Mining Incidents

USB Columbia (Mobley-Koon/Dry Branch)): 62 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

US Brick, LLC · Surface
Controlled by RemSom, LLC
Columbia, Richland County, SC  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 3800033

USB Columbia (Mobley-Koon/Dry Branch)) has $12K in proposed MSHA penalties and $200 outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2025
Latest incident
Jun 2025
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
62
citations
19
significant & substantial
$12,201
proposed penalties
$12,001
paid to date
98% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $200 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
68
inspections on record
665
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: 665 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

USB Columbia (Mobley-Koon/Dry Branch)) has $12K in proposed MSHA penalties and $200 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.
$12K
proposed penalties
$12K
current assessed
$12K
paid to date
$200
outstanding
62 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $1K in penalties contested before the Commission, $1K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-10-07.
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.
30.6%
significant & substantial
16.1%
high negligence or reckless
30.6%
reasonably likely or greater
43.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 6.5% low, 77.4% moderate, 16.1% 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.
1 citations taken to the federal commission · 2% of citations on record
  • Stood as issued 1 · 100%
100%
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 1 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$1K proposed, $1K 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 2010-05-03.
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
SE 2010-732M Default Lesnick 2011 $1K → $1K
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: 2024-09-18
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
11
samples
1
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg7
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz3
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (11)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2024-09-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2024-09-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2024-09-18 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.27 Backhoe Operator
2022-09-20 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.16 Front-end Loader Operator
2015-04-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2015-04-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2015-04-23 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.22 Backhoe Operator
2015-04-23 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.21 1.42 0.15 Bulldozer Operator
2009-03-31 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Backhoe Operator
2009-03-31 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2001-12-12 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
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.
Ownership history
  1. Carolina Ceramics Inc 1950 to 1992
  2. Carolina Ceramics Inc 1992 to 1997
  3. US Brick, LLC 1997 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 9
2025 5
2024 6
2023 5
2022 4
2021 5
2020 3
2019 3
2018 3
2017 3
2016 3
2015 3
2014 3
2013 3
2012 3
2011 2
2010 1
2009 1
2008 3
2007 2
2006 2
2005 2
2004 3
2003 3
2002 3
2001 5
2000 4
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

USB Columbia (Mobley-Koon/Dry Branch)) sits in Richland County, South Carolina, where the Census mining category is 0.1% 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.
Richland County, South Carolina · Population 418,725
0.1%
Mining share of county employment
$61,699
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 2,077 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 2,039 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 2,216 1 0 451.3
2025 Q3 2,093 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 1,396 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 1,587 1 0 630.1
2024 Q4 1,593 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 1,450 3 1 2069.0
Show 98 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 1,030 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 1,277 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 1,123 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 1,022 1 0 978.5
2023 Q2 1,578 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 1,899 1 0 526.6
2022 Q4 1,320 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 1,373 4 0 2913.3
2022 Q2 1,335 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 1,666 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 1,935 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 1,917 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 1,862 1 0 537.1
2021 Q1 1,830 3 0 1639.3
2020 Q4 850 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 905 2 1 2209.9
2020 Q2 1,001 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 936 4 1 4273.5
2019 Q4 1,241 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 1,261 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 1,438 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 1,251 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 1,529 1 0 654.0
2018 Q3 1,275 1 1 784.3
2018 Q2 1,340 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 1,057 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 1,537 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 1,351 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 1,339 4 1 2987.3
2017 Q1 1,940 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 1,863 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 1,632 2 2 1225.5
2016 Q2 1,294 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 1,148 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 1,209 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 1,178 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 1,257 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 889 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 1,064 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 1,191 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 1,112 1 0 899.3
2014 Q1 994 1 0 1006.0
2013 Q4 1,145 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 1,204 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 1,184 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 1,140 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 1,077 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 990 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 1,037 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 770 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 943 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 670 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 571 1 0 1751.3
2011 Q1 347 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 500 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 577 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 497 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 566 5 3 8833.9
2009 Q4 466 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 525 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 547 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 562 1 0 1779.4
2008 Q4 652 1 0 1533.7
2008 Q3 677 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 625 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 618 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 595 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 618 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 703 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 638 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 636 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 560 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 695 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 675 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 603 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 759 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 676 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 657 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 755 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 825 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 1,144 2 2 1748.3
2004 Q1 1,367 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 1,380 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 1,556 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 1,384 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 1,279 1 1 781.9
2002 Q4 1,254 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 1,428 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 1,424 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 1,189 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 1,308 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 1,701 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 2,222 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 1,124 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 1,907 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 1,546 1 1 646.8
2000 Q2 1,189 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 1,217 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2025 · 1 incident

June 2, 2025 SC · Metal/Non-Metal prep plant foreman, supervisor, mill plant supervisor, kiln supervisor OTHER
US Brick, LLC · Bodily reaction, (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Felt pop in left foot while walking across uneven, muddy, relatively flat ground. No other contributing factors or known causes. Drove themselves to occupational health clinic which prescribed medication and advised to avoid prolonged standing which does not restrict job duties.