Mining Incidents

Starvation Canyon: 46 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC · Underground
Elko, NV, Elko County, NV  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 2602634

Starvation Canyon has $9K 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
2014–2015
Latest incident
Nov 2015
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2012
46
citations
14
significant & substantial
$8,992
proposed penalties
$8,992
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2012
20
inspections on record
347
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: 347 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Starvation Canyon has $9K 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.
$9K
proposed penalties
$9K
current assessed
$9K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
46 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2015-12-08.
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.
30.4%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
30.4%
reasonably likely or greater
30.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 15.2% low, 84.8% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, 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: 2016-03-02, 10 years ago
13%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
11
samples
8
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Diesel particulate (total carbon)21 over
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz6
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz2
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg1
Show the individual readings (15)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2013-05-02 TC @ 160 202 160 1.26 Miner, Drift
2016-03-02 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.2 Mechanic
2015-07-28 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Mechanic
2015-07-28 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.35 2.27 0.15 Truck Driver
2015-07-28 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.47 2.3 0.20 Front-end Loader Operator
2015-07-28 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.84 1.73 0.49 Front-end Loader Operator
2015-07-28 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.12 Front-end Loader Operator
2014-07-02 EC @ 160 32 160 0.20 Drill Operator, Jumbo Perc.
2014-07-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.28 0.68 0.41 Mucking Mach. Operator
2014-07-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.15 1.47 0.10 Truck Driver
2014-07-02 TC from EC @ 160 0 160 0.00 Drill Operator, Jumbo Perc.
2014-07-02 TC @ 160 32 160 0.20 Drill Operator, Jumbo Perc.
2013-05-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.56 1.38 0.41 Truck Driver
2013-05-02 EC @ 160 129 160 0.81 Miner, Drift
2013-05-02 TC from EC @ 160 147 160 0.92 Miner, Drift

Area samples (mill and shop air)

Last sampled: 2013-05-02, 13 years ago
1
samples
Show the individual readings (3)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Area sampled
2013-05-02 TC from EC @ 160 0 UG ACTIVE MINING AR
2013-05-02 EC @ 160 123 UG ACTIVE MINING AR
2013-05-02 TC @ 160 140 UG ACTIVE MINING AR
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.

Starvation Canyon recorded 3.81 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2015.

Injury rate, 2015
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.
3.81
total case rate
1.90
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 2.26 and the all-US-mining average was 2.72 cases per 100 workers.
In Nevada, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.67 cases per 100 workers that year.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2015 3.81 1.90 0.000
2014 1.87 1.87 0.000
2013 * 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. Queenstake Resources U.S.A., Inc. 2008 to 2012
  2. Small Mine Development LLC 2012 to 2016
  3. Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC 2016 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2016 26
2015 52
2014 51
2013 41
2012 13
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Starvation Canyon sits in Elko County, Nevada, where the Census mining category is 19.6% 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.
Elko County, Nevada · Population 53,852
19.6%
Mining share of county employment
$83,427
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
2016 Q2 3,443 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 21,412 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 22,195 8 2 360.4
2015 Q3 25,354 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 31,424 3 0 95.5
2015 Q1 26,066 6 0 230.2
2014 Q4 28,826 5 1 173.5
2014 Q3 23,691 1 1 42.2
Show 8 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2014 Q2 30,220 4 2 132.4
2014 Q1 24,271 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 26,447 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 29,067 5 1 172.0
2013 Q2 20,931 4 2 191.1
2013 Q1 14,365 6 3 417.7
2012 Q4 8,451 2 1 236.7
2012 Q3 200 1 0 5000.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

3 on file

2015 · 2 incidents

November 29, 2015 NV · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Small Mine Development LLC · Fall onto or against objects

Mechanic was standing on a ladder leaning on a tire wielding. When he shifted his weight on the ladder he slipped and fell against the tire sliding down the tire on his left side. The mechanic was standing on the second step of the ladder.

January 9, 2015 NV · Metal/Non-Metal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) OTHER
Small Mine Development LLC · Bodily reaction, (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Miner does not know exactly how the injury happened; he stepped off his bolter to load the carousal with bolts. Said he stepped off the bolter took 3-4 steps when he felt the pain in his back at the left shoulder. When questioned, the mine stated he did not twist or trip. He was not lifting anything at the time.

2014 · 1 incident

April 18, 2014 NV · Metal/Non-Metal driller operator MACHINERY
Small Mine Development LLC · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Miner removing a reamer bit from the cubex; had his hand on the bit reached up to the controls to release the bit. Pulled the wrong lever and the brakeout tool slid forward, instead of the bit being released.