Mining Incidents

Ouachita Rock Portable: 1 recorded fatality Metal/Non-Metal

Ouachita Rock, Inc. · Surface
Controlled by Danny Hansbrough
Mena, Polk County, AR  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 0301867

Ouachita Rock Portable has $17K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2022
Latest incident
Jan 2022
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
91
citations
15
significant & substantial
$16,632
proposed penalties
$15,240
paid to date
92% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,392 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2002
40
inspections on record
688
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: 688 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Ouachita Rock Portable has $17K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 1 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.
$17K
proposed penalties
$15K
current assessed
$15K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
89 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $3K in penalties contested before the Commission, $1K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-05-20.
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.
16.9%
significant & substantial
7.9%
high negligence or reckless
16.9%
reasonably likely or greater
39.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 6.7% low, 85.4% moderate, 7.9% 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.
3 citations taken to the federal commission · 3% of citations on record
  • Settled 2 · 67%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 33%
67%
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 3 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
61%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$3K proposed, $1K 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 2011-12-02.
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
CENT 2012-206M Settlement Lesnick 2012 $3K → $1K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
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.

Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.

Last sampled: 2025-10-15
17%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
15
samples
6
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz61 over
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg9
Show the individual readings (15)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2010-10-06 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 2.02 0.32 6.31 Front-end Loader Operator
2025-10-15 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2025-10-15 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2024-01-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2024-01-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2021-11-16 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2021-03-18 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.19 0.66 0.29 Scale Man
2021-03-18 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.31 0.71 0.44 Front-end Loader Operator
2021-03-18 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.31 0.66 0.47 Supervisor, Co. Official
2019-10-09 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.22 0.56 0.39 Front-end Loader Operator
2019-10-09 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2014-10-16 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2012-10-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2010-11-17 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2010-10-06 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.43 0.59 0.73 Supervisor, Co. Official
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Ouachita Rock, Inc. 2002 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 3
2025 3
2024 3
2023 3
2022 3
2021 3
2020 2
2019 2
2018 2
2017 2
2016 2
2015 1
2014 1
2013 1
2012 2
2011 2
2010 2
2009 1
2008 1
2007 1
2006 2
2005 2
2004 2
2003 3
2002 2
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Ouachita Rock Portable sits in Polk County, Arkansas, 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.
Polk County, Arkansas · Population 19,348
0.3%
Mining share of county employment
$49,252
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 1,925 2 0 1039.0
2026 Q1 1,593 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 1,690 2 0 1183.4
2025 Q3 1,690 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 1,750 3 0 1714.3
2025 Q1 1,650 2 0 1212.1
2024 Q4 1,860 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 1,695 0 0 0.0
Show 85 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 1,560 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 1,700 3 0 1764.7
2023 Q4 1,320 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 1,440 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 1,440 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 1,440 1 1 694.4
2022 Q4 1,560 5 0 3205.1
2022 Q3 960 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 960 1 0 1041.7
2022 Q1 960 7 1 7291.7
2021 Q4 960 2 0 2083.3
2021 Q3 1,260 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 1,400 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 1,340 4 1 2985.1
2020 Q4 960 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 960 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 960 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 900 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 880 3 0 3409.1
2019 Q3 960 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 920 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 920 3 0 3260.9
2018 Q4 940 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 940 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 960 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 880 3 0 3409.1
2017 Q4 960 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 960 2 1 2083.3
2017 Q2 920 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 930 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 920 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 480 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 480 2 1 4166.7
2015 Q4 480 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 480 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 480 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 480 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 480 3 0 6250.0
2014 Q3 480 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 480 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 640 1 0 1562.5
2013 Q4 480 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 480 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 2,560 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 480 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 480 3 0 6250.0
2012 Q3 860 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 1,860 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 780 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 640 7 2 10937.5
2011 Q3 954 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 485 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 760 17 7 22368.4
2010 Q3 750 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 680 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 864 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 480 2 0 4166.7
2009 Q3 480 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 480 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 480 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 480 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 480 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 472 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 420 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 400 2 0 5000.0
2007 Q3 760 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 480 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 480 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 720 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 960 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 240 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 208 1 0 4807.7
2005 Q4 160 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 240 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 320 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 240 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 64 1 0 15625.0
2004 Q3 820 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 380 1 0 2631.6
2003 Q4 192 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 144 4 0 27777.8
2003 Q2 360 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 80 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 112 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 320 1 0 3125.0

Fatalities at this mine

1 recorded
January 26, 2022 AR · Metal/Non-Metal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Ouachita Rock, Inc. · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

EE was operating a loader at our pit. A co-worker was in a dump truck & was there to get loaded with but was having trouble with the air in the truck. The co-worker radioed to EE to go ahead and load another truck. EE returned from loading another truck and crawled underneath the co-worker's truck without telling the co-worker. The truck then rolled back on top of EE.