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Data / Mines / Lead-zinc ore

Lead-zinc ore mines in the US: 10 open mines

Updated November 6, 2026. Source: US Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Open Government Data Sets.

MSHA lists 10 open lead-zinc ore mines in the US, run by 5 operators and employing 1,429 people. Since January 1, 2022 its inspectors issued 2,639 citations and orders there with $1,685,900 in proposed penalties, and operators reported 309 injury or illness cases, 1 of them fatal. The operators with the most open mines are Doe Run Company; Teck Alaska Inc; Empire State Mines LLC. Data from MSHA, November 6, 2026.

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Open mines
10
Operators
5
Employees
1,429
Active
9
NonProducing
1
Citations and orders since January 1, 2022
2,639
Significant and substantial
434 (16.4%)
Closure orders
32
High negligence or reckless
137
Proposed penalties
$1,685,900
Amount paid so far
$1,386,241
Inspections
534
Inspector hours on site
16,048
Citations per inspection
4.94 (all mines 2.30)
Accident reports
322
Injury and illness cases
309
Fatalities
1
Latest MSHA record
November 5, 2026

Operators with the most open mines

Ranked by open mines, then by citations. Sole proprietors and individuals are not listed.

OperatorOpen minesEmployeesCitations since 2022Proposed penaltiesInjury cases
Doe Run Company66632,031$1,380,530176
Teck Alaska Inc1520327$211,00071
Empire State Mines LLC1140209$82,58224
Silver Valley Metals Corp.110638$4,3065
South32 Hermosa Inc.1034$7,48233

Operators with the most citations

Citations and orders issued since January 1, 2022 at their open mines here.

OperatorOpen minesEmployeesCitations since 2022Proposed penaltiesInjury cases
Doe Run Company66632,031$1,380,530176
Teck Alaska Inc1520327$211,00071
Empire State Mines LLC1140209$82,58224
Silver Valley Metals Corp.110638$4,3065
South32 Hermosa Inc.1034$7,48233

Mines with the most citations

Open mines, ranked by citations and orders since January 1, 2022.

MineOperatorCountyMain commodityEmployeesCitations since 2022
Viburnum #35 (Casteel Mine)Doe Run CompanyIron County, MOLead-zinc ore98475
Fletcher Mine and MillDoe Run CompanyReynolds County, MOLead-zinc ore189437
Sweetwater Mine/MillDoe Run CompanyReynolds County, MOLead-zinc ore157412
Brushy Creek Mine/MillDoe Run CompanyIron County, MOLead-zinc ore139343
Red Dog OperationsTeck Alaska IncNorthwest Arctic, AKLead-zinc ore520327
Buick Mine/MillDoe Run CompanyIron County, MOLead-zinc ore73247
Empire State MinesEmpire State Mines LLCSt Lawrence County, NYLead-zinc ore140209
Viburnum #29 MineDoe Run CompanyWashington County, MOLead-zinc ore7117
Bunker Hill MineSilver Valley Metals Corp.Shoshone County, IDLead-zinc ore10638
Hermosa MineSouth32 Hermosa Inc.Santa Cruz County, AZLead-zinc ore034

States

StateOpen minesShare
Missouri660%
Arizona110%
Idaho110%
New York110%
Alaska110%

Citations and injury cases by year

Calendar years since 2022; 2026 runs to the date of the MSHA files.

YearCitations and ordersSignificant and substantialProposed penaltiesInjury and illness cases
202236255$168,26163
202350478$282,10752
2024617104$395,51664
2025594110$543,72072
202656287$296,29658

Standards cited most at lead-zinc ore mines

Sections of Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations named on the citations, with the part each belongs to.

StandardWhat the part coversCitations
30 CFR 57.14100Underground metal and nonmetal mines211
30 CFR 57.12028Underground metal and nonmetal mines158
30 CFR 57.4201Underground metal and nonmetal mines154
30 CFR 57.20003Underground metal and nonmetal mines140
30 CFR 57.12004Underground metal and nonmetal mines118
30 CFR 57.12032Underground metal and nonmetal mines106
30 CFR 57.3200Underground metal and nonmetal mines68
30 CFR 57.14112Underground metal and nonmetal mines59
30 CFR 56.20003Surface metal and nonmetal mines56
30 CFR 57.14207Underground metal and nonmetal mines55
30 CFR 57.14107Underground metal and nonmetal mines46
30 CFR 57.11001Underground metal and nonmetal mines45
30 CFR 57.12008Underground metal and nonmetal mines41
30 CFR 57.4102Underground metal and nonmetal mines35
30 CFR 57.12006Underground metal and nonmetal mines34

Injury and illness cases at lead-zinc ore mines

Accident reports by degree of injury, as the operator reported them to MSHA.

DegreeCases
Fatality1
Permanent disability2
Days away from work or restricted activity174
No lost time, or an occupational illness132

What the accident reports at lead-zinc ore mines describe

Accident classification, as MSHA codes the circumstances that contributed most directly.

ClassificationReports
Handling of materials97
Disorders (repeated trauma)45
Slip or fall of person44
Handtools (nonpowered)41
Machinery22
Powered haulage22
Other16
Stepping or kneeling on object7
Hoisting6
Fall of roof or back5

Equipment named in accident reports at lead-zinc ore mines

EquipmentReports
Hand tools (not powered)44
Hand tools (powered)14
Front-end loader9
Ore haulage trucks - off highway trucks9
Trucks7
Elevator6
Carriage-mounted drills3
Bulldozer3
Tractor3
Locomotive2

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.