Ground silica mines in the US: 13 open mines
Updated November 6, 2026. Source: US Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Open Government Data Sets.
MSHA lists 13 open ground silica mines in the US, run by 12 operators and employing 435 people. Since January 1, 2022 its inspectors issued 763 citations and orders there with $570,816 in proposed penalties, and operators reported 47 injury or illness cases. The operators with the most open mines are U.S. Silica Company, LLC; Carousel Energy Services; Great Sand LLC. Data from MSHA, November 6, 2026.
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- Open mines
- 13
- Operators
- 12
- Employees
- 435
- Active
- 12
- Intermittent
- 1
- Mines run by individuals, counted and not listed
- 1
- Citations and orders since January 1, 2022
- 763
- Significant and substantial
- 143 (18.7%)
- Closure orders
- 9
- High negligence or reckless
- 64
- Proposed penalties
- $570,816
- Amount paid so far
- $430,004
- Inspections
- 243
- Inspector hours on site
- 3,068
- Citations per inspection
- 3.14 (all mines 2.30)
- Accident reports
- 51
- Injury and illness cases
- 47
- Fatalities
- 0
- Latest MSHA record
- October 26, 2026
Operators with the most open mines
Ranked by open mines, then by citations. Sole proprietors and individuals are not listed.
| Operator | Open mines | Employees | Citations since 2022 | Proposed penalties | Injury cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Silica Company, LLC | 2 | 192 | 230 | $115,832 | 12 |
| Carousel Energy Services | 1 | 4 | 117 | $225,706 | 0 |
| Great Sand LLC | 1 | 23 | 96 | $60,328 | 6 |
| Csi Sands NE LTD. | 1 | 3 | 85 | $64,142 | 1 |
| Lane Mt. Silica Co. | 1 | 39 | 82 | $26,376 | 7 |
| DTS Sands LLC | 1 | 5 | 40 | $8,890 | 1 |
| Best Sand Corporation | 1 | 37 | 24 | $3,924 | 2 |
| Warrior Minerals, LLC | 1 | 21 | 16 | $2,673 | 1 |
| Covia Solutions LLC | 1 | 43 | 8 | $2,010 | 7 |
| Riverside Milling Company, LLC | 1 | 4 | 1 | $143 | 1 |
| Dream Catcher Mining LLC | 1 | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 |
Operators with the most citations
Citations and orders issued since January 1, 2022 at their open mines here.
| Operator | Open mines | Employees | Citations since 2022 | Proposed penalties | Injury cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Silica Company, LLC | 2 | 192 | 230 | $115,832 | 12 |
| Carousel Energy Services | 1 | 4 | 117 | $225,706 | 0 |
| Great Sand LLC | 1 | 23 | 96 | $60,328 | 6 |
| Csi Sands NE LTD. | 1 | 3 | 85 | $64,142 | 1 |
| Lane Mt. Silica Co. | 1 | 39 | 82 | $26,376 | 7 |
| DTS Sands LLC | 1 | 5 | 40 | $8,890 | 1 |
| Best Sand Corporation | 1 | 37 | 24 | $3,924 | 2 |
| Warrior Minerals, LLC | 1 | 21 | 16 | $2,673 | 1 |
| Covia Solutions LLC | 1 | 43 | 8 | $2,010 | 7 |
| Riverside Milling Company, LLC | 1 | 4 | 1 | $143 | 1 |
| Dream Catcher Mining LLC | 1 | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 |
Mines with the most citations
Open mines, ranked by citations and orders since January 1, 2022.
| Mine | Operator | County | Main commodity | Employees | Citations since 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Plant | U.S. Silica Company, LLC | La Salle County, IL | Ground silica | 124 | 209 |
| Poteet Plant | Carousel Energy Services | Atascosa County, TX | Ground silica | 4 | 117 |
| Thompson Mine | Great Sand LLC | Geauga County, OH | Ground silica | 23 | 96 |
| Dock #1 Whiskey Island | Csi Sands NE LTD. | Cuyahoga County, OH | Ground silica | 3 | 85 |
| Lane Mtn Silica Quarry & Mill | Lane Mt. Silica Co. | Stevens County, WA | Ground silica | 39 | 82 |
| DTS Sands, Beaver Mine | DTS Sands LLC | Pike County, OH | Ground silica | 5 | 40 |
| Best Sand, Chardon | Best Sand Corporation | Geauga County, OH | Ground silica | 37 | 24 |
| Berkeley Plant | U.S. Silica Company, LLC | Morgan County, WV | Ground silica | 68 | 21 |
| Hinton Plant | Warrior Minerals, LLC | Oklahoma County, OK | Ground silica | 21 | 16 |
| Marston Plant | Covia Solutions LLC | Richmond County, NC | Ground silica | 43 | 8 |
| Riverside Operation | Riverside Milling Company, LLC | Riverside County, CA | Ground silica | 4 | 1 |
| Diamond Mine #3 | Dream Catcher Mining LLC | Dorchester County, SC | Ground silica | 2 | 0 |
States
| State | Open mines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 4 | 30.8% |
| California | 1 | 7.7% |
| Illinois | 1 | 7.7% |
| North Carolina | 1 | 7.7% |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 7.7% |
| South Carolina | 1 | 7.7% |
| Texas | 1 | 7.7% |
| Utah | 1 | 7.7% |
| Washington | 1 | 7.7% |
| West Virginia | 1 | 7.7% |
Citations and injury cases by year
Calendar years since 2022; 2026 runs to the date of the MSHA files.
| Year | Citations and orders | Significant and substantial | Proposed penalties | Injury and illness cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 113 | 28 | $73,690 | 6 |
| 2023 | 186 | 40 | $171,728 | 13 |
| 2024 | 186 | 31 | $142,681 | 12 |
| 2025 | 202 | 41 | $162,698 | 7 |
| 2026 | 76 | 3 | $20,019 | 9 |
Standards cited most at ground silica mines
Sections of Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations named on the citations, with the part each belongs to.
| Standard | What the part covers | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 30 CFR 56.12032 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 53 |
| 30 CFR 56.14107 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 52 |
| 30 CFR 56.14100 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 51 |
| 30 CFR 56.20003 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 43 |
| 30 CFR 56.12004 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 43 |
| 30 CFR 56.14112 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 35 |
| 30 CFR 56.4201 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 33 |
| 30 CFR 56.12028 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 25 |
| 30 CFR 56.12018 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 24 |
| 30 CFR 56.11001 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 22 |
| 30 CFR 56.18002 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 22 |
| 30 CFR 56.12008 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 20 |
| 30 CFR 56.12030 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 19 |
| 30 CFR 56.14207 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 16 |
| 30 CFR 56.14132 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 16 |
Injury and illness cases at ground silica mines
Accident reports by degree of injury, as the operator reported them to MSHA.
| Degree | Cases |
|---|---|
| Days away from work or restricted activity | 32 |
| No lost time, or an occupational illness | 15 |
What the accident reports at ground silica mines describe
Accident classification, as MSHA codes the circumstances that contributed most directly.
| Classification | Reports |
|---|---|
| Handling of materials | 15 |
| Slip or fall of person | 9 |
| Machinery | 8 |
| Powered haulage | 5 |
| Handtools (nonpowered) | 4 |
| Fire | 3 |
| Other | 2 |
| Disorders (repeated trauma) | 2 |
| Stepping or kneeling on object | 1 |
| Occupational skin diseases | 1 |
Equipment named in accident reports at ground silica mines
| Equipment | Reports |
|---|---|
| Front-end loader | 6 |
| Hand tools (not powered) | 4 |
| Ore haulage trucks - off highway trucks | 4 |
| Conveyor | 2 |
| Crane | 2 |
| Hand tools (powered) | 2 |
| Classifier | 1 |
| Screen | 1 |
| Road grader | 1 |
| Packaging machine | 1 |
US government work, public domain. Counts come from the MSHA files published on November 6, 2026. An open mine is one MSHA lists as Active, Intermittent, New Mine, Temporarily Idled or NonProducing; 13,673 were open that day. Citations, penalties, inspections and accident reports run from January 1, 2022. A citation is an inspector's allegation and an operator can contest it; the penalty is the amount MSHA first proposed, before any contest or settlement. An operator is the legal entity MSHA assesses, and a parent company is its controller. Mines run by sole proprietors or by individuals are counted in every total and are not named. This page uses MSHA data and is not endorsed or certified by MSHA. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0. Spot a wrong value? Write to [email protected] with the link to this page.