Mining Incidents

Vindex Energy LLC: 465 MSHA citations operator

Controlled by Arch Resources Inc
MSHA operator ID: P23706

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
64
Mines on record
9
Years on record
1997–2017
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
465
citations
184
significant & substantial
$207,900
proposed penalties
$162,348
paid to date
78% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $45,552 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
353
inspections on record
11,404
inspection hours
4.1
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.
465 citations across 11,404 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.
$208K
proposed penalties
$162K
current assessed
$162K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
451 assessments are final orders; 23 contested dockets.
Of $128K in penalties contested before the Commission, $80K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2018-10-18.
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.
40.6%
significant & substantial
2.2%
high negligence or reckless
40.4%
reasonably likely or greater
9.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.2% none, 21.6% low, 75.9% moderate, 2.2% 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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.34 and the all-US-mining average was 2.33 cases per 100 workers.
Under 100,000 employee-hours were reported that year, so a single case moves the rate by two or more. Read the figure as approximate.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2018 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2017 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2016 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2015 0.00 0.00 0.000
2014 1.12 0.00 0.000
2013 0.88 0.88 0.000
2012 2.36 1.41 0.000
2011 4.21 1.69 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.

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: 2018-06-19, 8 years ago
97%
within 1.5 mg/m3
1,021
samples
6.55
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.
789 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 232 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR180
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER150
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR142

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2016-02-18, 10 years ago
13.5
silica avg (%)
69
samples
49.6
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR25
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR16
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR8

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: 2018-06-19, 8 years ago
5%
over PEL
436
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR95
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER92
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE67
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.
24 citations taken to the federal commission · 5% of citations on record
  • Settled 23 · 96%
  • Stood as issued 1 · 4%
82%
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 22 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
37%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$122K proposed, $77K 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 2012-10-25. 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 2012-741 Settlement Feldman 2015 $70K → $50K
YORK 2009-2 Settlement Feldman 2009 $11K → $5K
YORK 2008-167 Settlement Feldman 2009 $10K → $5K
YORK 2011-185 Settlement Lesnick 2012 $9K → $4K
WEVA 2011-2006 Settlement Lesnick 2012 $6K → $4K
WEVA 2012-608 Settlement Feldman 2015 $5K → $4K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2017
1
2014
2
2013
1
2012
7
2011
15
2010
7
2009
3
2008
11
2007
4
2006
6
2005
2
2003
1
2002
1
1998
2
1997
1

Mines on record

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Vindex Energy 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.

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