Mining Incidents

Rolling Thunder Mine Coal

Nicholas-Contura, LLC · Underground
Swiss, WV, Nicholas County, WV  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 4609111

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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
6
Years on record
2024–2025
Latest incident
Nov 2025
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2006
177
citations
24
significant & substantial
$53,525
proposed penalties
$45,368
paid to date
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Quarterly safety rates
Citations per million employee-hours, as reported to MSHA
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2025 Q4 33,429 15 1 448.7
2025 Q3 35,748 19 5 531.5
2025 Q1 40,130 8 0 199.4
2024 Q4 3,935 2 0 508.3
2024 Q2 42,088 27 3 641.5
2024 Q1 5,253 2 0 380.7
2023 Q2 4,208 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 0 0 0
Quarters under 100,000 reported hours are greyed: too few hours for a stable rate.

Fatalities at this mine

1 recorded
November 8, 2025 WV · Coal bull gang foreman, labor foreman, leadman, section foreman, shift boss Fatality · INUNDATION
Nicholas-Contura, LLC · Drowning

A water inundation occurred on the No. 1 Section in the No. 1 Face near spad 1717. Resulted in a Fatal injury. Rescue crews located the fatally injured person on 11/13/2025.

Reportable incidents

5 on file (excluding fatalities above)

2025 · 4 incidents

September 2, 2025 WV · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Nicholas-Contura, LLC · Over-exertion in pulling or pushing objects

Employee stated that they were in the #5 entry installing the last row of roof bolts, while manually bending a roof bolt, they stated that they felt a "pop" in right shoulder.

August 21, 2025 WV · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Nicholas-Contura, LLC · Accident type, without injuries

A non-injury roof fall was discovered in the intersection at the #5 crosscut on Yankee Mains (No. 5 belt) in the N0. 4 entry. The fall was approximately 20' x 20' x 10' thick.

July 24, 2025 WV · Coal shuttle car operator, mantrip operator, ramcar operator, rail runner, buggy operator POWERED HAULAGE
Nicholas-Contura, LLC · Struck against stationary object

EE stated that while operating the 21SC shuttle car being loaded by the continuous mining machine, the bumper of the CM came in to contact with load end of the shuttle car. When the car operator pulled away, this caused the dump in to be raised slightly then fall suddenly, jarring the car operator resulting in EE's head hitting EE's head on canopy.

May 24, 2025 WV · Coal continuous miner operator, coal mole operator HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Nicholas-Contura, LLC · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EE was dropping CM cable and water line from a hanger when EE felt pain in EE's left shoulder.

2024 · 1 incident

June 7, 2024 WV · Coal electrician, lineman HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Nicholas-Contura, LLC · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

EE stated that EE had lifted the shield on the #1 battery operated 4-wheeler, the panel slipped out of EE's hand causing the panel to fall on EE's left index finger.