81% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $387,481 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
338
inspections on record
18,248
inspection hours
10.7
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.
1,958 citations across 18,248 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.
$2.1M
proposed penalties
$1.7M
current assessed
$1.7M
paid to date
$0
outstanding
1,911 assessments are final orders; 59 contested dockets.
Of $1.1M in penalties contested before the Commission, $672K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2019-06-12.
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, 2019
ⓘ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.
0.72
total case rate
0.36
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.94 and the all-US-mining average was 2.32 cases per 100 workers.
Year
total case rate
days-away
fatal
2019
0.72
0.36
0.000
2018
1.17
0.59
0.000
2017
1.33
1.14
0.000
2016
1.07
0.00
0.000
2015
0.59
0.20
0.000
2014
0.42
0.00
0.000
2013
1.56
0.67
0.000
2012
1.88
0.23
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: 2019-07-02, 7 years ago
28%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
123
samples
109
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Diesel particulate (total carbon)3818 over
Total Carbon,calculated from elemental carbon.208 over
Total Carbon,TC206 over
TCarbon @ 35062 over
Area samples (mill and shop air)
Last sampled: 2016-12-13, 9 years ago
5
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.
282citations taken to the federal commission · 14% of citations on record
Settled
240 · 85%
Stood as issued
42 · 15%
78%
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 140 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
36%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$957K proposed, $615K 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 2019-10-16. 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.
Barrick Turquoise Ridge, Inc. · Contact with electrical current
2 ELECTRICIANS INSPECTING A 13,800 VOLT TO 2400 VOLT TRANSFORMER NEAR COLLAR OF SHAFT #1. ONE ELECTRICIAN CONTACTED ONE OR MORE PHASES ON THE HIGH VOLTAGE TAPS RESULTING IN A FATAL ELECTROCUTION OF THE ELECTRICAL FOREMAN.
Barrick Turquoise Ridge, Inc. · Struck by falling object
EMPLOYEE WAS INSTALLING 6' SPLIT-SET BOLTS AND WIRE MESH FOR GROUND SUPPORT IN THE LAST ROUND BLASTED USING A JACKLEG DRILL FOR INSTALLATION OF GROUND SUPPORT. DURING BOLTING CYCLE, A MAJOR FA LL OF GROUND OCCURRED BURYING EMPLOYEE.
October 12, 1999NV · Metal/Non-Metalsection foreman, bullgang foreman, labor foreman, leadman, shift bossFatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Barrick Turquoise Ridge, Inc. · Struck by falling object
EMPOLOYEE WAS INSTALLING 6' SPLIT-SET ROCK BOLTS AND WIRE MESH IN THE LAST ROUND BLASTED WITH A JACKLEG DRILL. DURING THE BOLTING CYCLE, A MAJOR FALL OF GROUND OCCURRED AND EMPLOYEE WAS BURIED AND FATALLY INJURED.
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Barrick Turquoise Ridge, Inc. 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.