Statistics: Nonmetal Operators

Introduction

The following maps, graphs, and tables present data for Nonmetal Mne 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 Nonmetal Mining Operations, 2015: Map of the United States displaying the locations of active nonmetal mining operations spotted randomly within counties in 2015. Active mines are mining operations that reported mine operator employment during the year. There were 924 nonmetal mines. Mines at which only contractors were working did not show any employment and are not displayed.

Number of Active Nonmetal Mines by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displaying 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. Nonmetal mines have decreased over the period from 741 in 2006 to 641 in 2012. In 2013,  the number of nonmetal mines increased to 882. This  increase may be attributed to the new Standard Industrial Classification added by MSHA for "Sand, industrial; ground silica/quartz" with a canvass class of nonmetal. Prior to 2013, these mines were assigned to the sand & gravel canvass class. In 2015 there were a total of 924 active nonmetal mines.

 Active Underground Nonmetal Mining Operations, 2015: Map of the United States displaying the locations of active underground nonmetal mining operations spotted randomly within counties in 2015. Active mines are mining operations that reported mine operator employment during the year. There were 44 underground nonmetal mines. Mines at which only contractors were working did not show any employment and are not displayed.

Active Surface Nonmetal Mining Operations, 2015: Map of the United States displaying the locations of active surface nonmetal mining operations spotted randomly within counties in 2015. Active mines are mining operations that reported mine operator employment during the year. There were 880 surface nonmetal mines. Mines at which only contractors were working did not show any employment and are not displayed.

Employees

Nonmetal Mine Operator Employees, 2015: Map of the United States displaying employment density by county of the 26,089 nonmetal mine operator employees in 2015. A graduated color ramp is used to symbolize densities of less than 25 employees, 25 to 49 employees, 50 to 199 employees, 200 to 499 employees, and 500 or more employees.

Number of Employee Hours Reported by Nonmetal Mine Operators by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displaying the number of nonmetal mine operator employee hours reported from 2006 through 2015. Over the period, employee hours remained fairly steady reporting 46.4 million hours in 2006 to 46.5 million in both 2007 and 2008.  After declining to 40.8 million hours in 2009, employee hours steadily increased to 52.7 million in 2014 then decreased again to 50.7 million hours in 2015.

Number of Employee Hours Reported by Nonmetal Mine Operators at Underground Work Locations by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displaying the number of underground nonmetal mine operator employee hours reported from 2006 through 2015. The employee hours varied over the period from a low of 4.8 million in 2006 to a high of 5.9 million hours in 2014. There were 5.5 million employee hours reported in 2015.

Number of Employee Hours Reported by Nonmetal Mine Operators at Surface Work Locations by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displaying the number of surface nonmetal mine operator employee hours reported from 2006 through 2015. Employee hours show a decline from 41.6 million hours in 2006 to 35.8 million in 2009, then started to increase slowly to 38.0 million in 2012, 46.8 million in 2014 and 45.3 million hours in 2015.

Fatalities

Number of Nonmetal Operator Occupational Mining Fatalities by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displaying the number of occupational mining fatalities, excluding office employees, from 2006 through 2015. Rates are not computed when there are a small number of events. There were a total of 15 fatalities during the period. The highest number of fatalities was in 2014 when 5 fatalities occurred. No fatalities occurred in 2006, 2010, or 2011. One fatality was reported in 2015.

Injuries

Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries, 2015 (Nonmetal Mine Operators and Independent Contractors): Map of the United States displaying nonfatal lost-time injury density by county for 380 nonmetal 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 Nonmetal Mining Operator Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries at Underground Work Locations by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displaying the number and rate of nonmetal 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 rates and numbers have varied over the period. The highest rate was 3.7 nonfatal lost-time injuries per 100 FTEs in 2007, to a low rate of 1.3 in 2013. The highest number of injuries occurred in 2008 when 95 were reported. During the period, the year with the lowest number of injuries was 2013 when 38 injuries occurred.

Number and Percentage of Nonmetal Mine Operator Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries by Accident Class at Underground Mining Locations, 2011-2015: Graph displays the distribution of nonfatal lost-time injuries by accident class for nonmetal operators at underground mining locations for the period from 2011 through 2015. Excluding office employees, there were a total of 257 lost-time injuries. "Handling materials" had 32.0%, "Slip or fall of person" had 24.0%, and "Powered haulage" had 14.0% of the nonfatal lost-time injures. "Fall of ground (from in place)," which 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,” saw 9.0% while Machinery and Hand tools each accounted for 7.0% of the nonfatal lost-time injuries. Note that 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. The "All other" category saw 8.0% 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 Nonmetal Mining Operator Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries at Surface Work Locations by Year, 2006-2015: Graph displays the number and rate of nonmetal 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 rates and numbers have varied over the period. The highest rate was 2.4 nonfatal lost-time injuries per 100 FTEs in 2007 and 2008 each.  The lowest rate was 1.5 in 2012. The highest number of injuries occurred in 2007 when 417 injuries were reported. The year with the lowest number of injuries was 2012 when 239 nonfatal lost-time injuries occurred.

Number and Percentage of Nonmetal Mine Operator Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries by Accident Class at Surface Mining Locations, 2011-2015: Graph displaying the distribution of nonfatal lost-time injuries by accident class for nonmetal operators at surface mining locations for the period from 2011 through 2015. Excluding office employees, there were a total of 1,454 lost-time injuries. "Handling materials" had 41.0% and "Slip or fall of person" had 28.0% of the nonfatal lost-time injuries. "Powered haulage" and “Hand tools” both made up 8.0% and "Machinery" comprised 7.0% of the nonfatal lost-time injury cases. Note that 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. The "All other" category accounted for 8.0% 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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