Mining Incidents

Rosebud Mining Company: 6 recorded fatalities operator

Controlled by J Clifford Forrest III
MSHA operator ID: P09635

Watch this operator

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any Rosebud Mining Company mine.

Fatalities
6
Total incidents
1,840
Mines on record
61
Years on record
1996–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
18,121
citations
3,979
significant & substantial
$7,668,391
proposed penalties
$5,508,339
paid to date
72% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,160,052 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
8,365
inspections on record
471,987
inspection hours
3.8
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.
18,121 citations across 471,987 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.
$7.7M
proposed penalties
$5.5M
current assessed
$5.5M
paid to date
$16K
outstanding
17,708 assessments are final orders; 1,817 contested dockets.
Of $5.5M in penalties contested before the Commission, $3.2M was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-23.
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.
22.3%
significant & substantial
1.8%
high negligence or reckless
22.7%
reasonably likely or greater
23.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.2% none, 52.7% low, 45.3% moderate, 1.7% 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.
4.75
total case rate
2.89
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above 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 6.28 4.81 0.000
2025 4.75 2.89 0.000
2024 5.07 2.25 0.000
2023 6.03 2.78 0.000
2022 8.05 3.91 0.000
2021 7.63 4.01 0.125
2020 5.14 2.36 0.000
2019 6.78 2.59 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: 2026-08-20
98%
within 1.5 mg/m3
80,113
samples
157
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.
20,464 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 59,649 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • MOBILE BRIDGE OPERATOR23,686
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR22,683
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)14,417

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2026-08-18
2.9
silica avg (%)
5,661
samples
42.6
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR1,668
  • MOBILE BRIDGE OPERATOR1,341
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)885

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: 2026-08-12
6%
over PEL
5,988
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • MOBILE BRIDGE OPERATOR978
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER647
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)596
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.
3,775 citations taken to the federal commission · 21% of citations on record
  • Settled 3,654 · 97%
  • Stood as issued 110 · 3%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 0%
  • Still open 10 · 0%
77%
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 3,221 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
40%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$5.3M proposed, $3.2M 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 2026-07-23. 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
PENN 2009-239 Settlement Lewis 2011 $255K → $164K
PENN 2006-199 Settlement Melick 2007 $150K → $125K
PENN 2008-152 Settlement Bulluck 2009 $117K → $13K
PENN 2009-70 Settlement Weisberger 2012 $113K → $36K
PENN 2010-826 Settlement Harner 2012 $98K → $10K
PENN 2006-299 Settlement Feldman 2007 $66K → $66K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2026
32
2025
51
2024
53
2023
57
2022
72
2021
68 (1f)
2020
42
2019
64
2018
53 (1f)
2017
58
2016
30
2015
72 (1f)
2014
102
2013
101
2012
126
2011
121
2010
74
2009
67
2008
98 (1f)
2007
68
2006
49
2005
42 (2f)
2004
73
2003
40
2002
42
2001
64
2000
38
1999
25
1998
21
1997
25
1996
12

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

6 recorded
May 14, 2021 PA · Coal continuous miner operator, coal mole operator Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Rosebud Mining Company · Struck by falling object

A continuous miner operator was mining in the number one entry when employee was struck by a rock in by permanent roof supports. This resulted in a fatality.

September 11, 2018 PA · Coal beltman, conveyor man, conveyor belt worker, mobile bridge carrierman, feeder operator, conveyor rider Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Rosebud Mining Company · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

The CM had backed out of the number one entry and began tramming to the number two entry when ee noticed the front MBC on the attached system did not pull ahead. At that time, the victim was found at the MBC suffering from crushing injuries. This resulted in a fatality.

February 20, 2015 PA · Coal roof bolter helper, rock bolter helper, pinner helper Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Rosebud Mining Company · Struck by falling object

On February 20, 2015, a fatal accident occurred in the #2 slope entry of the A Mains, MMU 001. The roof bolter operator received crushing injuries during the bolting process.

April 18, 2008 PA · Coal continuous miner operator, coal mole operator Fatality · MACHINERY
Rosebud Mining Company · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

The victim placed himself where he could get hit by the mining machine.

December 12, 2005 PA · Coal continuous miner operator, coal mole operator Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Rosebud Mining Company · Struck by falling object

Employee was mining a cut of coal when a horseback fell out causing fatal injury.

June 10, 2005 PA · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Rosebud Mining Company · Struck by falling object

Employee moved roof bolter outby face to rebolt in the section. Horse back fell out causing fatal injury.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Rosebud Mining Company 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
Need a different cut of the data? Ask us