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

Spread 1: 56 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Helm Group Inc
Freeport, Stephenson County, IL  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 1101575

Spread 1 has $6K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 4 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at Spread 1.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
6
Years on record
1995–2019
Latest incident
Jun 2019
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
56
citations
10
significant & substantial
$6,175
proposed penalties
$6,103
paid to date
99% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $72 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Conmat Inc., dba Helm Materials's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
47
inspections on record
551
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: 551 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Spread 1 has $6K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 4 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.
$6K
proposed penalties
$6K
current assessed
$6K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
55 assessments are final orders; 4 contested dockets.
Of $848 in penalties contested before the Commission, $676 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-10-30.
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.
18.2%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
14.5%
reasonably likely or greater
40.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 21.8% low, 78.2% moderate, 0.0% 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.
7 citations taken to the federal commission · 13% of citations on record
  • Settled 6 · 86%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 14%
67%
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 3 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
15%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$793 proposed, $676 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 2016-06-08.
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
LAKE 2016-0334 Settlement Gill 2016 $317 → $300
LAKE 2011-728M Settlement Miller 2012 $276 → $276
LAKE 2013-64M Settlement Andrews 2013 $200 → $100
LAKE20020090M Withdrawal 2002 $55 → $0
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: 2025-10-30
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
6
samples
2
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg4
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz2
Show the individual readings (6)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2025-10-30 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2025-10-30 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Rotary Bucket Ex. Operator
2025-09-16 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Utility Man
2014-07-30 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2014-07-30 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.22 0.93 0.24 Cleanup Man
2008-06-18 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.22 1.26 0.17 Crusher Oper/Worker
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.

Spread 1 recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2010.

Injury rate, 2010
ⓘ 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
No reportable injury cases in any year shown. Employee-hours were reported in each of those years, so these are true zeros rather than missing data. Citations, listed in the compliance record above, are inspector-found violations and are counted separately from worker injuries.
Below average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 2.68 and the all-US-mining average was 3.20 cases per 100 workers.
In Illinois, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 3.24 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.
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. Conmat Inc., dba Helm Materials 1950 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 3
2025 3
2024 3
2023 4
2022 3
2021 3
2020 6
2019 3
2018 4
2017 3
2016 3
2015 4
2014 2
2013 5
2012 1
2011 2
2010 9
2009 7
2008 6
2007 3
2006 4
2005 6
2004 3
2003 5
2002 3
2001 4
2000 6
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Spread 1 sits in Stephenson County, Illinois, where the Census mining category is 0.0% 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.
Stephenson County, Illinois · Population 44,042
0.0%
Mining share of county employment
$61,943
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 1,096 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 258 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 1,255 1 0 796.8
2025 Q3 2,185 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 2,965 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 566 1 0 1766.8
2024 Q4 1,355 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 2,620 0 0 0.0
Show 95 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 2,058 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 1,369 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 2,529 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 3,005 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 2,598 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 48 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 2,099 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 4,048 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 3,214 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 0 0 0
2021 Q4 1,703 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 2,009 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 1,230 1 0 813.0
2021 Q1 35 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 4,246 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 2,794 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 1,692 1 0 591.0
2020 Q1 614 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 605 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 2,016 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 1,982 2 2 1009.1
2019 Q1 0 0 0
2018 Q4 1,803 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 2,053 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 2,235 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 265 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 2,390 1 0 418.4
2017 Q3 1,784 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 926 4 0 4319.7
2017 Q1 1 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 671 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 1,795 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 2,370 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 1,049 5 0 4766.4
2015 Q4 2,248 1 0 444.8
2015 Q3 1,720 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 1,932 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 600 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 843 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 1,000 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 16 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 1,368 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 1,654 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 2,175 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 384 2 0 5208.3
2012 Q3 798 1 0 1253.1
2012 Q2 324 1 0 3086.4
2012 Q1 0 0 0
2011 Q4 315 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 496 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 1,883 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 887 7 2 7891.8
2010 Q4 1,440 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 7,943 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 7,472 5 2 669.2
2010 Q1 3,908 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 4,678 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 5,436 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 3,751 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 2,248 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 2,649 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 5,823 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 3,002 1 0 333.1
2008 Q1 904 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 1,277 2 1 1566.2
2007 Q3 1,431 1 0 698.8
2007 Q2 672 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 518 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 2,316 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 1,616 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 2,323 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 758 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 6,969 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 3,649 2 0 548.1
2005 Q2 6,021 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 169 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 0 0 0
2004 Q3 1,503 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 4,829 4 0 828.3
2003 Q4 3,709 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 2,757 5 0 1813.6
2003 Q2 4,748 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 726 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 758 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 4,564 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 2,288 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 818 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 3,524 4 3 1135.1
2001 Q3 5,087 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 4,947 3 0 606.4
2001 Q1 874 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 2,872 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 4,158 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 4,410 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 1,740 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

6 on file

2019 · 1 incident

June 11, 2019 IL · Metal/Non-Metal miner, prospector, nec MACHINERY
Conmat Inc., dba Helm Materials · Struck by powered moving object

Employee failed to make sure that their foot was clear of an Impactor Bar when they pulled out the lock out safety device. The Bar rotated and struck their Steel Toed boot causing 2 hairline cracks to the foot bones and 1 to the Tibia bone. EE was treated and released from FHN Hospital, but further examination of the foot is going to require mechanical immobilization.

2008 · 1 incident

May 29, 2008 IL · Metal/Non-Metal outside foreman, leadman NONPOWERED HAULAGE
Conmat Inc., dba Helm Materials · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Employee pulled the pins from a removeable transport dolly tongue. The dolly tongue fell to the ground onto the employee's right foot steel toed boot. The impact caused the right side front part of the steel toe to push down through the sole of the boot resulting in a fracture of the right foot big toe.

2002 · 1 incident

November 25, 2002 IL · Metal/Non-Metal mine manager, mine foreman, mine owner EXPLODING VESSELS UNDER PRESSURE
Conmat Inc., dba Helm Materials · Struck by flying object

WARMING UP AN AIR STARTER ON AN ENGINE OF A POWER UNIT, NOTICED ETHER CAN ON TOP OF IT, SO REACHED TO TOSS IT OUT OF THE WAY. CAN RUPTURED & CUT FINGER.

2001 · 1 incident

March 19, 2001 IL · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Conmat Inc., dba Helm Materials · Fall to the walkway or working surface

EE WAS WALKING ACROSS QUARRY WHEN HE STEPPED ON SOME ICE, SLIPPED AND BROKE HIS ANKLE.

1995 · 2 incidents

July 14, 1995 IL · Metal/Non-Metal assayer, geologist, metallurgist, engineer, engineer management HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Conmat Inc., dba Helm Materials · Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

DISCHARGE CONVEYOR BOTTOM RETURN RUBBER DISC IMPACT ROLLERS WERE DEFECTIVE BELT WOULDN'T TRACK WIPER OUT SECTION OF ROLLER STUCK. BELT RUBBING ON SHAFT PRY BAR INSERTED TO GET WIPER BACK IN BAR GOT CAUGHT ON SOMETHING STRIKING HAND BETWEEN BAR & FRAME OR BELT. ONE 1 1/2" TORN CUT AND 2-1/2" CLEAN CUTS.

June 30, 1995 IL · Metal/Non-Metal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Conmat Inc., dba Helm Materials · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

PERSON WAS CLOSING DOOR OF CRUSHER. HE PULLED THE DOOR WHICH WEIGHS ABOUT 60 LBS. AND IT DID NOT CLOSE SO HE OPENS IT AGAIN AND THEN HE PULLED IT A SECOND TIME WHEN LEFT HAND GOT CAUGHT IN DOO R. HE WAS USING RIGHT HAND TO PULL DOOR CLOSED.