80% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,124,576 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
1,201
inspections on record
50,729
inspection hours
11.4
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.
5,799 citations across 50,729 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.
$5.6M
proposed penalties
$4.8M
current assessed
$4.5M
paid to date
$275K
outstanding
5,659 assessments are final orders; 182 contested dockets.
Of $2.5M in penalties contested before the Commission, $1.6M was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-05-07.
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.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
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.
1.59
total case rate
0.26
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
About average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
Year
total case rate
days-away
fatal
2026
1.54
0.51
0.000
2025
1.59
0.26
0.000
2024
1.84
0.34
0.000
2023
1.62
0.44
0.000
2022
2.27
0.49
0.000
2021
1.36
0.34
0.000
2020
1.98
0.26
0.000
2019
3.34
0.94
0.000
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.
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: 2026-05-21
16%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
561
samples
337
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz27349 over
Total Carbon,calculated from elemental carbon.123 over
Total Carbon,TC123 over
Copper fumes211 over
Area samples (mill and shop air)
Last sampled: 2026-05-12
31
samples
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.
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.
751citations taken to the federal commission · 13% of citations on record
Settled
615 · 82%
Stood as issued
49 · 7%
Vacated or withdrawn
23 · 3%
Still open
64 · 9%
66%
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 432 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
34%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$2.3M proposed, $1.5M 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 2026-07-26. Vacated and withdrawn citations are removed from the file this view attributes through, so that outcome is slightly undercounted here.
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 operator contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
ASARCO LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object
Employee in flatbed service truck was parked on a waste dump at the Mission Mine. A 320 ton haul truck ran over flatbed service truck resulting in fatal accident.
June 20, 2010AZ · Metal/Non-Metalmaintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service techFatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Asarco LLC · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object
The investigation is not complete, but as of now it appears a haul truck struck a pick-up truck. The cause of the accident is unknown at this time.
The investigation is not complete, but as of now it appears that the haul truck he was driving made contact with the safety berm and tipped on its side. The caue of the accident is unknown at this time.
August 15, 2008AZ · Metal/Non-Metalelectrician helperFatality · ELECTRICAL
Asarco LLC · Contact with electrical current
Employee (electrician apprentice) and a co-worker (journeyman electrician) were working on a light fixture of the SX upper tailings booster when he came in contact with energized wire.
August 17, 2002AZ · Metal/Non-Metalminer, necFatality · ELECTRICAL
ASARCO Incorporated · Contact with electrical current
A PORTABLE TOILET WAS MOUNTED ON A RAILCAR. ALONG THE SIDES OF THE TUNNEL, AT 200 FEET INTERVALS ARE LIGHTS, ALONG WITH JUNCTION BOXES. THIS LIGHTING SYSTEM IS 480 VOLTS. AS THE RAILCAR WAS BE ING MOVE, THE VICTIM WAS ATTEMPTING TO RAISE THE 480 VOLT CABLE AND JUNCTION BOX TO PREVENT IT FROM RUBBING ON TH TOILET. AT THAT TIME THE ELECTROCUTION OF THE VICTIM OCCURRED.
June 1, 2002AZ · Metal/Non-Metalbeltman, conveyor man, conveyor belt worker, mobile bridge carrierman, feeder operator, conveyor riderFatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Asarco LLC · Caught in, under or between running or meshing objects
EMPLOYEE WAS OPERATING #10 TRIPPER CONVEYOR AND GOT CAUGHT IN THE MECHANISM.
ON JAN. 31, 2000, AT APPROXIMATELY 8:00 PM, A FALL OF GROUND OCCURRED IN THE #215 STOPE AREA THAT CAUSED A FATAL INJURY, INJURY TO OTHER PERSONNEL AND PROPERTY DAMAGE. EXACT SEQUENCE OF EVENTS ARE STILL UNKNOWN AND UNDERGOING INVESTIGATION.
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Asarco LLC stands on silica, penalties, and injury rate
MSHA's standard limits respirable silica to 50 micrograms per cubic metre, but MSHA publishes
dust and quartz as separate files and never the silica figure itself. We derive it per sample,
score it against the limit, and set the operator's injury rate against a benchmark built from
the full MSHA operator record. With the 26-year penalty trail, contest posture, and fatality
history. Delivered as a PDF with the underlying data as CSV.