Mining Incidents

Screen #1: 10 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Gessner Welding Inc · Surface
Controlled by Stephen J Gessner
Salem, Mccook County, SD  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 3901556

Screen #1 has $778 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
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2017
10
citations
0
significant & substantial
$778
proposed penalties
$778
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2011
17
inspections on record
121
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: 121 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Screen #1 has $778 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.
$778
proposed penalties
$778
current assessed
$778
paid to date
$0
outstanding
6 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $361 in penalties contested before the Commission, $361 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-11-19.
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
33.3%
high negligence or reckless
0.0%
reasonably likely or greater
11.1%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 33.3% low, 33.3% moderate, 33.3% 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.
3 citations taken to the federal commission · 30% of citations on record
  • Stood as issued 3 · 100%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$361 proposed, $361 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 2017-11-14.
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 2018-0045 Default Lesnick 2018 $361 → $361
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Gessner Welding Inc 2010 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 2
2025 1
2024 2
2023 1
2021 1
2020 1
2019 0
2018 0
2017 2
2016 1
2015 2
2014 1
2013 1
2012 1
2011 1
2010 2
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Screen #1 sits in McCook County, South Dakota, where the Census mining category is 0.1% 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.
McCook County, South Dakota · Population 5,732
0.1%
Mining share of county employment
$80,847
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 20 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 25 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 36 0 0 0.0
2024 Q2 39 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 0 0 0
2023 Q3 28 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 26 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 10 0 0 0.0
Show 41 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2021 Q3 22 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 0 0 0
2021 Q1 0 0 0
2020 Q4 0 0 0
2020 Q3 32 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 48 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 0 0 0
2019 Q4 0 0 0
2019 Q3 0 0 0
2019 Q2 0 0 0
2018 Q4 0 0 0
2018 Q2 0 0 0
2018 Q1 0 0 0
2017 Q4 8 1 0 125000.0
2017 Q3 22 3 0 136363.6
2017 Q2 13 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 0 0 0
2016 Q3 8 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 6 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 0 0 0
2015 Q4 35 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 30 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 25 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 0 0 0
2014 Q3 8 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 14 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 0 0 0
2013 Q4 10 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 24 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 0 0 0
2013 Q1 0 0 0
2012 Q4 40 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 35 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 0 0 0
2012 Q1 0 0 0
2011 Q4 0 0 0
2011 Q3 27 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 0 0 0
2010 Q4 66 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 10 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.