Mining Incidents

Winchester 2: 191 MSHA citations Coal

Panther Creek Mining LLC · Underground
Dawes, Kanawha County, WV  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 4609615

Winchester 2 has $76K in proposed MSHA penalties and $2K outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
7
Years on record
2022–2025
Latest incident
Apr 2025
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2023
191
citations
32
significant & substantial
$75,571
proposed penalties
$61,722
paid to date
82% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $13,849 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2022
28
inspections on record
3,580
inspection hours
5.3
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.
191 citations across 3,580 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Winchester 2 has $76K in proposed MSHA penalties and $2K 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.
$76K
proposed penalties
$64K
current assessed
$62K
paid to date
$2K
outstanding
182 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $33K in penalties contested before the Commission, $21K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-23.
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.
17.0%
significant & substantial
1.6%
high negligence or reckless
17.0%
reasonably likely or greater
42.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 30.3% low, 68.1% moderate, 1.6% 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.
39 citations taken to the federal commission · 20% of citations on record
  • Settled 39 · 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 14 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
35%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$33K proposed, $21K 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 2026-04-26.
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
WEVA 2026-0127 Settlement Paez 2026 $19K → $12K
WEVA 2026-0247 Settlement 2026 $14K → $10K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Winchester 2 shows 99% of 1,324 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: 2026-08-19
99%
within 1.5 mg/m3
1,324
samples
2.88
dust max (mg/m3)
4
over MSHA ECV
The excessive concentration value (ECV) is MSHA's own per-sample enforcement threshold, which builds in measurement uncertainty; a sample over its ECV can trigger a citation. The count covers only samples MSHA assigned an ECV.
193 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 1,131 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR416
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)376
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)340

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2026-04-30
4.3
silica avg (%)
83
samples
8.6
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR26
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)26
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)25

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: 2026-04-15
7%
over PEL
59
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)12
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR9
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)9
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
2026 99% 314
2025 99% 406
2024 99% 350
2023 100% 240
2022 100% 14
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2026 3.7 15
2025 3.6 24
2024 4.4 24
2023 5.4 20
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2026 0% 2
2025 14% 22
2024 0% 6
2023 4% 26
2022 0% 3
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Winchester 2 recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2025.

Injury rate, 2025
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 3.19 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 3.89 cases per 100 workers that year.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2025 0.00 0.00 0.000
2024 3.52 0.00 0.000
2023 * 2.63 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. Panther Creek Mining LLC 2022 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)
2026 56 154,415
2025 58 327,476
2024 47 240,317
2023 32 130,822
2022 3
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Winchester 2 sits in Kanawha County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 1.9% 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.
Kanawha County, West Virginia · Population 178,198
1.9%
Mining share of county employment
$58,887
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 33,303 15 3 450.4
2026 Q1 34,105 26 8 762.4
2025 Q4 32,148 24 10 746.5
2025 Q3 33,723 20 1 593.1
2025 Q2 32,893 19 1 577.6
2025 Q1 34,761 2 0 57.5
2024 Q4 20,157 6 2 297.7
2024 Q3 19,871 27 3 1358.8
Show 10 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 37,888 18 2 475.1
2024 Q1 35,618 17 1 477.3
2023 Q4 31,064 8 0 257.5
2023 Q3 30,539 4 0 131.0
2023 Q2 12,161 1 0 82.2
2023 Q1 2,160 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 2,193 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 2,220 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 1,780 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 212 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

7 on file

2025 · 1 incident

April 16, 2025 WV · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Panther Creek Mining LLC · Accident type, without injuries

An unplanned roof fall occurred on 4/16/2025 at approximately 10:30 am on the 1 section, which is currently retreat mining in front of an MRS in the No. 3 Entry at 16 crosscut on the 2 left panel. The fall was approximately 8' x 8' x 3' thick.

2024 · 2 incidents

November 22, 2024 WV · Coal electrician, lineman STRIKING OR BUMPING
Panther Creek Mining LLC · Struck against stationary object

Employee was in the process of hooking the retriever to the continuous miner when EE struck their back on the conveyor boom while attempting to stand up.

February 5, 2024 WV · Coal apprentice, trainee HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Panther Creek Mining LLC · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Employee states was in the process of replacing a boom swing jack on C/M when the jack suddenly began to slide, catching EE's ring finger between the frame of the C/M and the jack. Employee was diagnosed with an open fracture of the distal phalanx of EE's right ring finger. Employee was given a full release to return to work on EE's next regularly scheduled shift.

2023 · 2 incidents

June 21, 2023 WV · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) MACHINERY
Panther Creek Mining LLC · Struck by flying object

Employee was bolting in 3 Left crosscut and had just finished drilling the hole and was in the process to install a bolt. As they pushed the install iii bolt up using the fast feed it stopped and they bumped the rotation. When they did it caused the 24" bolt wrench to break and strike them in the side of the face. Employee received 12 stitches.

March 16, 2023 WV · Coal miner, nec MACHINERY
Panther Creek Mining LLC · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

IW left hand caught between rib and drill.

2022 · 2 incidents

October 5, 2022 WV · Coal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver POWERED HAULAGE
Panther Creek Mining LLC · Struck against a moving object

Employee backed dump truck into fill area and began dumping spoil. The load weight shifted, causing the cab of the truck to raise and turn onto the driver's side. Employee was treated for a shoulder strain/sprain.

March 14, 2022 WV · Coal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman MACHINERY
Panther Creek Mining LLC · Struck by falling object

Employee was cutting a tree. As the tree fell it slipped off the stump falling onto employees foot, resulting in a broken foot.