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: 324 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Sullivan Pit has $88K in proposed MSHA penalties and $3K 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.
$88K
proposed penalties
$74K
current assessed
$71K
paid to date
$3K
outstanding
90 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $52K in penalties contested before the Commission, $38K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-04-15.
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.
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.
6citations taken to the federal commission · 7% of citations on record
Settled
5 · 83%
Still open
1 · 17%
75%
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 Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.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 4 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
28%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$52K proposed, $38K 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 A dismissed or defaulted contest leaves the citation standing as issued; a vacated or withdrawn citation is removed from the violation record.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 2025-11-19.
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.
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: 2026-04-15
6
samples
0
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Respirable dust, <.1mg5
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (6)
Date
Contaminant
Concentration
Limit
Conc / limit
Occupation
2026-04-15
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2026-04-15
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
0.12
Laborer, Bullgang
2026-04-15
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Laborer, Bullgang
2023-05-10
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Laborer, Bullgang
2023-05-10
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Laborer, Bullgang
2020-06-16
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Laborer, Bullgang
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.
Sullivan Pit recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2025.
Injury rate, 2025
ⓘ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
Below average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
In Texas, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.17 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
2025 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2024 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2023 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2022 *
10.66
10.66
0.000
2021 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2020 *
15.30
0.00
0.000
2019 *
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.
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year
Employees
2026
20
2025
20
2024
16
2023
15
2022
13
2021
13
2020
11
2019
9
2018
5
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Sullivan Pit sits in Starr County, Texas, where the Census mining category is 3.2% 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.
Starr County, Texas · Population 65,809
3.2%
Mining share of county employment
$38,182
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
10,235
8
0
781.6
2026 Q1
11,503
4
2
347.7
2025 Q4
12,062
0
0
0.0
2025 Q3
10,618
8
3
753.4
2025 Q2
10,699
0
0
0.0
2025 Q1
10,192
10
4
981.2
2024 Q4
10,834
0
0
0.0
2024 Q3
11,154
8
0
717.2
Show 25 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2
7,680
0
0
0.0
2024 Q1
12,030
0
0
0.0
2023 Q4
10,829
8
3
738.8
2023 Q3
10,995
0
0
0.0
2023 Q2
10,451
4
1
382.7
2023 Q1
10,122
0
0
0.0
2022 Q4
9,624
1
0
103.9
2022 Q3
10,501
0
0
0.0
2022 Q2
9,406
6
1
637.9
2022 Q1
8,009
6
0
749.2
2021 Q4
9,259
0
0
0.0
2021 Q3
9,154
0
0
0.0
2021 Q2
8,673
4
0
461.2
2021 Q1
7,987
0
0
0.0
2020 Q4
5,786
6
1
1037.0
2020 Q3
6,147
0
0
0.0
2020 Q2
7,075
1
0
141.3
2020 Q1
7,131
0
0
0.0
2019 Q4
7,048
2
0
283.8
2019 Q3
6,228
2
1
321.1
2019 Q2
4,979
0
0
0.0
2019 Q1
5,308
4
0
753.6
2018 Q4
4,483
0
0
0.0
2018 Q3
2,437
1
0
410.3
2018 Q2
299
0
0
0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
4 on file
2022 · 2 incidents
November 16, 2022TX · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanSLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Employee was standing on a metal truss when part of the truss unsoldered causing the employee to slip and hit on EE's right thigh and scrotum. In result contusion of right thigh and laceration of scrotum.
Employee was changing the bucket teeth for unit 374F Excavator. While EE hammered one of the center tooth to loosen it to get it out, a small piece of metal from the tooth broke off and headed to EE's testicles area.
2020 · 2 incidents
November 11, 2020TX · Metal/Non-Metalbulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineerPOWERED HAULAGE
Employee was driving a dump truck at an unsafe speed when employee drove through an uneven surface and injured lower back. The dump truck was inspected right after the injury was reported and found everything working in good conditions.
September 28, 2020TX · Metal/Non-Metalfront-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operatorPOWERED HAULAGE