Data / Mines / West Virginia / Nicholas County
Mines in Nicholas County, West Virginia: 18 open mines
MSHA lists 18 open mines in Nicholas County, West Virginia, run by 12 operators and employing 253 people. Since January 1, 2022 its inspectors issued 1,371 citations and orders there with $650,776 in proposed penalties, and operators reported 48 injury or illness cases, 1 of them fatal. The operators with the most open mines are Bundy Auger Mining Inc; Nicholas Contura LLC; Lexington Coal Company, LLC. Data from MSHA, November 6, 2026.
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- Open mines
- 18
- Operators
- 12
- Employees
- 253
- Temporarily Idled
- 10
- Active
- 6
- NonProducing
- 2
- Citations and orders since January 1, 2022
- 1,371
- Significant and substantial
- 135 (9.8%)
- Closure orders
- 12
- High negligence or reckless
- 42
- Proposed penalties
- $650,776
- Amount paid so far
- $562,914
- Inspections
- 523
- Inspector hours on site
- 17,328
- Citations per inspection
- 2.62 (all mines 2.30)
- Accident reports
- 51
- Injury and illness cases
- 48
- Fatalities
- 1
- Latest MSHA record
- November 4, 2026
Operators with the most open mines in Nicholas County, West Virginia
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bundy Auger Mining Inc | 3 | 0 | 6 | $894 | 1 |
| Nicholas Contura LLC | 2 | 204 | 1,276 | $633,024 | 46 |
| Lexington Coal Company, LLC | 2 | 0 | 11 | $1,109 | 0 |
| Birch River Resources, LLC | 2 | 7 | 6 | $866 | 0 |
| Quinwood Coal Company LLC | 2 | 0 | 1 | $133 | 0 |
| Falls Run Operations LLC | 1 | 7 | 27 | $6,870 | 0 |
| South Fork Coal Co., LLC | 1 | 0 | 17 | $4,028 | 1 |
| Power Mountain Contura LLC | 1 | 32 | 13 | $1,933 | 0 |
| Greenbrier Smokeless Coal Mining, LLC. | 1 | 0 | 11 | $1,478 | 0 |
| Coal-Mac Met, LLC | 1 | 1 | 2 | $294 | 0 |
| Braxton Materials LLC | 1 | 1 | 1 | $147 | 0 |
| Black Water, Inc | 1 | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 |
Operators with the most citations in Nicholas County, West Virginia
Citations and orders issued since January 1, 2022 at their open mines here.
| Operator | Open mines | Employees | Citations since 2022 | Proposed penalties | Injury cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas Contura LLC | 2 | 204 | 1,276 | $633,024 | 46 |
| Falls Run Operations LLC | 1 | 7 | 27 | $6,870 | 0 |
| South Fork Coal Co., LLC | 1 | 0 | 17 | $4,028 | 1 |
| Power Mountain Contura LLC | 1 | 32 | 13 | $1,933 | 0 |
| Lexington Coal Company, LLC | 2 | 0 | 11 | $1,109 | 0 |
| Greenbrier Smokeless Coal Mining, LLC. | 1 | 0 | 11 | $1,478 | 0 |
| Bundy Auger Mining Inc | 3 | 0 | 6 | $894 | 1 |
| Birch River Resources, LLC | 2 | 7 | 6 | $866 | 0 |
| Coal-Mac Met, LLC | 1 | 1 | 2 | $294 | 0 |
| Quinwood Coal Company LLC | 2 | 0 | 1 | $133 | 0 |
| Braxton Materials LLC | 1 | 1 | 1 | $147 | 0 |
| Black Water, Inc | 1 | 1 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Fork Eagle | Nicholas Contura LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 89 | 1,069 |
| Rolling Thunder Mine | Nicholas Contura LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 115 | 207 |
| Brooke Prep Plant | Falls Run Operations LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 7 | 27 |
| HWM 58 | South Fork Coal Co., LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 0 | 17 |
| Power Mountain Processing | Power Mountain Contura LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 32 | 13 |
| Auger No. 1 | Greenbrier Smokeless Coal Mining, LLC. | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 0 | 11 |
| Rockcamp Impoundments 1 & 2 | Lexington Coal Company, LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 0 | 11 |
| Birch River Surface Mine No. 1 | Birch River Resources, LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 7 | 6 |
| 3125 Salem Auger | Bundy Auger Mining Inc | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 0 | 6 |
| CV30 | Coal-Mac Met, LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 1 | 2 |
| Collins Rock Quarry | Braxton Materials LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Crushed, broken sandstone | 1 | 1 |
| Hominy #1 Surface Mine | Quinwood Coal Company LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 0 | 1 |
| Peerless No. 1 Surface Mine | Black Water, Inc | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 1 | 0 |
| Bam VA Auger | Bundy Auger Mining Inc | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 0 | 0 |
| Birch River Plant No. 1 | Birch River Resources, LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 0 | 0 |
| Lilly Fork Surface Mine | Lexington Coal Company, LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (lignite) | 0 | 0 |
| Spring Creek Deep Mine | Quinwood Coal Company LLC | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 0 | 0 |
| 3152 Salem Auger | Bundy Auger Mining Inc | Nicholas County, WV | Coal (bituminous) | 0 | 0 |
Main commodities
| Main commodity | Open mines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Coal (bituminous) | 16 | 88.9% |
| Coal (lignite) | 1 | 5.6% |
| Crushed, broken sandstone | 1 | 5.6% |
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 | 229 | 12 | $57,825 | 12 |
| 2023 | 190 | 13 | $74,936 | 9 |
| 2024 | 399 | 41 | $159,539 | 11 |
| 2025 | 323 | 43 | $238,856 | 12 |
| 2026 | 230 | 26 | $119,620 | 4 |
Standards cited most at mines in Nicholas County, West Virginia
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 75.370 | Underground coal mines, safety | 168 |
| 30 CFR 75.400 | Underground coal mines, safety | 132 |
| 30 CFR 75.503 | Underground coal mines, safety | 93 |
| 30 CFR 75.1731 | Underground coal mines, safety | 80 |
| 30 CFR 75.1403 | Underground coal mines, safety | 62 |
| 30 CFR 75.512 | Underground coal mines, safety | 56 |
| 30 CFR 75.604 | Underground coal mines, safety | 47 |
| 30 CFR 75.1725 | Underground coal mines, safety | 46 |
| 30 CFR 75.202 | Underground coal mines, safety | 39 |
| 30 CFR 75.220 | Underground coal mines, safety | 33 |
| 30 CFR 75.403 | Underground coal mines, safety | 32 |
| 30 CFR 75.1107-16 | Underground coal mines, safety | 31 |
| 30 CFR 75.380 | Underground coal mines, safety | 29 |
| 30 CFR 75.333 | Underground coal mines, safety | 26 |
| 30 CFR 75.360 | Underground coal mines, safety | 25 |
Injury and illness cases at mines in Nicholas County, West Virginia
Accident reports by degree of injury, as the operator reported them to MSHA.
| Degree | Cases |
|---|---|
| Fatality | 1 |
| Days away from work or restricted activity | 23 |
| No lost time, or an occupational illness | 24 |
What the accident reports at mines in Nicholas County, West Virginia describe
Accident classification, as MSHA codes the circumstances that contributed most directly.
| Classification | Reports |
|---|---|
| Handling of materials | 11 |
| Handtools (nonpowered) | 8 |
| Machinery | 7 |
| Dust disease of lungs | 5 |
| Slip or fall of person | 5 |
| Fall of roof or back | 4 |
| Powered haulage | 3 |
| Fall of face/rib/pillar/side/highwall | 3 |
| Exploding vessels under pressure | 1 |
| Striking or bumping | 1 |
Equipment named in accident reports at mines in Nicholas County, West Virginia
| Equipment | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hand tools (not powered) | 8 |
| Rock or roof bolting machine | 4 |
| Hand tools (powered) | 3 |
| Mancar | 3 |
| Auger machine | 2 |
| Continuous miner | 1 |
| Shuttle car | 1 |
Updated November 6, 2026. Read from US Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Open Government Data Sets. 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.