Wyo-Ben, Inc: 183 MSHA citations operator
Controlled by
David Brown
MSHA operator ID: L00962
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- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 267
- Mines on record
- 6
- Years on record
- 1986–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
183
citations
42
significant & substantial
$39,694
proposed penalties
$36,014
paid to date
91% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $3,680 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
271
inspections on record
4,393
inspection hours
4.2
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.183 citations across 4,393 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.$40K
proposed penalties
$36K
current assessed
$36K
paid to date
$143
outstanding
179 assessments are final orders; 10 contested dockets.
Of $11K in penalties contested before the Commission, $7K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-11-19.
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.23.2%
significant & substantial
4.4%
high negligence or reckless
23.2%
reasonably likely or greater
47.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 27.1% low, 68.5% moderate, 4.4% 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.4.22
total case rate
3.28
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above 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 | 5.63 | 2.82 | 0.000 |
| 2025 | 4.22 | 3.28 | 0.000 |
| 2024 | 1.96 | 0.98 | 0.000 |
| 2023 | 6.01 | 4.29 | 0.000 |
| 2022 | 1.12 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| 2021 | 3.57 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| 2020 | 4.84 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| 2019 | 2.34 | 0.00 | 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: 2025-12-02
ⓘ
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.13%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
116
samples
53
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
- Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz637 over
- Respirable dust, <.1mg38
- Cristobalite, respirable7
- Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz7
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.
10
citations taken to the federal commission · 5% of citations on record
- Settled 10 · 100%
88%
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 8 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
32%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$11K proposed, $7K 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 2025-12-08. 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 2005-35M | Settlement | Melick | 2005 | $5K → $3K |
| WEST 2007-531M | Settlement | Lesnick | 2007 | $3K → $2K |
| WEST 2010-1356M | Settlement | Lesnick | 2012 | $1K → $1K |
| WEST 2010-1453M | Settlement | Lewis | 2011 | $392 → $100 |
| WEST 2010-802M | Settlement | Lewis | 2011 | $308 → $308 |
| WEST 2023-0320 | Settlement | Simonton | 2026 | $252 → $143 |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 122 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 64 non-fatal
- POWERED HAULAGE 26 non-fatal
- MACHINERY 19 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 17 non-fatal
- OTHER 4 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2026
6
2025
9
2024
4
2023
7
2022
1
2021
3
2020
4
2019
2
2018
3
2017
4
2015
2
2014
7
2013
6
2012
2
2011
9
2010
3
2009
1
2008
7
2007
9
2006
5
2005
2
2004
5
2003
5
2002
2
2001
6
2000
3
1999
3
1998
4
1997
13
1996
15
1995
15
1994
19
1993
11
1992
12
1991
13
1990
17
1989
18
1988
8
1987
1
1986
1
Mines on record
- Stucco Mill WY
- Sage Creek Mill WY
- Magnet Cove Mill WY
- Magnet Cove Mine WY
- Lucerne Mill WY
- Big Horn Basin Mines WY
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Wyo-Ben, 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.