Willow Creek Mine: 43 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal
Willow Creek Mine has $7K in proposed MSHA penalties and $250 outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 0
- Years on record
- —
- Latest incident
- —
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2006
43
citations
16
significant & substantial
$7,339
proposed penalties
$7,089
paid to date
97% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $250 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2006
20
inspections on record
308
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: 308 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Willow Creek Mine has $7K in proposed MSHA penalties and $250 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.$7K
proposed penalties
$7K
current assessed
$7K
paid to date
$250
outstanding
42 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-04-23.
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.38.1%
significant & substantial
9.5%
high negligence or reckless
38.1%
reasonably likely or greater
45.2%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 7.1% low, 83.3% moderate, 9.5% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Ownership history
- Mt Elbert Mining Co LLC 2006 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
| Year | Employees |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 12 |
| 2025 | 5 |
| 2022 | 3 |
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2015 | 0 |
| 2014 | 1 |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2012 | 0 |
| 2011 | 0 |
| 2010 | 2 |
| 2008 | 0 |
| 2007 | 4 |
| 2006 | 0 |
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Willow Creek Mine sits in Lake County, Colorado, where the Census mining category is 3.4% 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.Lake County, Colorado · Population 7,411
3.4%
Mining share of county employment
$93,655
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 | 1,020 | 7 | 3 | 6862.7 |
| 2026 Q1 | 1,256 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2025 Q4 | 750 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2025 Q3 | 2,880 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2025 Q2 | 3,480 | 1 | 0 | 287.4 |
| 2025 Q1 | 360 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2022 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 Q3 | 1,110 | 7 | 0 | 6306.3 |
Show 42 earlier quarters Hide earlier quarters
| Quarter | Hours worked | Citations | S&S | Per 1M hrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Q4 | 320 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2021 Q3 | 480 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2018 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 Q3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 Q2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 Q3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 Q2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 Q3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 Q2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 Q4 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2015 Q3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 Q2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014 Q3 | 520 | 6 | 1 | 11538.5 |
| 2014 Q2 | 520 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2014 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 Q4 | 1,411 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2013 Q3 | 1,050 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2013 Q2 | 679 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2013 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 Q3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 Q2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011 Q3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011 Q2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2011 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2010 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2010 Q3 | 1,265 | 3 | 2 | 2371.5 |
| 2010 Q2 | 804 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2008 Q1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2007 Q4 | 130 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2007 Q3 | 1,135 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2007 Q2 | 297 | 1 | 0 | 3367.0 |
| 2006 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
No reportable incidents on file.
MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents for this mine in the current dataset. New reports appear here within a week of being filed.