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Small Mine Development LLC: 5 recorded fatalities operator

Controlled by Keith Jones
MSHA operator ID: L12820

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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any Small Mine Development LLC mine.

Fatalities
5
Total incidents
143
Mines on record
17
Years on record
1992–2023
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
991
citations
232
significant & substantial
$430,937
proposed penalties
$376,084
paid to date
87% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $54,853 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
371
inspections on record
10,114
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.
991 citations across 10,114 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.
$431K
proposed penalties
$376K
current assessed
$376K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
964 assessments are final orders; 9 contested dockets.
Of $202K in penalties contested before the Commission, $147K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-10.
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.
23.9%
significant & substantial
5.4%
high negligence or reckless
23.9%
reasonably likely or greater
46.6%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 12.9% low, 81.8% moderate, 5.4% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2023
ⓘ 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.
1.47
total case rate
1.47
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.78 and the all-US-mining average was 2.10 cases per 100 workers.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2026 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2023 1.47 1.47 0.000
2022 1.12 0.37 0.000
2021 0.36 0.00 0.000
2020 2.10 0.00 0.000
2019 0.00 0.00 0.000
2018 1.43 0.48 0.478
2017 0.47 0.00 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: 2022-03-07, 4 years ago
37%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
180
samples
161
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Diesel particulate (total carbon)6031 over
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz5912 over
  • Total Carbon,calculated from elemental carbon.2112 over
  • Total Carbon,TC2112 over

Area samples (mill and shop air)

Last sampled: 2022-03-07, 4 years ago
12
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.
11 citations taken to the federal commission · 1% of citations on record
  • Settled 11 · 100%
78%
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 9 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
27%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$202K proposed, $147K 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 2019-04-24. 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 2008-1401M Settlement Manning 2010 $90K → $68K
WEST 2009-478M Settlement Manning 2010 $70K → $52K
WEST 2019-0287 Settlement Manning 2019 $24K → $14K
WEST 2019-0288 Settlement Manning 2019 $16K → $12K
WEST 2010-1639M Settlement Lesnick 2011 $745 → $372
WEST 2009-798M Settlement Lesnick 2010 $460 → $100
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2023
1
2022
4
2021
1
2020
5
2019
1
2018
3 (1f)
2017
1
2016
3
2015
6 (1f)
2014
2
2013
3
2012
5
2011
5
2010
6
2009
6
2008
7 (2f)
2007
7 (1f)
2006
6
2005
1
2004
3
2003
2
2002
3
2001
5
2000
6
1999
8
1998
2
1997
10
1996
6
1995
12
1994
9
1993
3
1992
1

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

5 recorded
October 25, 2018 NV · Metal/Non-Metal miner, nec Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Small Mine Development LLC · Struck by falling object

Fall of the roof or back resulting in a fatal injury.

August 3, 2015 NV · Metal/Non-Metal rock driller Fatality · MACHINERY
SMALL MINE DEVELOPMENT L.L.C. · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee was operating a jumbo on an incline in the main haulage. The operator drifted to the right rib and the spare drill steel in the drill steel rack came in contact with the right rib. The drill steel gained pressure breaking the drill steel rack striking employee with the drill steel in the head causing a fatal blow.

April 21, 2008 NV · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Small Mine Development, LLC · Struck by falling object

While repairing hydraulic hose on bolter backfill fell in striking employee.

January 26, 2008 NV · Metal/Non-Metal truck driver Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Small Mine Development, LLC · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Employee was walking behind haul truck when truck backed over him.

August 28, 2007 NV · Metal/Non-Metal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Small Mine Development, LLC · Struck by falling object

While bolting in the face the left rib failed back from the face and buried the operator.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Small Mine Development 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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