 Q1 12,094 7 1 578.8
Show 11 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2002 Q4 11,427 20 9 1750.2
2002 Q3 8,270 23 11 2781.1
2002 Q2 0 25 10
2001 Q4 0 0 0
2001 Q3 2,103 6 1 2853.1
2001 Q2 3,919 7 2 1786.2
2001 Q1 2,392 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 0 0 0
2000 Q3 0 0 0
2000 Q2 0 0 0
2000 Q1 6,010 3 2 499.2
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

3 on file

2004 · 1 incident

May 18, 2004 WV · Coal laborer, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scaler HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
War Eagle Energy, Inc. · Struck by flying object

USING A RATCHET WITH PIPE EXTENTION, SOCKET SLIPPED CAUSING PIPE TO HIS PERSON'S CHEST, KNOCKING HIM DOWN ON HIS BACK.

2003 · 2 incidents

December 22, 2003 WV · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) MACHINERY
War Eagle Energy, Inc. · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

LACERATION OF RIGHT INDEX FINGER CAUGHT FINGER WITH ROOF BOLT PLATE.