Statistics: Coal Operators

Introduction

The following maps, graphs, and tables present data for Coal Mine Operators. The information is organized by Mines, Employees, Fatalities, and Injuries. The Mines section contains information on the number and location of the mining operations. The Employees section details the number of employees and the number of employee hours. The Fatalities section describes the number and rate of fatalities, the number and rate by work locations, and the number of fatalities by accident class. The Injuries section presents the number and rate of nonfatal lost-time injuries, the number and rate by work locations, and the number of injuries by accident class. Data source: Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). See Statistical Methodology for further details. Additional Mining Facts for each commodity are available from 2000 through 2015.

Mines

Active Coal Mining Operations, 2015: United States map displaying the locations of active coal mining operations spotted randomly within counties in 2015. Active mines are mining operations that reported mine operator employment during the year. There were 1,460 coal mines. Mines at which only contractors were working did not show any employment and are not displayed

Number of Active Coal Mines by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displays the number of active mines for a 10-year period from 2006 through 2015. Active mines are those mines that reported any mine operator employee hours during the year. There were 1,460 coal mines in 2015. This was the lowest number over the 10-year period. The highest number of mines was 2,129 in 2008. 

Active Underground Coal Mining Operations, 2015: United States map displaying the locations of active underground coal mining operations spotted randomly within counties in 2015. Active mines are mining operations that reported mine operator employment during the year. There were 405 underground coal mines. Mines at which only contractors were working did not show any employment and are not displayed. 

Active Surface Coal Mining Operations, 2015: United States map displaying the locations of active surface coal mining operations spotted randomly within counties in 2015. Active mines are mining operations that reported mine operator employment during the year. There were 1,055 surface coal mines. Mines at which only contractors were working did not show any employment and are not displayed.

Employees

Coal Mine Operator Employees, 2015: Map of the United States displaying employment density by county for the 68,413 mine operator employees in the coal industry sector during 2015. A graduated color ramp is used to represent densities of less than 25 employees, 25 to 49 employees, 50 to 199 employees, 200 to 499 employees, and 500 or more employees, respectively.

Number of Employee Hours Reported by Coal Mine Operators by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displays the number of coal mine operator employee hours reported from 2006 through 2015. Employee hours increased over the period from 189.0 million in 2006 to 215.2 million in 2011, before decreasing to 146.0 million hours in 2015. 

Number of Employee Hours Reported by Coal Mine Operators at Underground Work Locations by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displays the number of underground coal mine operator employee hours reported from 2006 through 2015. Employee hours increased from 85.2 million hours in 2006 to 105.3 million hours in 2011, then declined to 72.4 million hours in 2015.

Number of Employee Hours Reported by Coal Mine Operators at Surface Work Locations by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displays the number of surface coal mine operator employee hours reported from 2006 through 2015. Employee hours increased over the period from 103.8 million in 2006 to a high of 109.9 million hours in 2011, then declined to a low of 73.6 million hours in 2015. 

Fatalities

Number and Rate of Coal Operator Occupational Mining Fatalities by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displays the number and rate of coal operator occupational mining fatalities, excluding office employees, from 2006 through 2015. Full-time equivalent (FTE) employees are based on 2,000 employee hours worked per year. The number and rate vary by year with the highest rate of fatalities occurring in 2006 when there were 46.2 fatalities per 100,000 FTEs. The highest number of 44 fatalities occurred in 2010. The fatality rate was the lowest in 2009 with 10.7 fatalities per 100,000 FTEs. The lowest number over the period was 9 fatalities reported for 2015.

Number and Rate of Occupational Mining Fatalities for Coal Operators at Underground Work Locations by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displaying the number and rate of occupational mining fatalities for coal operators at underground locations, excluding office employees, from 2006 through 2015. Full-time equivalent (FTE) employees are based on 2,000 employee hours worked per year. The numbers and rates vary by year with the highest rate of fatalities occurring in 2006 and 2010 when there were 84.5 and 84.4 fatalities, respectively, per 100,000 FTEs. The highest number of fatalities was 40 in 2010 and the lowest number was 6 fatalities in 2009 occurring at a rate of 13.3 fatalities per 100,000 FTEs. 

Number of Occupational Mining Fatalities for Coal Operators at Surface Work Locations by Year, 2006-2015:Graph displays the number of coal operator occupational mining fatalities at surface work locations, excluding office employees, from 2006 through 2015. Rates are not computed when there are a small number of events. Fatality numbers have varied over the period with the highest number of 10 reported in 2007 and the lowest number of one fatality reported in 2015. 

Injuries

Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries, 2015 (Coal Mine Operators and Independent Contractors): Map of the United States displaying nonfatal lost-time injury density by county for 1,815 coal mine operator and contractor injuries during 2015. Office workers are excluded. A graduated color ramp is used to symbolize densities of zero injuries, 1 to 9, 10 to 29, 30 to 49, and 50 or more injuries.

Number and Rate of Coal Mining Operator Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries at Underground Work Locations by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displaying the number and rate of coal mining operator nonfatal lost-time injuries at underground work locations, excluding office employees, from 2006 through 2015. Full-time equivalent (FTE) employees are based on 2,000 employee hours worked per year. The rate has declined steadily over the period from 5.2 per 100 FTEs in 2006 to 3.3 per 100 FTEs in 2015. The number of injuries has also declined from 2,218 to 1,210 over the period.

Number and Percentage of Coal Mine Operator Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries by Accident Class at Underground Mining Locations, 2011-2015: Graph displays the distribution of nonfatal lost-time injuries for coal operators by accident class at underground mining locations for the period from 2011 through 2015. Excluding office employees, there were a total of 7,932 lost-time injuries. "Handling materials" had 35%, "Slip or fall of person" had 19%, and "Fall of ground (from in place)" had 13% of the nonfatal lost-time injuries. Note that "Fall of ground (from in place)" includes MSHA’s Accident/Injury/Illness Classifications for “Fall of face, rib, pillar, side, or highwall from in place” and “Fall of roof, back, or brow from in place.” Nonfatal injury cases classified under machinery were reclassified as a fall of ground (from in place) if the source of the injury was caving rock, ore, etc. This reclassification is consistent with how MSHA classifies similar incidents which resulted in a fatal injury. "Machinery“ and “Powered haulage both accounted for 10% of the nonfatal lost-time injuries. "Hand tools" had 6%, Stepping/kneeling on object saw 3% and the "All other" category had 4% of the nonfatal lost-time injuries during the 5-year period. Note that the sum of percentages may not equal 100 due to independent rounding. 

Number and Rate of Coal Mining Operator Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries at Surface Work Locations by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displays the number and rate of coal mining operator nonfatal lost-time injuries at surface work locations, excluding office employees, from 2006 through 2015. Full-time equivalent (FTE) employees are based on 2,000 employee hours worked per year. The rate has declined over the period from 1.7 per 100 FTEs in 2006 to 1.3 injuries per 100 FTEs each year from 2011-2015. The number of injuries declined from 803 in 2006 to 433 in 2015. 

Number and Percentage of Coal Mine Operator Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries by Accident Class at Surface Mining Locations, 2011-2015: Graph displays the distribution of nonfatal lost-time injuries for coal operators by accident class at surface mining locations for the period from 2011 through 2015. Excluding office employees, there were a total of 2,798 lost-time injuries. "Slip or fall of person" accounted for 37%, "Handling materials" 29%, "Powered haulage" 12%, and "Machinery" accounted for 9.0% of the nonfatal lost-time injuries. Nonfatal injury cases classified under machinery were reclassified as a fall of ground (from in place) if the source of the injury was caving rock, ore, etc. This reclassification is consistent with how MSHA classifies similar incidents which resulted in a fatal injury. "Hand tools“ made up 7% and the "All other" category had 6% of the nonfatal lost-time injuries during the 5-year period. Note that the sum of percentages may not equal 100 due to independent rounding.

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