Mining Incidents

Aracoma Coal Company operator

MSHA operator ID: P21118
Fatalities
4
Total incidents
573
Mines on record
9
Years on record
2000–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
9,307
citations
2,671
significant & substantial
$10,062,420
proposed penalties
$7,711,436
paid to date
77% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,350,985 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
1,590
inspections on record
101,633
inspection hours
9.2
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.
9,307 citations across 101,633 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Penalty disposition
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.
$10.1M
proposed penalties
$7.8M
current assessed
$7.7M
paid to date
$83K
outstanding
8,964 assessments are final orders; 304 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-05-09.
Source: MSHA assessed-violations and conference/litigation data, updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2026
2
2025
13
2024
10
2023
25
2022
15
2021
22 (1f)
2020
16
2019
21
2018
16
2017
21
2016
23
2015
19
2014
28
2013
18
2012
22
2011
26
2010
12
2009
5
2008
19 (1f)
2007
23
2006
44 (2f)
2005
37
2004
17
2003
24
2002
40
2001
37
2000
18

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

4 recorded
January 22, 2021 WV · Coal shuttle car operator, mantrip operator, ramcar operator, rail runner, buggy operator Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Aracoma Coal Company · Struck by powered moving object

#2 shuttle car was traveling back toward #5 entry to turn down towards feeder, and the #3 shuttle car was already traveling this entry when the #2 car came thru the fly pad they contacted the operators compartment of the #3 car injuring the operator. The EE died on 2/21/21, autopsy results state EE died as the result of a thromboembolism.

May 16, 2008 WV · Coal electrician, lineman Fatality · ELECTRICAL
Aracoma Coal Company, LLC · Contact with electrical current

While atempting to repair a shuttle car without determining that the trailing cable was de-energized and without locking-out and tagging the power source. EE received fatal injries when he cut into an energized phase lead.

January 19, 2006 WV · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) Fatality · FIRE
Aracoma Coal Company, LLC · Inhalation of radiations, caustics, toxic and noxious substances

Employee, member of 002 section crew, was evacuating the mine. He became separated from his crew and did not survive mine fire.

January 19, 2006 WV · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) Fatality · FIRE
Aracoma Coal Company, LLC · Inhalation of radiations, caustics, toxic and noxious substances

Employee, member of 002 section crew, was evacuating the mine. He became separated from his crew and did not survive mine fire.

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The full compliance file on Aracoma Coal Company

A dated report covering the 26-year penalty trail, line-item violation pattern, contest and docket posture, rate-normalized peer benchmark, and full fatality history. Delivered as a PDF with the underlying data as CSV.