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North Knottsville Mine: 50 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Anthony V Lanham
Knottsville, Daviess County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519657

North Knottsville Mine has $22K 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
2
Years on record
2013–2015
Latest incident
Feb 2015
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2012
50
citations
21
significant & substantial
$21,938
proposed penalties
$21,938
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Western Kentucky Minerals, Inc.'s full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2012
19
inspections on record
662
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: 662 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

North Knottsville Mine has $22K 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.
$22K
proposed penalties
$22K
current assessed
$22K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
50 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2018-09-17.
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.
42.0%
significant & substantial
10.0%
high negligence or reckless
42.0%
reasonably likely or greater
16.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 22.0% low, 68.0% moderate, 10.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at North Knottsville Mine shows 100% of 120 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: 2018-09-17, 7 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
120
samples
0.87
dust max (mg/m3)
0
over MSHA ECV
ⓘ The excessive concentration value (ECV) is MSHA's own per-sample enforcement threshold, which builds in measurement uncertainty; a sample over its ECV can trigger a citation. The count covers only samples MSHA assigned an ECV.
88 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 32 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR46
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR27
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE15

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2017-09-13, 8 years ago
5.1
silica avg (%)
7
samples
18.9
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR4
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR3
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2017-10-18, 8 years ago
0%
over PEL
49
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR16
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE9
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER8
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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
2018 100% 6
2017 100% 13
2016 100% 23
2015 100% 32
2014 100% 23
2013 100% 10
2012 100% 13
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2017 18.9 1
2016 3.0 4
2015 2.2 2
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2017 0% 3
2016 0% 12
2015 0% 8
2014 0% 10
2013 0% 10
2012 0% 6
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

North Knottsville Mine recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2016.

Injury rate, 2016
ⓘ 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 3.79 and the all-US-mining average was 2.59 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.56 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
2016 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2015 * 2.90 2.90 0.000
2014 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2013 * 3.75 3.75 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. Western Kentucky Minerals, Inc. 2012 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)
2018 4 58,425
2017 3 34,945
2016 9 104,995
2015 24 334,672
2014 27 313,269
2013 22 302,527
2012 11 103,089
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

North Knottsville Mine sits in Daviess County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 0.3% 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.
Daviess County, Kentucky · Population 103,195
0.3%
Mining share of county employment
$65,323
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
2018 Q4 745 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 2,570 5 0 1945.5
2018 Q2 2,894 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 2,618 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 2,911 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 1,152 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 2,189 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 2,228 0 0 0.0
Show 19 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2016 Q4 3,829 1 0 261.2
2016 Q3 3,449 1 0 289.9
2016 Q2 2,816 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 13,099 6 0 458.1
2015 Q4 19,112 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 19,113 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 15,034 9 5 598.6
2015 Q1 15,677 3 1 191.4
2014 Q4 12,827 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 21,824 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 17,206 4 2 232.5
2014 Q1 18,392 1 1 54.4
2013 Q4 12,603 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 13,279 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 13,390 2 0 149.4
2013 Q1 14,095 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 10,457 4 3 382.5
2012 Q3 5,565 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 2,283 1 1 438.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2015 · 1 incident

February 3, 2015 KY · Coal outside foreman, leadman POWERED HAULAGE
Western Kentucky Minerals, Inc. · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Employee was connecting Mack truck to lowboy trailer when truck rolled backwards pinning him to the lowboy trailer. He fractured his right leg.

2013 · 1 incident

December 13, 2013 KY · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Western Kentucky Minerals, Inc. · Fall to the walkway or working surface

Employee was walking to job site when he slipped on ice and fell on his face.