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Sewell Mine No. 1: 538 MSHA citations Coal

JT MINING, INC · Underground
Controlled by Jeff Bennett
Big Sandy, Mcdowell County, WV  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4609188

Sewell Mine No. 1 has $376K in proposed MSHA penalties and $331K outstanding across 19 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
16
Years on record
2011–2014
Latest incident
Apr 2014
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2007
538
citations
172
significant & substantial
$376,236
proposed penalties
$27,296
paid to date
7% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $348,940 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2007
121
inspections on record
2,982
inspection hours
18.0
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.
538 citations across 2,982 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
ⓘ A Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.
3
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2012-07-17.
On record since 2011.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.

Sewell Mine No. 1 has $376K in proposed MSHA penalties and $331K outstanding across 19 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.
$376K
proposed penalties
$358K
current assessed
$27K
paid to date
$331K
outstanding
519 assessments are final orders; 19 contested dockets.
Of $153K in penalties contested before the Commission, $135K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2023-01-03.
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.
33.1%
significant & substantial
10.6%
high negligence or reckless
33.1%
reasonably likely or greater
31.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 25.0% low, 64.4% moderate, 10.4% high, 0.2% 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.
57 citations taken to the federal commission · 11% of citations on record
  • Settled 47 · 82%
  • Stood as issued 9 · 16%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 2%
95%
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 37 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
12%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$153K proposed, $135K 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 2012-11-29.
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
WEVA 2013-273 Settlement Bulluck 2014 $38K → $38K
WEVA 2012-61 Settlement Miller 2012 $31K → $20K
WEVA 2012-1348 Settlement Steele 2013 $18K → $18K
WEVA 2012-864 Settlement Lesnick 2013 $16K → $12K
WEVA 2013-26 Settlement Bulluck 2014 $11K → $11K
WEVA 2012-1189 Settlement Steele 2013 $7K → $5K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Sewell Mine No. 1 shows 95% of 160 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: 2019-04-25, 7 years ago
95%
within 1.5 mg/m3
160
samples
2.49
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.
67 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 93 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR79
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)17
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR7

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2019-04-23, 7 years ago
7.5
silica avg (%)
4
samples
20.3
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR3
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2019-04-25, 7 years ago
0%
over PEL
23
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)5
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR4
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (INTAKE SIDE)3
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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
2019 95% 19
2014 90% 20
2012 96% 49
2011 98% 57
2010 87% 15
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2019 3.6 2
2011 11.4 2
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2019 0% 6
2014 0% 7
2012 0% 5
2011 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Sewell Mine No. 1 recorded 25.05 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2012.

Injury rate, 2012
ⓘ 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.
25.05
total case rate
20.04
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.74 and the all-US-mining average was 2.96 cases per 100 workers.
In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 4.13 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
2012 * 25.05 20.04 0.000
2011 * 27.05 22.54 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. Encoal Energy LLC 2006 to 2008
  2. River Jordan Coal Co. 2008 to 2010
  3. Cobalt Coal Corp Mining, Inc 2010 to 2013
  4. WF Coal Sales, Inc. 2013 to 2015
  5. McClay Energy Inc. 2015 to 2017
  6. Pure Energy Coal, LLC 2017 to 2019
  7. WF Coal Sales Inc. 2017 to 2018
  8. JT MINING, INC 2019 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)
2022 1
2014 17 5,540
2013 11 325
2012 22 30,559
2011 25 28,659
2010 12 12,070
2009 0
2008 0
2007 0
2006 0
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Sewell 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
2022 Q1 480 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 3,711 18 6 4850.4
2014 Q1 4,678 48 19 10260.8
2013 Q4 3,659 4 0 1093.2
2012 Q4 3,708 1 0 269.7
2012 Q3 12,447 70 25 5623.8
2012 Q2 12,089 31 13 2564.3
2012 Q1 11,677 39 16 3339.9
Show 18 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2011 Q4 11,431 19 8 1662.1
2011 Q3 11,898 32 8 2689.5
2011 Q2 9,839 65 19 6606.4
2011 Q1 11,198 29 8 2589.7
2010 Q4 11,435 15 8 1311.8
2010 Q3 2,863 3 1 1047.9
2010 Q2 3,603 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 0 0 0
2009 Q4 0 0 0
2008 Q4 0 0 0
2008 Q3 0 5 3
2008 Q2 0 0 0
2008 Q1 0 0 0
2007 Q4 0 0 0
2007 Q3 0 0 0
2007 Q2 0 3 2
2007 Q1 0 0 0
2006 Q4 0 0 0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

16 on file

2014 · 4 incidents

April 11, 2014 WV · Coal laborer, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scaler HANDLING OF MATERIALS
WF Coal Sales, Inc. · Over-exertion in lifting objects

Employee and another employee was shoveling #1 belt when injured employee said his arm was hurting and had a bump on it. I asked what did he do he said that he never done anything to it just shoveling and kept doing it. The next day he still complained and went to the doctor.

February 28, 2014 WV · Coal beltman, conveyor man, conveyor belt worker, mobile bridge carrierman, feeder operator, conveyor rider POWERED HAULAGE
WF Coal Sales, Inc. · Fall from machine

EE was riding a belt ride up a hill break 16 when he said that it quit pulling and went backwards. That when his passenger jumped off ride another ee said he cut it into the rib to keep from hitting him that when it knocked him off of ride. He said he thinks he hit on his SCSR and hurt his back.

February 5, 2014 WV · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
WF Coal Sales, Inc. · Accident type, without injuries

The tip at spad 253 about 8 ft passed spad to fell about 16' x 16' long and about 16' x 16 wide looks like just a horse back in the middle brought bolts with it the horse back was above the bolts. Don't know when this happened. Just found it.

2012 · 6 incidents

September 11, 2012 WV · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Cobalt Coal Corp Mining, Inc · Accident type, without injuries

unintentional roof fall outby section the return air course. Roof fall was approx. 18'wide, 60'long, and 4' to 6ithick. Fall occurred in intersection at spad 319. This area has multiple return entries and air flow was not obstructed not travel.

August 22, 2012 WV · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech POWERED HAULAGE
Cobalt Coal Corp Mining, Inc · Struck against a moving object

Employee was operating shuttle car in #4 entry. He pulled through a curtain, pulled forward and hit back of miner tail boom with shuttle car. Impact with miner boom shook him and his left shoulder and left side started hurting. He should have been watching more closely and making less speed.

June 25, 2012 WV · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Cobalt Coal Corp Mining, Inc · Over-exertion in lifting objects

Complain with shoulder after lifting tire on shuttle car with bar.

March 29, 2012 WV · Coal shuttle car operator, mantrip operator, ramcar operator, rail runner, buggy operator HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Cobalt Coal Corp Mining, Inc · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Pulling cable off of spool, he said that bar that was in middle of spool hit him in the left side.

March 20, 2012 WV · Coal shuttle car operator, mantrip operator, ramcar operator, rail runner, buggy operator FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Cobalt Coal Corp Mining, Inc · Struck by falling object

EE hand was outside of shuttle car canopy, piece of rock fell striking finger.

February 15, 2012 WV · Coal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Cobalt Coal Corp Mining, Inc · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EE removed weight tickets from loader when he went to step down, stepped in hole and twisted foot.

2011 · 6 incidents

October 3, 2011 WV · Coal shuttle car operator, mantrip operator, ramcar operator, rail runner, buggy operator STRIKING OR BUMPING
Cobalt Coal Corp Mining, Inc · Struck against stationary object

Employee was walking across the section and hit his head on a roof bolt plate. He was knocked down and when he tried to get up he hit his shoulder, knocking himself down again.

September 22, 2011 WV · Coal discontinued 1/31/2014. several other codes cover scoop car operator POWERED HAULAGE
Cobalt Coal Corp Mining, Inc · Struck against stationary object

It was wet and muddy, scoop slid into the rib.

August 8, 2011 WV · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Cobalt Coal Corp Mining, Inc · Struck by falling object

Bolting brow when a piece of rock 8" x 2' x 4' fell out and hit his foot. He was drilling in the rock and it broke loose. Employee twisted back as he moved out of the way.

July 21, 2011 WV · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Cobalt Coal Corp Mining, Inc · Struck by falling object

EE was struck on the neck and hand by a small piece of draw rock. He sustained a small cut on his neck and wrist. The cuts may require stitches therefore he was sent to the hospital to be examined.

January 17, 2011 WV · Coal laborer, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scaler MACHINERY
Cobalt Coal Corp Mining, Inc · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Raising the head up to push bolt in the hole and the plate on the bolt slipped and caught finger. Severed Finger - Right hand middle finger.