Mining Incidents

RIFLE PIT: 14 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Garfield County, CO  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 0504465

RIFLE PIT has $791 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
2
Years on record
1996–1998
Latest incident
Oct 1998
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
14
citations
0
significant & substantial
$791
proposed penalties
$770
paid to date
97% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $21 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
5
inspections on record
68
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: 68 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

RIFLE PIT has $791 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.
$791
proposed penalties
$770
current assessed
$770
paid to date
$0
outstanding
14 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $76 in penalties contested before the Commission, $55 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2001-06-11.
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.
0.0%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
7.1%
reasonably likely or greater
42.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 21.4% low, 78.6% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
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
WEST20010094M Settlement Manning 2001 $76 → $55
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: 2001-06-12, 25 years ago
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
3
samples
2
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz2
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (3)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2001-06-12 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.57 Crusher Oper/Worker
2001-06-12 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.42 0.58 0.72 Cleanup Man
2001-06-12 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.47 0.95 0.49 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
  1. Roaring Fork Aggregates Inc 1991 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2002 0
2001 4
2000 4
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

RIFLE PIT sits in Garfield County, Colorado, where the Census mining category is 1.5% 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.
Garfield County, Colorado · Population 62,034
1.5%
Mining share of county employment
$86,172
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
2002 Q1 0 0 0
2001 Q4 0 0 0
2001 Q3 1,466 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 3,256 5 0 1535.6
2001 Q1 1,987 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 1,364 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 1,170 9 0 7692.3
2000 Q2 1,783 0 0 0.0
Show 1 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2000 Q1 1,571 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

1998 · 1 incident

October 15, 1998 CO · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Roaring Fork Aggregates Inc · Fall to the walkway or working surface

EE WAS PULLING OUT A SCREEN WHEN HE FELL OVER BACKWARDS LANDING HARD AND HITTING HIS ELBOW.

1996 · 1 incident

September 21, 1996 CO · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Roaring Fork Aggregates Inc · Struck against stationary object

EE HIT HIS KNEE CLIMBING DOWN OFF THE LOADER.