Mining Incidents

Heidelberg Materials Midwest Agg, Inc.: 2 recorded fatalities operator

Controlled by Heidelberg Materials AG
MSHA operator ID: L16286

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Fatalities
2
Total incidents
783
Mines on record
56
Years on record
1988–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
3,704
citations
669
significant & substantial
$1,642,671
proposed penalties
$1,427,899
paid to date
87% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $214,772 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
2,437
inspections on record
50,479
inspection hours
7.3
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.
3,704 citations across 50,479 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.
$1.6M
proposed penalties
$1.5M
current assessed
$1.4M
paid to date
$35K
outstanding
3,530 assessments are final orders; 81 contested dockets.
Of $489K in penalties contested before the Commission, $294K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-29.
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.
18.1%
significant & substantial
2.1%
high negligence or reckless
18.2%
reasonably likely or greater
34.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.1% none, 21.8% low, 75.9% moderate, 2.1% 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.
1.41
total case rate
0.26
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below 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 1.28 1.28 0.000
2025 1.41 0.26 0.000
2024 1.70 0.85 0.000
2023 1.24 0.45 0.000
2022 1.07 0.53 0.000
2021 2.43 0.64 0.000
2020 2.38 0.43 0.000
2019 1.87 0.00 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: 2026-08-06
8%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
1,100
samples
672
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Diesel particulate (total carbon)9224 over
  • Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz11720 over
  • Total Carbon,TC126 over
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz1895 over

Area samples (mill and shop air)

Last sampled: 2026-05-28
48
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.
173 citations taken to the federal commission · 5% of citations on record
  • Settled 156 · 90%
  • Stood as issued 12 · 7%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 1%
  • Still open 4 · 2%
64%
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 85 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
38%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$468K proposed, $289K 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 2025-09-28. 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
LAKE 2016-0261 Settlement Lewis 2018 $210K → $171K
LAKE 2025-0086 Settlement Simonton 2025 $134K → $73K
LAKE 2025-0341 Settlement Simonton 2026 $47K → $4K
LAKE 2023-0067 Settlement Simonton 2023 $25K → $9K
LAKE 2025-0051 Settlement 2025 $8K → $4K
KENT 2021-0033 Settlement McCarthy 2021 $5K → $5K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2026
9
2025
12
2024
14
2023
13
2022
10
2021
20
2020
12
2019
13
2018
11
2017
7
2016
13
2015
7 (1f)
2014
8
2013
13
2012
6
2011
10
2010
9
2009
14
2008
19
2007
14
2006
9
2005
34
2004
18
2003
24
2002
17
2001
25
2000
20
1999
15
1998
31
1997
19
1996
17
1995
33
1994
55
1993
46
1992
48
1991
43
1990
46 (1f)
1989
43
1988
6

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

2 recorded
July 10, 2015 OH · Metal/Non-Metal superintendent Fatality · MACHINERY
Heidelberg Materials Midwest Agg, Inc. · Drowning

The employee was performing work activities on a sand dredge to free a clam shell bucket from material in a lake when the dredge capsized.

July 5, 1990 KY · Metal/Non-Metal blaster, shooter, shotfirer, explosive worker, powder gang/monkey Fatality · EXPLOSIVES AND BREAKING AGENTS
Hanson Aggregates Midwest Inc · Struck by flying object

THE POWDER CREW WAS IN THE PROCESS OF SETTING OFF A FLOOR SHOT. THE POWDER MAN TOLD THE POWDER MAN HELPER HE WAS GOING TO WALK UP TO A POINT AND YELL BACK AT HIM WHEN TO FIRE THE SHOT. THE POW DER MAN GAVE THE SIGNAL TO SHOOT. A FLY ROCK WAS BLOWN OVER A EST. 200-250 FT BLUFF AND HIT THE POWDER MAN IN THE HEAD.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Heidelberg Materials Midwest Agg, 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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