Mining Incidents
Search Operators Mines Alerts Research Controllers Fatalgrams About
English Español
← Back to search

Sand Express: 185 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Quikrete Holdings Inc.
Columbus, Colorado County, TX  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 4103760

Sand Express has $47K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 9 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at Sand Express.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
3
Years on record
2011–2022
Latest incident
Jan 2022
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
185
citations
30
significant & substantial
$46,588
proposed penalties
$41,853
paid to date
90% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $4,735 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See The Quikrete Companies's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
78
inspections on record
904
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: 904 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Sand Express has $47K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 9 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.
$47K
proposed penalties
$42K
current assessed
$42K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
184 assessments are final orders; 9 contested dockets.
Of $15K in penalties contested before the Commission, $8K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-02-10.
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.
16.2%
significant & substantial
13.5%
high negligence or reckless
16.2%
reasonably likely or greater
39.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.9% low, 81.6% moderate, 13.5% 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.
17 citations taken to the federal commission · 9% of citations on record
  • Settled 11 · 65%
  • Stood as issued 3 · 18%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 3 · 18%
44%
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 16 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
50%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$15K proposed, $8K 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 2023-06-20.
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
CENT 2016-231M Settlement Miller 2017 $3K → $440
CENT 2018-0471 Settlement Miller 2019 $3K → $420
CENT 2015-0170 Settlement Lesnick 2015 $3K → $2K
CENT 2015-0171 Settlement Miller 2015 $2K → $2K
CENT 2014-0578 Default Lesnick 2015 $2K → $2K
CENT 2016-232M Settlement Miller 2017 $946 → $220
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: 2026-02-11
5%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
25
samples
19
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz201 over
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg5
Show the individual readings (25)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2005-08-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 1.24 1.07 1.16 Bagging Operator
2026-02-11 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.35 0.94 0.37 Packaging Operations Worker
2026-02-11 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.2 0.79 0.25 Kiln/Dryer Operator
2026-02-11 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.27 0.87 0.31 Bagging Operator
2024-06-26 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.27 0.7 0.39 Forklift Operator
2024-06-26 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.22 0.74 0.30 Dry Screen Plant Operator
2024-06-26 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.36 0.85 0.42 Supervisor, Co. Official
2023-04-06 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Bagging Operator
2023-04-06 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Packaging Operations Worker
2020-04-08 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2020-04-08 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.32 Bagging Operator
2015-04-15 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.31 0.44 0.70 Bagging Operator
2015-04-15 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2015-04-15 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.37 0.59 0.63 Bagging Operator
2015-04-15 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.24 0.58 0.41 Bagging Operator
2009-09-15 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.66 0.67 0.99 Bagging Operator
2005-08-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.67 1.03 0.65 Forklift Operator
2005-08-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.63 1.31 0.48 Supervisor, Co. Official
2005-08-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.47 0.81 0.58 Bagging Operator
2005-08-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 1.04 1.35 0.77 Bagging Operator
2001-06-20 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.17 0.52 0.33 Bagging Operator
2001-06-20 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.18 1.23 0.15 Kiln/Dryer Operator
2001-06-20 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2001-06-20 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.19 0.67 0.28 Bagging Operator
2001-06-20 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.18 0.57 0.32 Bagging 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.

Sand Express recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2025.

Injury rate, 2025
ⓘ 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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
In Texas, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.17 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
2025 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2024 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2023 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2022 * 5.32 5.32 0.000
2021 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2020 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2019 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2018 * 0.00 0.00 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. Jebco Abrasives Inc 1993 to 2000
  2. Oglebay Norton Industrial Sands Inc 2000 to 2002
  3. Sand Express LP 2002 to 2009
  4. The Quikrete Companies 2009 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 12
2025 13
2024 13
2023 13
2022 13
2021 15
2020 14
2019 15
2018 17
2017 18
2016 20
2015 22
2014 21
2013 19
2012 19
2011 18
2010 21
2009 18
2008 18
2007 17
2006 17
2005 18
2004 11
2003 10
2002 10
2001 5
2000 7
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Sand Express sits in Colorado County, Texas, where the Census mining category is 3.2% 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.
Colorado County, Texas · Population 20,736
3.2%
Mining share of county employment
$68,554
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
2026 Q2 7,165 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 7,952 3 0 377.3
2025 Q4 7,937 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 8,476 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 9,349 3 0 320.9
2025 Q1 8,757 2 0 228.4
2024 Q4 7,578 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 9,239 0 0 0.0
Show 96 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 8,511 3 0 352.5
2024 Q1 8,507 5 0 587.8
2023 Q4 9,311 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 8,252 4 0 484.7
2023 Q2 9,312 2 0 214.8
2023 Q1 8,962 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 9,458 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 9,441 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 9,197 4 0 434.9
2022 Q1 9,505 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 9,774 2 0 204.6
2021 Q3 8,566 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 10,966 1 0 91.2
2021 Q1 9,777 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 10,128 4 0 394.9
2020 Q3 10,217 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 11,565 1 0 86.5
2020 Q1 9,513 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 10,240 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 11,512 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 11,546 4 0 346.4
2019 Q1 9,096 2 0 219.9
2018 Q4 9,218 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 11,972 6 1 501.2
2018 Q2 13,870 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 13,949 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 12,606 4 0 317.3
2017 Q2 13,072 3 0 229.5
2017 Q1 11,879 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 10,711 3 0 280.1
2016 Q3 13,976 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 14,875 1 0 67.2
2016 Q1 15,335 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 15,053 7 1 465.0
2015 Q3 16,008 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 16,224 3 1 184.9
2015 Q1 12,265 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 11,292 14 2 1239.8
2014 Q3 12,503 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 14,937 7 3 468.6
2014 Q1 15,643 1 0 63.9
2013 Q4 10,696 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 11,501 2 0 173.9
2013 Q2 13,474 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 12,353 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 12,443 2 0 160.7
2012 Q3 12,163 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 11,296 3 1 265.6
2012 Q1 10,870 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 9,940 3 0 301.8
2011 Q3 11,215 3 0 267.5
2011 Q2 10,169 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 13,540 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 11,827 4 1 338.2
2010 Q3 11,715 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 12,505 1 0 80.0
2010 Q1 10,684 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 11,984 4 3 333.8
2009 Q3 10,113 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 11,587 6 1 517.8
2009 Q1 9,597 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 13,347 10 3 749.2
2008 Q3 11,438 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 14,904 4 1 268.4
2008 Q1 11,827 17 3 1437.4
2007 Q4 14,758 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 11,868 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 13,948 3 1 215.1
2007 Q1 10,804 1 1 92.6
2006 Q4 11,542 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 9,966 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 12,613 1 0 79.3
2006 Q1 12,712 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 14,191 5 2 352.3
2005 Q3 13,702 9 4 656.8
2005 Q2 8,982 1 0 111.3
2005 Q1 7,598 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 7,965 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 6,323 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 6,660 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 5,943 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 5,986 1 0 167.1
2003 Q3 6,385 2 0 313.2
2003 Q2 6,156 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 6,480 3 0 463.0
2002 Q4 8,512 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 6,957 3 0 431.2
2002 Q1 3,840 3 0 781.2
2001 Q4 3,563 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 4,158 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 4,393 1 0 227.6
2001 Q1 4,561 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 4,333 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 5,264 2 0 379.9
2000 Q2 4,258 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 4,149 2 1 482.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

3 on file

2022 · 1 incident

January 20, 2022 TX · Metal/Non-Metal miner, prospector, nec MACHINERY
The Quikrete Companies · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

EE tended to pallet while it was being motorized out of palletizer, finger got pinched between pallet and roller, tissue amputation on right hand ring finger

2011 · 2 incidents

March 15, 2011 TX · Metal/Non-Metal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
The Quikrete Companies · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee tripped with pallet next to the shrink wrap area while trying to replace shrink wrap roll. Employee was carrying the tube that holds the shrink wrap roll and when he fell, the tube fell on his left hand, fracturing two fingers.

February 22, 2011 TX · Metal/Non-Metal forklift operator POWERED HAULAGE
The Quikrete Companies · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

An employee was driving a forklift with a couple of pallets and was not able to see in front of him while another employee walked in front of him and caught his right foot with the pallets. Employee was taken to emergency room to x-ray foot and found no fractures but very bruised up. The nurse said it was a contusion.