United Taconite LLC · Fall from machine
Employee fell from cab of drill when drill tipped over. Employee fell approximately 40 feet from the dab to the next lower bench. Fall resulted in fatal injuries.
United Taconite LLC: 2 recorded fatalities operator
Controlled by
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc
MSHA operator ID: 0051885
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Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2004
3,966
citations
626
significant & substantial
$5,712,476
proposed penalties
$4,456,903
paid to date
78% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,255,573 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2004
281
inspections on record
18,173
inspection hours
21.8
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.3,966 citations across 18,173 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.$5.7M
proposed penalties
$4.5M
current assessed
$4.5M
paid to date
$48K
outstanding
3,844 assessments are final orders; 114 contested dockets.
Of $3.2M in penalties contested before the Commission, $2.0M was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-04.
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.15.9%
significant & substantial
1.1%
high negligence or reckless
15.9%
reasonably likely or greater
30.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.3% none, 36.7% low, 61.9% moderate, 1.1% 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.1.65
total case rate
0.73
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
About 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 | 1.08 | 0.72 | 0.000 |
| 2025 | 1.65 | 0.73 | 0.000 |
| 2024 | 1.22 | 0.17 | 0.000 |
| 2023 | 1.94 | 0.35 | 0.000 |
| 2022 | 1.65 | 0.91 | 0.000 |
| 2021 | 0.89 | 0.53 | 0.000 |
| 2020 | 1.48 | 0.55 | 0.000 |
| 2019 | 1.86 | 0.51 | 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: 2026-07-13
ⓘ
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.30%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
249
samples
149
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
- Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz14243 over
- Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz21 over
- Respirable dust, <.1mg75
- Fibers, >5um14
Area samples (mill and shop air)
Last sampled: 2014-05-13, 12 years ago8
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.
883
citations taken to the federal commission · 22% of citations on record
- Settled 848 · 96%
- Stood as issued 5 · 1%
- Vacated or withdrawn 3 · 0%
- Still open 27 · 3%
50%
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 375 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
38%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$3.2M proposed, $2.0M 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 2026-08-05. 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 2015-0592 | Settlement | Simonton | 2015 | $156K → $90K |
| LAKE 2009-300M | Settlement | Feldman | 2012 | $140K → $70K |
| LAKE 2013-522M | Settlement | Andrews | 2014 | $128K → $89K |
| LAKE 2016-0056 | Settlement | Barbour | 2016 | $122K → $81K |
| LAKE 2010-824M | Settlement | Zielinski | 2012 | $118K → $75K |
| LAKE 2007-148M | Settlement | Zielinski | 2008 | $104K → $57K |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- MACHINERY 1 fatality · 41 non-fatal
- ELECTRICAL 1 fatality · 2 non-fatal
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 134 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 72 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 43 non-fatal
- DISORDERS (REPEATED TRAUMA) 32 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2026
8
2025
10
2024
15
2023
13
2022
9
2021
12
2020
11
2019
18
2018
19
2017
21
2016
13
2015
7
2014
17
2013
23
2012
16
2011
23
2010
20
2009
29
2008
23
2007
18 (1f)
2006
20 (1f)
2005
31
2004
27
2003
3
Mines on record
- United Plant MN
- United - Mine MN
Fatalities under this operator
2 recordedFor insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where United Taconite 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.
The federal record itself stays free on this site. What costs money, and why.