Pinnacle Mining Company LLC · Struck against stationary object
EMPLOYEE WAS OPERATING #43 DC MOTOR ALONG 8 HAULAGE EXTENSION TRACK WHEN EMPLOYEE STRUCK EMPLOYEE'S HEAD AGAINST A ROOF SUPPORT BEAM. INCIDENT INVESTIGATION ONGOING
Pinnacle Mining Company LLC: 1 recorded fatality operator
Controlled by
ERP Compliant Fuels, LLC
MSHA operator ID: 0051370
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Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2003
7,558
citations
1,940
significant & substantial
$7,186,107
proposed penalties
$4,563,207
paid to date
64% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,622,900 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2003
1,607
inspections on record
76,908
inspection hours
9.8
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.7,558 citations across 76,908 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.$7.2M
proposed penalties
$5.4M
current assessed
$4.6M
paid to date
$886K
outstanding
7,408 assessments are final orders; 227 contested dockets.
Of $4.6M in penalties contested before the Commission, $2.8M was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2024-01-11.
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.26.2%
significant & substantial
3.2%
high negligence or reckless
27.0%
reasonably likely or greater
22.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.9% none, 30.3% low, 65.6% moderate, 3.2% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2018
ⓘ
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.6.17
total case rate
5.43
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.34 and the all-US-mining average was 2.33 cases per 100 workers.
| Year | total case rate | days-away | fatal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 6.17 | 5.43 | 0.000 |
| 2017 | 8.30 | 6.17 | 0.213 |
| 2016 | 6.30 | 5.40 | 0.000 |
| 2015 | 5.22 | 4.10 | 0.000 |
| 2014 | 6.97 | 6.61 | 0.000 |
| 2013 | 4.04 | 2.99 | 0.000 |
| 2012 | 5.51 | 3.83 | 0.000 |
| 2011 | 3.03 | 2.39 | 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.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: 2018-11-27, 7 years ago
ⓘ
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.93%
within 1.5 mg/m3
5,225
samples
8.48
dust max (mg/m3)
13
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.2,060 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 3,165 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR1,554
- JACK SETTER (LONGWALL)524
- MECHANIC368
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2018-12-03, 7 years ago3.4
silica avg (%)
281
samples
17.6
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR90
- JACK SETTER (LONGWALL)34
- MECHANIC19
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: 2018-11-27, 7 years ago
ⓘ
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.15%
over PEL
464
samples
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR50
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)46
- ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)37
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.
1,563
citations taken to the federal commission · 21% of citations on record
- Settled 1,539 · 98%
- Stood as issued 21 · 1%
- Vacated or withdrawn 3 · 0%
75%
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 932 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
38%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$4.5M proposed, $2.8M 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 2019-04-03. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WEVA 2008-941 | Settlement | Barbour | 2009 | $149K → $15K |
| WEVA 2017-0127 | Settlement | Lewis | 2019 | $126K → $83K |
| WEVA 2014-0795 | Settlement | Harner | 2015 | $125K → $88K |
| WEVA 2014-351 | Settlement | Harner | 2015 | $116K → $85K |
| WEVA 2009-700 | Settlement | Bulluck | 2011 | $115K → $63K |
| WEVA 2018-0110 | Settlement | Lewis | 2019 | $100K → $66K |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- POWERED HAULAGE 1 fatality · 43 non-fatal
- FALL OF ROOF OR BACK 191 non-fatal
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 149 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 125 non-fatal
- HOISTING 69 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 67 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2018
29
2017
46 (1f)
2016
26
2015
37
2014
48
2013
44
2012
46
2011
45
2010
74
2009
47
2008
96
2007
58
2006
55
2005
53
2004
31
2003
17
Mines on record
Fatalities under this operator
1 recordedFor insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Pinnacle Mining 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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