Mining Incidents

Redhawk #4 Mine: 235 MSHA citations Coal

Redhawk Mining LLC · Underground
Printer, Floyd County, KY  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1519633

Redhawk #4 Mine has $55K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 22 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
5
Years on record
2013–2015
Latest incident
Jul 2015
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2012
235
citations
47
significant & substantial
$54,524
proposed penalties
$48,526
paid to date
89% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $5,998 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2012
63
inspections on record
3,325
inspection hours
7.1
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.
235 citations across 3,325 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Redhawk #4 Mine has $55K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 22 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.
$55K
proposed penalties
$49K
current assessed
$49K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
233 assessments are final orders; 22 contested dockets.
Of $33K in penalties contested before the Commission, $27K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2015-11-05.
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.
20.2%
significant & substantial
5.6%
high negligence or reckless
20.2%
reasonably likely or greater
16.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.7% low, 89.7% moderate, 5.6% 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.
91 citations taken to the federal commission · 39% of citations on record
  • Settled 91 · 100%
93%
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 42 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
18%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$33K proposed, $27K 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 2016-01-05.
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
KENT 2014-0426 Settlement Simonton 2014 $5K → $4K
KENT 2013-293 Settlement Lewis 2013 $3K → $3K
KENT 2013-259 Settlement Lewis 2013 $3K → $2K
KENT 2015-0190 Settlement Simonton 2015 $3K → $2K
KENT 2015-0065 Settlement Simonton 2015 $3K → $3K
KENT 2013-579 Settlement Bulluck 2013 $2K → $2K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Redhawk #4 Mine shows 94% of 193 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: 2015-10-05, 10 years ago
94%
within 1.5 mg/m3
193
samples
2.98
dust max (mg/m3)
1
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.
98 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 95 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR94
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)25
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR12

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2015-07-14, 11 years ago
11.2
silica avg (%)
20
samples
23.5
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR14

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: 2015-03-26, 11 years ago
7%
over PEL
29
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)7
  • UTILITY MAN5
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR4
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
2015 85% 40
2014 98% 57
2013 94% 78
2012 100% 18
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2015 8.5 3
2014 8.2 5
2013 12.8 11
2012 16.4 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2015 0% 7
2014 15% 13
2013 0% 9
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Redhawk #4 Mine recorded 2.63 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2015.

Injury rate, 2015
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.
2.63
total case rate
2.63
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.76 and the all-US-mining average was 2.72 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.56 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
2015 * 2.63 2.63 0.000
2014 * 4.61 4.61 0.000
2013 * 4.79 4.79 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. Redhawk Mining LLC 2012 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)
2016 1
2015 35 112,113
2014 40 149,094
2013 40 138,794
2012 31 22,961
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Redhawk #4 Mine sits in Floyd County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 4.4% 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.
Floyd County, Kentucky · Population 35,342
4.4%
Mining share of county employment
$41,582
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
2016 Q1 10 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 14,309 18 2 1257.9
2015 Q3 25,269 16 5 633.2
2015 Q2 16,360 9 0 550.1
2015 Q1 20,145 9 0 446.8
2014 Q4 21,643 28 5 1293.7
2014 Q3 21,087 20 5 948.5
2014 Q2 21,073 13 0 616.9
Show 7 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2014 Q1 23,017 12 5 521.4
2013 Q4 22,555 16 2 709.4
2013 Q3 20,672 18 4 870.7
2013 Q2 19,717 18 3 912.9
2013 Q1 20,639 26 9 1259.8
2012 Q4 6,321 10 4 1582.0
2012 Q3 2,182 16 3 7332.7
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

5 on file

2015 · 1 incident

July 23, 2015 KY · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Redhawk Mining LLC · Struck by falling object

Employee was starting to drill into the mine roof when the spinning drill steel dislodged a piece of rock that struck the employee in the left forearm causing cuts and abrasions and struck the employee in the right ankle causing bruising

2014 · 2 incidents

October 25, 2014 KY · Coal electrician, lineman FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL
Redhawk Mining LLC · Struck by falling object

Employee was changing reel chain on shuttle car, when a piece of the coal rib fell and struck the employee in the upper back and neck area employee was complaining with back pain he was transported to ST. JOSEPH MARTIN HOSPITAL he received Cat scan which was negative and was transported to PIKEVILLE MEDICAL CENTER and received more CAT scans also negative, was released same date.

April 27, 2014 KY · Coal electrician, lineman HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Redhawk Mining LLC · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee was holding a roof bolt that was being used to drive the pins out of the cat pads on the joy continuous miner when a co-worker who was using a six pound sledge hammer to strike the roof bolt with missed the roof bolt and struck the employees right wrist causing fractures to the wrist and hand

2013 · 2 incidents

September 3, 2013 KY · Coal lw propman, propman helper, move crew if lw, move-up man, jacksetter, advanceman lw helper HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Redhawk Mining LLC · Struck by flying object

Employee noticed a leak on a water line and stopped to fix it. Employee tapped on the line and a plastic cap on fire valve came loose striking him in the face.

January 9, 2013 KY · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) MACHINERY
Redhawk Mining LLC · Struck by falling object

Victim was moving roof bolter while seated inside the operators compartment and bumped the mine rib dislodging coal which fell on his left arm resulting in bruising. He was treated at a local hospital but didn't return to work until 1-14-13.