Data / Mines / Colorado / Climax Mine
Climax Mine, Lake County, Colorado: 330 MSHA citations
Updated November 6, 2026. Source: US Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Open Government Data Sets.
Climax Mine is an active molybdenum ore surface mine in Lake County, Colorado, operated by Climax Molybdenum Company with 315 employees on MSHA's record (mine ID 0502256). Since January 1, 2022 MSHA inspectors issued 330 citations and orders there with $258,316 in proposed penalties, and 89 accident reports were filed there, with 89 injury or illness cases.
The request: Watch Climax Mine (MSHA mine ID 0502256) in Lake County, Colorado: each new citation and each accident report. $10 of work on sign-up, no card.
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- MSHA mine ID
- 0502256
- Status
- Active since November 15, 2012
- Main commodity
- Molybdenum ore
- Mine type
- Surface
- County
- Lake County, Colorado
- Nearest town
- Leadville
- Operator
- Climax Molybdenum Company
- Parent company
- Freeport-McMoRan Inc
- Employees
- 315
- MSHA field office
- Denver CO Field Office
- Citations and orders since January 1, 2022
- 330
- Significant and substantial
- 44 (13.3%)
- Closure orders
- 2
- High negligence or reckless
- 15
- Proposed penalties
- $258,316
- Amount paid so far
- $244,089
- Inspections
- 67
- Inspector hours on site
- 1,696
- Citations per inspection
- 4.93 (all mines 2.30)
- Accident reports
- 89
- Injury and illness cases
- 89
- Fatalities
- 0
- Latest MSHA record
- November 4, 2026
- Citations issued to contractors here
- 87 ($59,333 proposed)
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 | 59 | 6 | $50,466 | 17 |
| 2023 | 118 | 8 | $61,839 | 28 |
| 2024 | 66 | 10 | $48,776 | 23 |
| 2025 | 35 | 14 | $57,143 | 12 |
| 2026 | 52 | 6 | $40,092 | 9 |
Standards cited most at Climax Mine
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 56.12028 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 43 |
| 30 CFR 56.4201 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 28 |
| 30 CFR 56.20003 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 27 |
| 30 CFR 56.14100 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 18 |
| 30 CFR 47.41 | Hazard communication | 14 |
| 30 CFR 56.11001 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 13 |
| 30 CFR 56.12004 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 11 |
| 30 CFR 56.12032 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 9 |
| 30 CFR 56.4104 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 9 |
| 30 CFR 56.14112 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 8 |
| 30 CFR 56.4101 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 8 |
| 30 CFR 56.14207 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 8 |
| 30 CFR 56.16005 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 7 |
| 30 CFR 56.14107 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 7 |
| 30 CFR 56.14205 | Surface metal and nonmetal mines | 6 |
Injury and illness cases at Climax Mine
Accident reports by degree of injury, as the operator reported them to MSHA.
| Degree | Cases |
|---|---|
| Days away from work or restricted activity | 67 |
| No lost time, or an occupational illness | 22 |
What the accident reports at Climax Mine describe
Accident classification, as MSHA codes the circumstances that contributed most directly.
| Classification | Reports |
|---|---|
| Slip or fall of person | 24 |
| Handling of materials | 23 |
| Handtools (nonpowered) | 12 |
| Machinery | 9 |
| Powered haulage | 9 |
| Other | 4 |
| Electrical | 2 |
| Striking or bumping | 2 |
| Stepping or kneeling on object | 2 |
| All other occupational illnesses | 1 |
Equipment named in accident reports at Climax Mine
| Equipment | Reports |
|---|---|
| Ore haulage trucks - off highway trucks | 12 |
| Hand tools (not powered) | 12 |
| Front-end loader | 6 |
| Trucks | 5 |
| Shovel | 4 |
| Bulldozer | 2 |
| Road grader | 2 |
| Mancar | 2 |
| Hoist | 1 |
| Man lift | 1 |
Other open mines in Lake County, Colorado
| Mine | Operator | County | Main commodity | Employees | Citations since 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box Creek Placer | Titan Au, Inc. | Lake County, CO | Gold ore | 14 | 35 |
| Willow Creek Mine | Mt Elbert Mining Co LLC | Lake County, CO | Gold ore | 4 | 15 |
| Lake County Crusher | Lake County | Lake County, CO | Construction sand and gravel | 2 | 5 |
| 50-3-03 Portable Wash Plant II | Aca Products Inc | Lake County, CO | Construction sand and gravel | 2 | 3 |
| 50-3-13 Pioneer 3042 Jaw Crusher | Aca Products Inc | Lake County, CO | Construction sand and gravel | 5 | 0 |
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.