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Potato Knob No 3: 17 MSHA citations Coal

3M Energy Resources · Underground
Warbranch, Leslie County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1518619

Potato Knob No 3 has $905 in proposed MSHA penalties and $905 outstanding across 0 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 2003
17
citations
4
significant & substantial
$905
proposed penalties
$0
paid to date
0% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $905 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See 3M Energy Resources's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2003
15
inspections on record
255
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: 255 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Potato Knob No 3 has $905 in proposed MSHA penalties and $905 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.
$905
proposed penalties
$905
current assessed
$0
paid to date
$905
outstanding
13 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2003-10-30.
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.
26.7%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
33.3%
reasonably likely or greater
13.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 13.3% low, 86.7% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Potato Knob No 3 shows 80% of 25 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: 2003-10-08, 22 years ago
80%
within 1.5 mg/m3
25
samples
6.09
dust max (mg/m3)
14 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 11 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR12
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (INTAKE SIDE)2
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)2

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2003-09-08, 23 years ago
16.8
silica avg (%)
4
samples
21.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR2
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: 2003-08-26, 23 years ago
0%
over PEL
4
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (INTAKE SIDE)1
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)1
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)1
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Chas Coal, LLC 2003 to 2003
  2. Free Dome Coal Inc 2003 to 2004
  3. CoLe Mining Company Inc 2004 to 2010
  4. 3M Energy Resources 2010 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 0
2003 8 18,310
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Potato Knob No 3 sits in Leslie County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 10.6% 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.
Leslie County, Kentucky · Population 10,261
10.6%
Mining share of county employment
$40,176
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 Q1 0 0 0
2003 Q4 2,129 2 0 939.4
2003 Q3 5,869 7 2 1192.7

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.