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Prime Processing, Inc.: 323 MSHA citations operator

Controlled by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc
MSHA operator ID: 0055016

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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any Prime Processing, Inc. mine.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
44
Mines on record
3
Years on record
2006–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2004
323
citations
76
significant & substantial
$114,419
proposed penalties
$85,596
paid to date
75% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $28,823 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2004
219
inspections on record
5,693
inspection hours
5.7
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.
323 citations across 5,693 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.
$114K
proposed penalties
$86K
current assessed
$86K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
314 assessments are final orders; 6 contested dockets.
Of $71K in penalties contested before the Commission, $42K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-02-11.
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.
24.1%
significant & substantial
7.3%
high negligence or reckless
24.1%
reasonably likely or greater
40.6%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 40.3% low, 52.4% moderate, 7.3% 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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.19 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2026 3.79 0.00 0.000
2025 0.00 0.00 0.000
2024 0.97 0.00 0.000
2023 1.70 0.85 0.000
2022 1.73 1.73 0.000
2021 0.97 0.97 0.000
2020 1.93 0.96 0.000
2019 4.21 1.05 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: 2026-06-08
99%
within 1.5 mg/m3
441
samples
1.78
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.
334 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 107 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR182
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER91
  • UTILITY MAN59

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2025-11-05
3.7
silica avg (%)
16
samples
11.9
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR16
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2026-04-07
2%
over PEL
230
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER60
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR47
  • UTILITY MAN44
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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.
33 citations taken to the federal commission · 10% of citations on record
  • Settled 16 · 48%
  • Stood as issued 17 · 52%
94%
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 32 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
41%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$71K proposed, $42K 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 2010-05-26. 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 2010-639 Settlement Lewis 2011 $63K → $37K
WEVA 2010-640 Dismissal Lewis 2011 $3K → $3K
WEVA 2009-1388 Settlement Miller 2010 $3K → $1K
WEVA 2010-1098 Settlement Lewis 2012 $848 → $700
WEVA 2008-1707 Settlement Bulluck 2010 $540 → $100
WEVA 2008-1708 Default Lesnick 2010 $374 → $374
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2026
2
2024
3
2023
2
2022
4
2021
2
2020
5
2019
10
2018
2
2017
1
2016
1
2010
3
2009
7
2008
1
2006
1

Mines on record

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Prime Processing, 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.

The federal record itself stays free on this site. What costs money, and why.

See a sample report
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