Mining Incidents

Town Hill Creek Surface Mine No. 1: 38 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Metinvest B V
Richlands, Tazewell County, VA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4407130

Town Hill Creek Surface Mine No. 1 has $19K 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
1
Years on record
2006
Latest incident
Mar 2006
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2005
38
citations
17
significant & substantial
$19,324
proposed penalties
$19,324
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2005
7
inspections on record
195
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: 195 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Town Hill Creek Surface Mine No. 1 has $19K 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.
$19K
proposed penalties
$19K
current assessed
$19K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
38 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2007-05-21.
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.
44.7%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
44.7%
reasonably likely or greater
5.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 10.5% low, 89.5% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Town Hill Creek Surface Mine No. 1 shows 100% of 21 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: 2007-01-18, 19 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
21
samples
0.33
dust max (mg/m3)
21 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER7
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR6
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE4

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2006-08-30, 19 years ago
24.8
silica avg (%)
6
samples
33.0
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR3
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR3

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: 2006-01-10, 20 years ago
9%
over PEL
11
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR4
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER3
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE2
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
2007 100% 5
2006 100% 11
2005 100% 5
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2006 27.1 3
2005 22.5 3
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2006 17% 6
2005 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Town Hill Creek Surface Mine No. 1 recorded 3.97 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2006.

Injury rate, 2006
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.
3.97
total case rate
3.97
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 4.87 and the all-US-mining average was 3.91 cases per 100 workers.
In Virginia, coal mining averaged 4.44 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. Mattieboo, LLC. 2005 to 2007
  2. Surface Minerals Company 2007 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)
2007 8 27,562
2006 19 128,786
2005 21 92,814
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Town Hill Creek Surface Mine No. 1 sits in Tazewell County, Virginia, where the Census mining category is 3.1% 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.
Tazewell County, Virginia · Population 39,933
3.1%
Mining share of county employment
$45,788
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
2007 Q3 0 0 0
2007 Q2 3,761 6 3 1595.3
2007 Q1 11,894 9 4 756.7
2006 Q4 13,841 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 11,728 9 3 767.4
2006 Q2 14,619 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 10,234 11 6 1074.8
2005 Q4 14,555 0 0 0.0
Show 2 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2005 Q3 14,950 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 1,186 2 1 1686.3
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2006 · 1 incident

March 13, 2006 VA · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Mattieboo, LLC. · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee stepped out of the tool truck onto the ground and stepped into a rut, turning his left ankle.