Poplar Mine: 17 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal
Horizon 30 LLC
· Surface
Controlled by
Brent A Fernandes; Joel B Weiner; Sean E Chipman
MSHA Mine ID: 3102365
Poplar Mine has $10K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 1 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 2025
17
citations
8
significant & substantial
$10,451
proposed penalties
$10,451
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2025
7
inspections on record
148
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: 148 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
ⓘ
A Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.1
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2025-06-05.
On record since 2025.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.
Poplar Mine has $10K 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.$10K
proposed penalties
$10K
current assessed
$10K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
16 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $5K in penalties contested before the Commission, $5K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-01-15.
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.50.0%
significant & substantial
25.0%
high negligence or reckless
50.0%
reasonably likely or greater
43.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 75.0% moderate, 25.0% 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.
13
citations taken to the federal commission · 76% of citations on record
- Stood as issued 13 · 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 7 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$5K proposed, $5K 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 2025-09-10.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE 2025-0180 | Default | 2025 | $5K → $5K |
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: 2025-06-05
ⓘ
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.33%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
4
samples
3
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
- Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz31 over
- Respirable dust, <.1mg1
Show the individual readings (4)
| Date | Contaminant | Concentration | Limit | Conc / limit | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-04-16 | Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz | 0.94 | 0.37 | 2.54 | Utility Man |
| 2025-06-05 | Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz | 0.31 | 0.65 | 0.48 | Utility Man |
| 2025-04-16 | Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz | 0.25 | 0.5 | 0.50 | Rotary Bucket Ex. Operator |
| 2025-04-16 | Respirable dust, <.1mg | 0 | Front-end Loader Operator |
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
- Horizon 30 LLC 2025 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Poplar Mine sits in Mitchell County, North Carolina, where the Census mining category is 6.2% 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.Mitchell County, North Carolina · Population 14,973
6.2%
Mining share of county employment
$58,089
Median household income
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates.
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.