Mining Incidents

Freeport McMoRan Miami Inc: 1 recorded fatality operator

Controlled by Freeport-McMoRan Inc
MSHA operator ID: L17249

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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
125
Mines on record
1
Years on record
2000–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
528
citations
107
significant & substantial
$261,014
proposed penalties
$257,893
paid to date
99% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $3,121 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
110
inspections on record
5,690
inspection hours
9.3
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.
528 citations across 5,690 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.
$261K
proposed penalties
$258K
current assessed
$258K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
523 assessments are final orders; 11 contested dockets.
Of $41K in penalties contested before the Commission, $35K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-03-16.
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.
20.4%
significant & substantial
1.1%
high negligence or reckless
20.2%
reasonably likely or greater
51.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.2% none, 2.3% low, 96.4% moderate, 1.1% high, 0.0% reckless.
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.
2.06
total case rate
2.06
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above 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 * 7.21 4.81 0.000
2025 2.06 2.06 0.000
2024 3.07 3.07 0.000
2023 5.34 4.45 0.000
2022 2.00 0.00 0.000
2021 2.19 0.00 0.000
2020 1.88 0.00 0.000
2019 2.11 1.40 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.
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: 2019-08-14, 7 years ago
22%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
40
samples
9
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Iron oxide fumes21 over
  • Manganese fumes21 over
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg29
  • Sulfuris acid mist3
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.
42 citations taken to the federal commission · 8% of citations on record
  • Settled 35 · 83%
  • Stood as issued 7 · 17%
85%
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 26 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
8%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$39K proposed, $35K 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 2022-08-17. 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
WEST 2012-904M Settlement Gill 2012 $15K → $14K
WEST 2011-946M Settlement Lesnick 2011 $6K → $6K
WEST 2010-1582M Settlement McCarthy 2011 $5K → $5K
WEST 2014-0412 Settlement Lesnick 2014 $4K → $2K
WEST 2011-1133M Withdrawal Lesnick 2012 $3K → $100
WEST 2014-0828 Default Lesnick 2015 $3K → $3K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2026
3
2025
5
2024
6
2023
6
2022
2
2021
2
2020
3
2019
4
2018
5
2017
5
2016
5
2015
6
2014
6
2013
11
2012
8
2011
6
2010
8 (1f)
2008
6
2007
4
2004
1
2003
2
2002
2
2001
6
2000
13

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

1 recorded
January 9, 2010 AZ · Metal/Non-Metal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman Fatality · FALLING/SLIDING/ROLLING MATERIALS
Freeport McMoRan Miami Inc · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Employees were placing 24" HDPE pipe, when the pipe suddenly shifted and rolled on top of one of the workers. He was treated and stabilized at the scene. He was subsequently transported to a hospital, where he later passed away.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Freeport McMoRan Miami 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.

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