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Yard 99 - Ashkum: 182 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

VCNA Prairie LLC · Surface
Controlled by VOTORANTIM CIMENTOS
Ashkum, Iroquois County, IL  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 1102986

Yard 99 - Ashkum has $28K in proposed MSHA penalties and $200 outstanding across 4 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
3
Years on record
2010–2025
Latest incident
Apr 2025
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
182
citations
31
significant & substantial
$27,722
proposed penalties
$27,387
paid to date
99% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $335 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See VCNA Prairie LLC's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
72
inspections on record
1,308
inspection hours
13.9
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.
182 citations across 1,308 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Yard 99 - Ashkum has $28K in proposed MSHA penalties and $200 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.
$28K
proposed penalties
$28K
current assessed
$27K
paid to date
$200
outstanding
182 assessments are final orders; 4 contested dockets.
Of $606 in penalties contested before the Commission, $471 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-04-14.
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
33.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.5% none, 29.7% low, 68.1% moderate, 1.6% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
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
LAKE 2005-44M Settlement Lesnick 2005 $240 → $180
LAKE20010006M Settlement Hodgdon 2001 $161 → $111
LAKE20020119M Settlement Bulluck 2002 $150 → $125
LAKE20000044M Settlement Zielinski 2000 $55 → $55
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: 2025-10-29
13%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
32
samples
24
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz82 over
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz131 over
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg7
  • Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz4
Show the individual readings (32)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2018-06-06 Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz 25.16 10 2.52 Cleanup Man
2001-05-15 Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz 33.22 10 3.32 Front-end Loader Operator
2001-05-15 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 3.72 1.84 2.02 Front-end Loader Operator
2025-10-29 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2025-10-29 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Utility Man
2018-08-08 Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz 6.93 10 0.69 Cleanup Man
2018-06-06 Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz 0.21 10 0.02 Front-end Loader Operator
2018-06-06 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.57 Utility Man
2014-09-25 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.82 1.74 0.47 Truck Driver
2014-09-25 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2014-09-25 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.14 10 0.01 Dry Screen Plant Operator
2011-01-20 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 1.36 2.21 0.62 Cleanup Man
2011-01-20 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.21 10 0.02 Truck Driver
2009-12-16 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2009-12-16 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.31 1.58 0.20 Front-end Loader Operator
2009-12-16 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.27 1.34 0.20 Crusher Oper/Worker
2009-12-16 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2009-12-16 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.83 1.85 0.45 Crusher Oper/Worker
2006-08-22 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.75 2.76 0.27 Crusher Oper/Worker
2006-08-22 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.5 2.03 0.25 Cleanup Man
2006-08-22 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.2 1.64 0.12 Front-end Loader Operator
2004-10-13 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 1.86 1.89 0.98 Laborer, Bullgang
2004-10-13 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.24 1.79 0.13 Crusher Oper/Worker
2004-10-13 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.58 2.03 0.29 Crusher Oper/Worker
2003-08-13 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2003-08-13 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.17 10 0.02 Crusher Oper/Worker
2003-08-13 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.15 10 0.02 Laborer, Bullgang
2002-03-27 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2001-08-08 Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz 1.28 10 0.13 Front-end Loader Operator
2000-07-12 Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz 0.94 10 0.09 Front-end Loader Operator
2000-07-12 Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz 3.54 10 0.35 Front-end Loader Operator
2000-07-12 Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz 4.39 10 0.44 Crusher Oper/Worker
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.

Yard 99 - Ashkum recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2024.

Injury rate, 2024
ⓘ 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 metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.77 and the all-US-mining average was 2.08 cases per 100 workers.
In Illinois, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.61 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
2024 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2023 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2022 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2010 * 9.76 0.00 0.000
2009 * 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. Markgraf Materials Company 1996 to 1997
  2. Prairie Material Sales, Inc. - Aggregate Division 1997 to 2008
  3. VCNA Prairie LLC 2008 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 8
2025 8
2024 12
2023 12
2022 9
2021 8
2020 7
2019 7
2018 7
2017 10
2016 8
2015 8
2014 9
2013 9
2012 10
2011 11
2010 11
2009 10
2008 7
2007 7
2006 7
2005 9
2004 6
2003 7
2002 8
2001 9
2000 8
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Yard 99 - Ashkum sits in Iroquois County, Illinois, 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.
Iroquois County, Illinois · Population 26,746
0.3%
Mining share of county employment
$62,439
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 4,565 1 0 219.1
2026 Q1 4,064 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 4,814 4 0 830.9
2025 Q3 3,318 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 4,589 2 0 435.8
2025 Q1 3,472 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 3,973 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 6,017 0 0 0.0
Show 98 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 6,675 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 3,966 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 6,216 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 6,167 4 1 648.6
2023 Q2 5,836 5 0 856.8
2023 Q1 5,818 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 5,985 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 6,077 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 5,499 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 3,597 1 1 278.0
2021 Q4 5,446 2 0 367.2
2021 Q3 4,608 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 4,224 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 3,062 4 0 1306.3
2020 Q4 4,226 2 0 473.3
2020 Q3 4,517 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 4,941 11 1 2226.3
2020 Q1 3,670 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 4,268 9 1 2108.7
2019 Q3 5,811 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 4,877 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 3,390 1 0 295.0
2018 Q4 3,898 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 4,627 1 0 216.1
2018 Q2 3,980 3 0 753.8
2018 Q1 3,165 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 5,063 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 5,291 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 4,573 3 0 656.0
2017 Q1 2,284 2 0 875.7
2016 Q4 3,496 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 4,411 3 0 680.1
2016 Q2 5,217 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 3,024 1 1 330.7
2015 Q4 4,404 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 4,757 7 0 1471.5
2015 Q2 4,621 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 3,083 1 0 324.4
2014 Q4 4,646 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 5,027 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 4,972 4 1 804.5
2014 Q1 2,948 4 0 1356.9
2013 Q4 5,096 1 0 196.2
2013 Q3 5,073 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 4,515 3 0 664.5
2013 Q1 3,437 1 0 291.0
2012 Q4 3,657 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 4,176 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 5,679 6 1 1056.5
2012 Q1 3,861 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 4,267 9 2 2109.2
2011 Q3 6,252 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 4,736 9 1 1900.3
2011 Q1 3,245 4 2 1232.7
2010 Q4 4,456 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 5,156 4 1 775.8
2010 Q2 5,952 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 4,928 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 4,224 7 5 1657.2
2009 Q3 6,351 6 3 944.7
2009 Q2 6,944 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 4,086 3 0 734.2
2008 Q4 4,419 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 4,224 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 4,699 3 0 638.4
2008 Q1 2,780 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 3,450 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 5,070 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 3,759 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 3,199 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 3,759 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 3,999 1 0 250.1
2006 Q2 3,584 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 3,360 2 0 595.2
2005 Q4 3,982 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 4,667 5 3 1071.4
2005 Q2 3,081 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 2,712 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 902 14 1 15521.1
2004 Q3 3,850 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 3,703 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 2,672 1 0 374.3
2003 Q4 3,713 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 3,697 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 2,664 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 2,591 1 0 386.0
2002 Q4 4,261 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 6,538 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 6,439 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 3,760 2 0 531.9
2001 Q4 5,371 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 5,654 1 1 176.9
2001 Q2 6,444 8 1 1241.5
2001 Q1 1,911 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 3,698 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 5,129 2 1 389.9
2000 Q2 7,114 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 3,310 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

3 on file

2025 · 1 incident

April 4, 2025 IL · Metal/Non-Metal miner, prospector, nec OTHER
VCNA Prairie LLC · Bodily reaction, (Not Elsewhere Classified)

While performing a belt change, the employee crouched down to retrieve tools. As they attempted to stand, they applied pressure to their left knee, which resulted in a sharp pain. 5/2/2025 upgraded to Medical Aid. Grade 2 Sprain, requiring Physical Therapy

2019 · 1 incident

January 16, 2019 IL · Metal/Non-Metal dryer operator, kiln operator, dry plant operator, fluid operator, bed dryer operator FALLING/SLIDING/ROLLING MATERIALS
VCNA Prairie LLC · Struck by falling object

Employee was removing material from base of a pipe which was cut to be removed with a bin it was attached to. The weld broke at the top causing it to fall, hitting them on the shoulder. The employee was taken to be medically evaluated which stated that they had a contusion to the right shoulder and was able to return to work the next day with lifting restrictions for a week.

2010 · 1 incident

October 26, 2010 IL · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer HANDLING OF MATERIALS
VCNA Prairie LLC · Struck by falling object

Employee was replacing Universal Joint in Drive Shaft of service truck when Drive Shaft slipped. Employee reached out to catch the shifting Drive Shaft and received laceration on finger. Sutures, tetanus shot, and preventative anti-biotic administered.