Red Ash Mine No. 1: 216 MSHA citations Coal
Rayco, LLC
· Underground
Controlled by
Brandon Bishop
Iaeger,
Mcdowell County,
WV
·
NonProducing
MSHA Mine ID: 4609505
Red Ash Mine No. 1 has $109K in proposed MSHA penalties and $109K 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 2015
216
citations
33
significant & substantial
$109,355
proposed penalties
$660
paid to date
1% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $108,695 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2015
50
inspections on record
1,289
inspection hours
16.8
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.216 citations across 1,289 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Red Ash Mine No. 1 has $109K in proposed MSHA penalties and $109K 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.$109K
proposed penalties
$109K
current assessed
$660
paid to date
$109K
outstanding
215 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-04-02.
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.15.3%
significant & substantial
11.6%
high negligence or reckless
15.3%
reasonably likely or greater
38.6%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 50.7% low, 37.7% moderate, 10.7% high, 0.9% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
MSHA sampling at Red Ash Mine No. 1 shows 100% of 78 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: 2026-01-15
ⓘ
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.100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
78
samples
1.15
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.61 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 17 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR27
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)14
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)6
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2026-01-304.2
silica avg (%)
23
samples
6.8
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR10
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)8
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)4
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: 2026-01-15
ⓘ
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.0%
over PEL
10
samples
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR2
- SCOOP OPERATOR2
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)2
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 100% | 6 |
| 2025 | 100% | 41 |
| 2024 | 100% | 20 |
| 2023 | 100% | 11 |
Silica (quartz) by year
| Year | silica avg (%) | samples |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3.1 | 2 |
| 2025 | 3.1 | 9 |
| 2024 | 5.1 | 8 |
| 2023 | 5.5 | 4 |
Noise by year
| Year | over PEL | samples |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0% | 5 |
| 2025 | 0% | 4 |
| 2024 | 0% | 1 |
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
- Southern Minerals, Inc. 2015 to 2016
- Raw Coal Mining Company, Inc. 2016 to 2018
- D & H Mining, Inc. 2018 to 2019
- Raw Coal Mining Company, Inc 2019 to 2022
- Rayco, LLC 2022 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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | 11,046 |
| 2024 | 5 | 17,633 |
| 2023 | 5 | 15,252 |
| 2022 | 1 | 3,433 |
| 2021 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 2,145 |
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Red Ash Mine No. 1 sits in McDowell County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 13.0% 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.McDowell County, West Virginia · Population 18,413
13.0%
Mining share of county employment
$29,980
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q4 | 375 | 21 | 7 | 56000.0 |
| 2025 Q3 | 369 | 15 | 3 | 40650.4 |
| 2024 Q4 | 369 | 10 | 0 | 27100.3 |
| 2024 Q3 | 345 | 17 | 2 | 49275.4 |
| 2024 Q2 | 375 | 6 | 1 | 16000.0 |
| 2024 Q1 | 325 | 15 | 1 | 46153.8 |
| 2023 Q4 | 380 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2023 Q3 | 325 | 8 | 0 | 24615.4 |
Show 20 earlier quarters Hide earlier quarters
| Quarter | Hours worked | Citations | S&S | Per 1M hrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Q2 | 352 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2023 Q1 | 390 | 16 | 6 | 41025.6 |
| 2022 Q4 | 500 | 39 | 3 | 78000.0 |
| 2022 Q3 | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
| 2022 Q2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 Q3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 Q2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 Q3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 Q2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 Q3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 Q2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 Q3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 Q2 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
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.