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West Dante: 292 MSHA citations Coal

The Banner Company · Underground
Controlled by Metinvest B V
Dante, Dickenson County, VA  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 4407025

West Dante has $58K in proposed MSHA penalties and $2K outstanding across 4 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
10
Years on record
2001–2009
Latest incident
Apr 2009
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
292
citations
106
significant & substantial
$58,174
proposed penalties
$51,885
paid to date
89% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $6,289 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See The Banner Company's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
104
inspections on record
3,000
inspection hours
9.7
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.
292 citations across 3,000 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

West Dante has $58K in proposed MSHA penalties and $2K outstanding across 4 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.
$58K
proposed penalties
$54K
current assessed
$52K
paid to date
$2K
outstanding
283 assessments are final orders; 4 contested dockets.
Of $13K in penalties contested before the Commission, $8K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2010-01-19.
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.
37.2%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
37.5%
reasonably likely or greater
7.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 26.7% low, 73.3% moderate, 0.0% 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.
18 citations taken to the federal commission · 6% of citations on record
  • Settled 16 · 89%
  • Still open 2 · 11%
94%
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 16 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
35%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$13K proposed, $8K 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 2010-07-22.
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
VA 2009-377 Settlement Gill 2013 $6K → $4K
VA 2009-35 Settlement Weisberger 2012 $5K → $3K
VA 2008-385 Settlement Paez 2009 $2K → $970
VA 2010-51 Decision pending
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at West Dante shows 97% of 410 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: 2009-06-11, 17 years ago
97%
within 1.5 mg/m3
410
samples
5.60
dust max (mg/m3)
159 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 251 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR184
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)36
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR22

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2009-06-04, 17 years ago
9.3
silica avg (%)
51
samples
25.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR10
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2009-06-25, 17 years ago
11%
over PEL
38
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)9
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR7
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (INTAKE SIDE)6
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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
2009 98% 44
2008 99% 85
2007 99% 81
2006 99% 72
2005 99% 79
2002 83% 42
2001 100% 7
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2009 6.8 5
2008 7.0 7
2007 7.7 10
2006 6.8 5
2005 11.7 19
2002 11.1 3
2001 12.9 2
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2009 0% 5
2007 0% 12
2006 0% 7
2005 33% 9
2002 20% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

West Dante recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2009.

Injury rate, 2009
ⓘ 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 coal mining average was 4.16 and the all-US-mining average was 3.36 cases per 100 workers.
In Virginia, coal mining averaged 4.22 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
2009 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2008 * 4.99 4.99 0.000
2007 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2006 * 11.10 11.10 0.000
2005 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2002 * 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. Capital Coal Corp 2001 to 2004
  2. C. S. & S. Coal Corporation 2004 to 2010
  3. The Banner Company 2010 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)
2009 14 69,843
2008 18 119,416
2007 15 95,625
2006 16 104,108
2005 12 86,428
2004 10
2002 13 70,815
2001 6 7,791
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

West Dante sits in Dickenson County, Virginia, where the Census mining category is 9.8% 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.
Dickenson County, Virginia · Population 13,920
9.8%
Mining share of county employment
$43,831
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
2009 Q4 2,754 1 0 363.1
2009 Q3 5,159 3 0 581.5
2009 Q2 11,233 20 10 1780.5
2009 Q1 10,255 10 3 975.1
2008 Q4 10,056 4 0 397.8
2008 Q3 9,211 12 7 1302.8
2008 Q2 10,984 17 3 1547.7
2008 Q1 9,824 29 9 2952.0
Show 19 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2007 Q4 10,700 19 4 1775.7
2007 Q3 6,625 15 0 2264.2
2007 Q2 9,031 9 4 996.6
2007 Q1 8,727 19 12 2177.2
2006 Q4 9,150 14 7 1530.1
2006 Q3 8,819 18 8 2041.0
2006 Q2 9,482 19 7 2003.8
2006 Q1 8,579 16 5 1865.0
2005 Q4 7,542 13 5 1723.7
2005 Q3 6,988 4 3 572.4
2005 Q2 7,897 14 9 1772.8
2005 Q1 6,205 7 2 1128.1
2004 Q4 1,574 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 0 0 0
2002 Q3 8,827 3 2 339.9
2002 Q2 9,780 8 2 818.0
2002 Q1 7,975 3 0 376.2
2001 Q4 4,011 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 1,178 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

10 on file

2009 · 1 incident

April 13, 2009 VA · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
C. S. & S. Coal Corporation · Accident type, without injuries

A roof fall app. 125 feet in length, 30+ feet deep and app. 30+ feet in height occurred on 4-13-09 at No.3 entry, one break inby station # 934.

2008 · 1 incident

2007 · 1 incident

2006 · 4 incidents

October 27, 2006 VA · Coal laborer, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scaler SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
C. S. & S. Coal Corporation · Fall to the walkway or working surface

Employee was unloading supplies, when he fell and injured his back.

May 29, 2006 VA · Coal bull gang foreman, labor foreman, leadman, section foreman, shift boss FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
C. S. & S. Coal Corporation · Struck by falling object

A piece of coal fell from the top and hit the continuous miner and bounced off, striking employee.

2005 · 2 incidents

July 25, 2005 VA · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
C. S. & S. Coal Corporation · Accident type, without injuries

A roof fall 170 ft long, 12 ft thick, and 50 ft wide was found on 7-25-05 at 5:30 a.m. at break no. 19 on no.3 main, 5 breaks out by face area.

2001 · 1 incident