Mining Incidents

Panamint Valley Limestone Quarry: 80 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

PVL Inc. · Surface
Controlled by Specialty Granules LLC
Trona, Inyo County, CA  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 0400275

Panamint Valley Limestone Quarry has $10K 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
3
Years on record
2016–2025
Latest incident
Dec 2025
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
80
citations
16
significant & substantial
$10,204
proposed penalties
$10,204
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
60
inspections on record
975
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: 975 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Panamint Valley Limestone Quarry has $10K 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.
$10K
proposed penalties
$10K
current assessed
$10K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
80 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-03-05.
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.
20.0%
significant & substantial
25.0%
high negligence or reckless
20.0%
reasonably likely or greater
45.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 32.5% low, 42.5% moderate, 25.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, 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: 2024-11-06
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
8
samples
5
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz5
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz2
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg1
Show the individual readings (8)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2024-11-06 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.28 10 0.03 Belt Crew
2017-04-11 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.12 Dry Screen Plant Operator
2017-04-11 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2009-04-16 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.24 10 0.02 Front-end Loader Operator
2009-04-16 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.19 Cleanup Man
2005-05-25 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.43 10 0.04 Front-end Loader Operator
2003-07-09 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.8 10 0.08 Front-end Loader Operator
2003-07-09 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.36 10 0.04 Laborer, Bullgang
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.

Panamint Valley Limestone Quarry recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2025.

Injury rate, 2025
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 metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
In California, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.42 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
2025 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2024 * 0.00 0.00 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. Kerr-Mc Gee Chemical Corp 1950 to 1990
  2. Intermountain Mine Services Inc 1990 to 1997
  3. Ace Cogeneration Company 1997 to 2014
  4. Shawn Barker Construction 2014 to 2023
  5. PVL Inc. 2023 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 14
2025 13
2024 12
2023 8
2022 5
2021 4
2020 3
2019 2
2018 2
2017 2
2016 2
2015 2
2014 2
2013 2
2012 3
2011 4
2010 3
2009 3
2008 2
2007 2
2006 2
2005 2
2004 2
2003 2
2002 2
2001 2
2000 2
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Panamint Valley Limestone Quarry sits in Inyo County, California, where the Census mining category is 1.7% 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.
Inyo County, California · Population 18,803
1.7%
Mining share of county employment
$72,432
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 7,567 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 6,934 2 1 288.4
2025 Q4 6,560 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 6,640 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 7,142 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 6,901 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 6,614 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 6,231 9 0 1444.4
Show 98 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 6,298 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 4,529 4 0 883.2
2023 Q4 4,175 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 3,144 3 2 954.2
2023 Q2 3,128 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 2,569 3 2 1167.8
2022 Q4 2,058 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 1,766 3 0 1698.8
2022 Q2 1,005 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 1,584 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 1,442 4 0 2773.9
2021 Q3 1,912 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 2,152 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 1,082 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 1,167 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 1,196 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 1,072 3 1 2798.5
2020 Q1 940 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 952 3 0 3151.3
2019 Q3 1,014 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 1,023 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 1,019 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 1,008 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 585 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 1,047 1 0 955.1
2018 Q1 1,011 1 0 989.1
2017 Q4 997 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 1,010 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 1,040 4 1 3846.2
2017 Q1 970 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 978 1 0 1022.5
2016 Q3 1,135 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 1,051 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 980 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 1,140 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 1,089 2 1 1836.5
2015 Q2 940 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 657 3 0 4566.2
2014 Q4 1 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 826 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 1,499 3 1 2001.3
2014 Q1 934 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 870 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 976 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 1,251 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 1,344 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 1,365 1 0 732.6
2012 Q3 1,626 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 1,729 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 1,846 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 1,972 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 2,006 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 2,331 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 1,770 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 1,807 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 1,809 2 1 1105.6
2010 Q2 1,689 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 1,504 2 1 1329.8
2009 Q4 1,626 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 1,760 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 1,461 1 0 684.5
2009 Q1 1,877 7 1 3729.4
2008 Q4 1,733 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 1,156 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 944 2 0 2118.6
2008 Q1 1,254 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 1,058 1 0 945.2
2007 Q3 936 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 1,156 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 1,143 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 971 1 0 1029.9
2006 Q3 1,203 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 1,042 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 1,199 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 1,149 2 0 1740.6
2005 Q3 1,065 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 1,097 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 1,086 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 492 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 960 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 426 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 858 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 1,096 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 955 6 1 6282.7
2003 Q2 891 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 924 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 1,020 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 877 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 877 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 1,032 1 0 969.0
2001 Q4 929 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 1,021 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 1,072 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 858 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 1,085 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 1,097 2 0 1823.2
2000 Q2 1,065 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 1,092 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

3 on file

2025 · 1 incident

December 18, 2025 CA · Metal/Non-Metal FIRE
PVL Inc. · Accident type, without injuries

A splice atop a SoCal Edison pole arced and caught line insulation on fire.

2023 · 1 incident

November 3, 2023 CA · Metal/Non-Metal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
PVL Inc. · Fall to the walkway or working surface

A miner slipped while fueling an excavator and fell on backside

2016 · 1 incident

August 16, 2016 CA · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer OTHER
Shawn Barker Construction · (Not Elsewhere Classified)

8:30 am IE began grading the roadway. IE then called another EE on the radio stating IE needed help. EE and another EE came to IE's assistance and IE could not communicate to them.