Mining Incidents

Sloan Mtn. No. 3: 28 MSHA citations Coal

Warrior, Jefferson County, AL  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 0103529

Sloan Mtn. No. 3 has $10K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
3
Years on record
2020–2022
Latest incident
Feb 2022
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2019
28
citations
13
significant & substantial
$9,808
proposed penalties
$9,808
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2019
24
inspections on record
429
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: 429 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Sloan Mtn. No. 3 has $10K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 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.
$10K
proposed penalties
$10K
current assessed
$10K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
28 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2022-01-24.
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.
46.4%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
46.4%
reasonably likely or greater
32.1%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 14.3% low, 85.7% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Sloan Mtn. No. 3 shows 100% of 106 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: 2023-03-21, 3 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
106
samples
1.20
dust max (mg/m3)
0
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.
33 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 73 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR68
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR30
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR2

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2022-02-01, 4 years ago
17.8
silica avg (%)
9
samples
31.2
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR8
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1

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: 2022-10-27, 3 years ago
0%
over PEL
33
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR15
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR11
  • COAL TRUCK DRIVER2
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
2023 100% 2
2022 100% 22
2021 100% 27
2020 100% 34
2019 100% 21
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2022 11.5 2
2020 20.3 6
2019 15.6 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2022 0% 15
2020 0% 6
2019 0% 12
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Sloan Mtn. No. 3 recorded 3.25 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2022.

Injury rate, 2022
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.
3.25
total case rate
3.25
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
About average. The US coal mining average was 3.26 and the all-US-mining average was 2.12 cases per 100 workers.
In Alabama, coal mining averaged 2.66 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
2022 * 3.25 3.25 0.000
2021 0.00 0.00 0.000
2020 3.85 3.85 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. M S & R Equipment Co., Inc. 2019 to 2021
  2. Best Coal Inc. 2021 to 2024
  3. Iron Eagle Land Rehabilitation, LLC 2024 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)
2023 6 4,494
2022 22 70,331
2021 44 169,982
2020 38 152,478
2019 29 65,626
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Sloan Mtn. No. 3 sits in Jefferson County, Alabama, where the Census mining category is 0.3% 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.
Jefferson County, Alabama · Population 669,744
0.3%
Mining share of county employment
$64,589
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
2023 Q2 1,322 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 5,405 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 7,921 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 6,601 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 24,338 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 22,726 2 0 88.0
2021 Q4 32,023 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 28,237 0 0 0.0
Show 9 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2021 Q2 23,692 1 0 42.2
2021 Q1 30,941 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 32,016 15 7 468.5
2020 Q3 28,848 2 1 69.3
2020 Q2 22,897 2 1 87.3
2020 Q1 20,237 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 19,604 4 2 204.0
2019 Q3 25,956 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 11,107 2 2 180.1
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

3 on file

2022 · 1 incident

February 4, 2022 AL · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Best Coal Inc. · Struck against stationary object

Employee was exiting a D-11 bulldozer when EE's foot slipped from mud on the boot. EE's left leg swung down and back striking the dozer below the left knee.

2020 · 2 incidents

September 15, 2020 AL · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
M S & R Equipment Co., Inc. · Fall to the walkway or working surface

Employee was in a sitting position welding on the front side of a D11 dozer blade when employee noticed movement of the blade. While attempting to move out of the way employee turned right ankle causing a displaced fracture of the talus bone in the ankle.

June 11, 2020 AL · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDLING OF MATERIALS
M S & R Equipment Co., Inc. · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Employee was changing a bottom roller bearing on a 475 Komatsu 475 bulldozer. While positioning the roller the roller fell off of the blocking and caught the employees right pinky finger between the shaft and the ground.