Mining Incidents

White Mesa: 74 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Eagle Materials Inc
Bernalillo, Sandoval County, NM  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 2900181

White Mesa has $12K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at White Mesa.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
5
Years on record
1989–2024
Latest incident
Sep 2024
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
74
citations
12
significant & substantial
$12,274
proposed penalties
$12,103
paid to date
99% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $171 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
83
inspections on record
845
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: 845 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

White Mesa has $12K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 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
$0
outstanding
74 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $2K in penalties contested before the Commission, $2K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-03-05.
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.
16.2%
significant & substantial
9.5%
high negligence or reckless
16.2%
reasonably likely or greater
52.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 12.2% low, 78.4% moderate, 9.5% 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.
2 citations taken to the federal commission · 3% of citations on record
  • Settled 1 · 50%
  • Stood as issued 1 · 50%
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%
9%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$2K proposed, $2K 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 2022-06-29.
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
CENT 2014-0579 Default Lesnick 2015 $2K → $2K
CENT 2022-0186 Settlement Simonton 2022 $304 → $133
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: 2022-04-19, 4 years ago
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
15
samples
14
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz11
  • Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz2
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz1
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg1
Show the individual readings (15)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2022-04-19 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 1.4 10 0.14 Truck Driver
2022-04-19 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.23 10 0.02 Front-end Loader Operator
2022-04-19 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 1.13 10 0.11 Cont. Miner Operator
2014-05-28 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 3.14 10 0.31 Cont. Miner Operator
2014-05-28 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.25 10 0.03 Cont. Miner Helper
2009-11-10 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 2.08 10 0.21 Cont. Miner Operator
2009-11-10 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.65 10 0.07 Cont. Miner Helper
2009-11-10 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2004-12-09 Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz 0 10 0.00 Diamond Drill Operator
2004-12-09 Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz 4.13 10 0.41 Cont. Miner Operator
2003-07-15 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 1.84 10 0.18 Cutting Mach Operator
2003-07-15 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 1.86 10 0.19 Laborer, Bullgang
2003-07-15 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.19 1.06 0.18 Front-end Loader Operator
2003-07-15 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 1.73 10 0.17 Cutting Mach Operator
2003-07-15 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 1.51 10 0.15 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.
Ownership history
  1. Pomeroy Inc 1950 to 1985
  2. American Gypsum Company LLC 1985 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 6
2025 5
2024 5
2023 5
2022 5
2021 5
2020 5
2019 5
2018 5
2017 5
2016 5
2015 4
2014 4
2013 5
2012 5
2011 7
2010 7
2009 7
2008 7
2007 7
2006 7
2005 7
2004 7
2003 7
2002 7
2001 8
2000 9
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

White Mesa sits in Sandoval County, New Mexico, where the Census mining category is 0.3% 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.
Sandoval County, New Mexico · Population 151,538
0.3%
Mining share of county employment
$84,053
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 2,999 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 3,325 1 0 300.8
2025 Q4 2,588 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 2,580 2 0 775.2
2025 Q2 2,267 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 2,503 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 2,392 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 2,764 1 0 361.8
Show 97 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 3,178 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 2,881 1 0 347.1
2023 Q4 2,523 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 2,599 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 2,708 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 2,811 2 0 711.5
2022 Q4 2,370 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 3,068 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 2,829 2 0 707.0
2022 Q1 2,663 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 2,440 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 2,911 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 2,892 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 2,917 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 2,256 1 0 443.3
2020 Q3 2,769 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 2,781 1 0 359.6
2020 Q1 2,634 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 1,773 2 0 1128.0
2019 Q3 2,455 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 2,596 2 0 770.4
2019 Q1 2,628 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 2,587 3 1 1159.6
2018 Q3 2,595 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 2,660 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 2,438 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 2,523 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 2,436 2 0 821.0
2017 Q2 2,366 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 2,119 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 1,946 2 0 1027.7
2016 Q3 2,537 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 1,933 3 0 1552.0
2016 Q1 2,083 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 1,836 2 0 1089.3
2015 Q3 2,202 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 2,210 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 2,162 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 1,732 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 1,952 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 1,791 5 3 2791.7
2014 Q1 1,854 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 2,473 4 1 1617.5
2013 Q3 2,498 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 2,476 1 0 403.9
2013 Q1 2,816 1 0 355.1
2012 Q4 2,678 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 3,085 3 1 972.4
2012 Q2 2,687 1 0 372.2
2012 Q1 2,805 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 2,507 2 0 797.8
2011 Q3 3,176 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 2,816 1 0 355.1
2011 Q1 3,152 4 0 1269.0
2010 Q3 3,314 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 3,036 1 0 329.4
2010 Q1 3,318 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 2,979 1 0 335.7
2009 Q3 3,103 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 3,482 3 0 861.6
2009 Q1 3,387 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 3,655 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 4,198 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 4,217 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 3,960 1 1 252.5
2007 Q4 3,687 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 4,153 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 4,183 1 1 239.1
2007 Q1 4,193 2 0 477.0
2006 Q4 1,350 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 1,274 3 0 2354.8
2006 Q2 1,500 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 1,297 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 4,149 1 0 241.0
2005 Q3 4,046 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 4,260 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 3,601 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 3,495 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 3,398 1 1 294.3
2004 Q2 4,141 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 4,596 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 3,698 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 3,511 1 0 284.8
2003 Q2 3,639 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 3,450 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 3,342 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 3,184 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 3,211 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 2,655 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 2,629 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 2,712 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 3,343 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 3,914 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 4,092 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 3,697 4 2 1082.0
2000 Q2 3,982 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 3,788 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

5 on file

2024 · 1 incident

September 11, 2024 NM · Metal/Non-Metal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
American Gypsum Company LLC · Fall onto or against objects

Ore haul driver was descending the ladder on a 950GC loader after loading the truck. Driver did not have good footing on the second from last step, left foot slipped off step hitting the metal behind step and bottom step. Driver was transported to the ER and diagnosed with a strained foot.

1995 · 1 incident

December 27, 1995 NM · Metal/Non-Metal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman MACHINERY
American Gypsum Company LLC · Struck by falling object

EE WAS CLEARING A ROCK JAM, HAD HIS LEFT HAND ONTHE CRUSHER FRAME. A SMALL ROCK FELL FROM THE ROCK FEEDER AND HIT THE FOURTH FINGER OF LEFT HAND, CAUSING A SMALL FRACTURE ON THE TIP OF THE FIN GER.,

1991 · 1 incident

August 28, 1991 NM · Metal/Non-Metal MACHINERY
American Gypsum Company LLC · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EMPLOYEE WAS DRILLING WHEN LARGE AIR HOSE CAME LOOSE. EVEN WITH SAFETY LANYARD ATTACHED, HOSE HIT EMPLOYEE IN THE RIGHT LEG.

1990 · 1 incident

June 13, 1990 NM · Metal/Non-Metal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
American Gypsum Company LLC · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

EMPL ASSTING MAINT MECHANIC USING HYDRAULIC PORTAPOWER TO BEND METAL STRIP INTO PLACE ON CRUSHER.IT SLIPPED AND EMPL GOT FINGERTIP CAUGHT BETWEEN TOOL AND METAL STRIP.

1989 · 1 incident

August 28, 1989 NM · Metal/Non-Metal mine manager, mine foreman, mine owner SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
American Gypsum Company LLC · Fall from machine

EMPLOYEE WAS SUPERVISING MAINTENANCE OF SHUT DOWN CRUSHER.HE CLIMBED OVER THE BELT TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE,LOST HIS FOOTING AND FELL TO THE GROUND,TWISTING HIS LEFT LEG.