Mining Incidents

Tipple #1,Gemstone: 2 MSHA citations Coal

Gemstone Tipple Inc. · Facility
Controlled by James D. Fannon
Pennington Gap, Va, Lee County, VA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4406266

Tipple #1,Gemstone has $145 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
2
Years on record
1989–1990
Latest incident
Aug 1990
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
2
citations
1
significant & substantial
$145
proposed penalties
$145
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
29
inspections on record
234
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: 234 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Tipple #1,Gemstone has $145 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.
$145
proposed penalties
$145
current assessed
$145
paid to date
$0
outstanding
2 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2001-12-20.
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.
50.0%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
50.0%
reasonably likely or greater
50.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 100.0% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Tipple #1,Gemstone shows 100% of 1 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: 2000-09-26, 25 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
1
samples
0.07
dust max (mg/m3)
1 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • TIPPLE OPERATOR1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Gem Stone Coal Inc 1985 to 2000
  2. Gemstone Trucking Inc 2000 to 2012
  3. Gemstone Tipple Inc 2012 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2006 0
2005 0
2004 0
2003 0
2002 1
2001 0
2000 1
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Tipple #1,Gemstone sits in Lee County, Virginia, where the Census mining category is 1.9% 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.
Lee County, Virginia · Population 22,042
1.9%
Mining share of county employment
$42,269
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
2006 Q4 0 0 0
2006 Q3 0 0 0
2006 Q2 0 0 0
2006 Q1 0 0 0
2005 Q4 0 0 0
2005 Q3 0 0 0
2005 Q2 0 0 0
2005 Q1 0 0 0
Show 18 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2004 Q4 0 0 0
2004 Q3 0 0 0
2004 Q2 0 0 0
2004 Q1 0 0 0
2003 Q4 0 0 0
2003 Q3 0 0 0
2003 Q2 0 0 0
2003 Q1 0 0 0
2002 Q4 40 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 80 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 90 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 110 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 0 1 0
2001 Q3 0 0 0
2001 Q2 0 0 0
2001 Q1 0 0 0
2000 Q4 160 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 160 1 1 6250.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

1990 · 1 incident

August 29, 1990 VA · Coal tipple/top lander/skip dumper operator, binman, topman HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Gem Stone Coal Inc · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

RELEASING BRAKE ON RR HOPPER BROKE LATCHFAILED CAUSING BRAKE WHEEL TO RELEASE SPIN RAPIDLY L HAND STRUCK BY WHEEL AS IT TURNED

1989 · 1 incident

November 10, 1989 VA · Coal tipple/top lander/skip dumper operator, binman, topman MACHINERY
Gem Stone Coal Inc · Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

CRUSHER HAD STALLED AND WOULD NOT RUN. EMPLOYEE WAS REVERSING ROLLERS BY TURNING PULLEY AND BELTS BACKWARDS TO CLEAR THE COAL FROM THE CRUSHER ROLLERS. EMPLOYEE'S FINGER WAS CAUGHT BETWEEN BEL TS AND PULLEY WHEEL.