Mining Incidents

Branham & Baker Coal Company, LLC: 50 MSHA citations operator

MSHA operator ID: 0187433

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Mines on record
0
Years on record
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2023
50
citations
14
significant & substantial
$8,884
proposed penalties
$1,064
paid to date
12% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $7,820 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2023
14
inspections on record
768
inspection hours
n/a
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.
Rate withheld: 768 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
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.
$9K
proposed penalties
$9K
current assessed
$1K
paid to date
$8K
outstanding
44 assessments are final orders; 5 contested dockets.
Of $2K in penalties contested before the Commission, $1K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-08.
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.
28.0%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
28.0%
reasonably likely or greater
16.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.0% low, 96.0% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, 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.

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: 2026-07-10
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
21
samples
0.55
dust max (mg/m3)
0
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.
21 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER10
  • BARGE ATTENDANT7
  • UTILITY MAN2

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2026-07-09
1.3
silica avg (%)
3
samples
2.4
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER3

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: 2026-07-10
0%
over PEL
21
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER10
  • BARGE ATTENDANT7
  • UTILITY MAN2
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, 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.
12 citations taken to the federal commission · 24% of citations on record
  • Settled 5 · 42%
  • Stood as issued 1 · 8%
  • Still open 6 · 50%
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 4 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
11%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$2K proposed, $1K 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 2026-03-17. 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.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
KENT 2023-0148 Settlement Lewis 2024 $632 → $459
KENT 2023-0119 Settlement Lewis 2024 $576 → $576
KENT 2025-0029 Settlement Lewis 2025 $221 → $221
KENT 2025-0027 Dismissal Young 2025 $189 → $189
KENT 2026-0043 Decision pending
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

No reportable incidents on file.

MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents associated with this operator.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Branham & Baker Coal Company, 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.

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