# Bluff Spur Mine

- **MSHA mine ID:** 4405559
- **Status:** Abandoned and Sealed
- **Type / commodity:** Underground / Coal (Bituminous)
- **Location:** Wise, VA
- **Operator:** Mill Branch Coal Corp
- **Controller:** Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.
- **Public source rows linked:** 6,729
- **Source coverage:** 17 / 20
- **Generated:** 2026-10-13T11:26:59.401Z

## Current entity hierarchy

**Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (0041211) → Mill Branch Coal Corp (P23653) → Bluff Spur Mine (4405559)**

Current identity source: `msha-mines`. This is a current snapshot, not a historical claim.

## Controller and operator valid-time history

- **Westmoreland Coal Company → Westmoreland Coal Company:** 1979-09-01 through 1996-06-05; derived from co-tenure at mine 4405559; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **Charles D  Mullins → Callahan Creek Coal Company:** 1996-06-06 through 1998-06-09; derived from co-tenure at mine 4405559; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **Hagy E  Barnett et al → Coalfield Mine #1 Inc:** 1998-06-10 through 2000-03-09; derived from co-tenure at mine 4405559; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **Cumberland Resources Corporation → Bluff Spur Coal Corporation:** 2000-03-10 through 2010-04-18; derived from co-tenure at mine 4405559; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **Massey Energy Company → Bluff Spur Coal Corporation:** 2010-04-19 through 2011-05-31; derived from co-tenure at mine 4405559; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. → Bluff Spur Coal Corporation:** 2011-06-01 through 2012-12-31; derived from co-tenure at mine 4405559; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. → Mill Branch Coal Corp:** 2013-01-01 through current/open; derived from co-tenure at mine 4405559; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **Massey Energy Company → Mill Branch Coal Corp:** 2013-01-01 through 2011-05-31; derived from co-tenure at mine 4405559; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **Cumberland Resources Corporation → Mill Branch Coal Corp:** 2013-01-01 through 2010-04-18; derived from co-tenure at mine 4405559; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.

- History rows: 9
- Typed edges: 21
- Interval anomalies: 2
- Valid-time bounds: inclusive; date granularity; null end means open-ended in the upstream history row; not independent proof of present control.
- Transaction-time observation: 2026-10-13T11:19:05.459773+00:00.

## Assessment signals

1. **SAFETY — 0 since 2021:** Accidents and injuries 110 historical accident/injury rows; 0 coded fatalities and 1,578 lost days across the published record.
2. **COMPLIANCE — 0 since 2021:** Violations and penalties 1,078 violation rows across the full record; 406 carry an S&S flag and $353,973 appears in current assessed amounts.
3. **HEALTH — 2K samples:** Occupational health samples 1,860 coal dust; 219 coal quartz; 113 noise. 0 personal-sample rows have a published C/E ratio above 1; 34 noise rows have an action-level or PEL dose above 100%. These are separate measures, not a silica exceedance count. Silica results and sample status are shown separately.
4. **PRODUCTION — 0 tons:** Quarterly production and employment 10 employee hours and 1 summed average employees across reported subunits in the latest published quarter.
5. **LEGAL — 700 linked rows:** Contests, conferences and decisions 334 contested-violation rows, 334 civil-penalty docket/decision rows, and 32 conference records linked by issuance number.
6. **CONTRACTORS — 6 linked entities:** Contractors Contractors are linked through this mine’s violation or accident records. Their production and hours cover all their operations, so they are not included in this mine’s totals.
7. **INSPECTIONS — 0 since 2021:** Inspections 377 inspection events and 14K published inspection hours across the historical record.

## EIA annual operating context

No matched record in the 2024 EIA coal-public workbook. This may be inapplicable for a non-coal operation.

## Recent Title 30 crosswalk

Snapshot current through 2026-08-19.

- **30 CFR 48.23 — Training plans; time of submission; where filed; information required; time for approval; method for disapproval; commencement of training; approval of instructors.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-H/part-48/subpart-B/section-48.23
- **30 CFR 75.1721 — Opening of new underground coal mines, or reopening and reactivating of abandoned or deactivated coal mines, notification by the operator; requirements.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-75/subpart-R/section-75.1721
- **30 CFR 75.1714-8 — Reporting SCSR inventory and malfunctions; retention of SCSRs.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-75/subpart-R/section-75.1714-8
- **30 CFR 75.1403 — Other safeguards.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-75/subpart-O/section-75.1403
- **30 CFR 77.1707 — First aid equipment; location; minimum requirements.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-R/section-77.1707
- **30 CFR 75.400 — Accumulation of combustible materials.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-75/subpart-E/section-75.400
- **30 CFR 48.31 — Hazard training.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-H/part-48/subpart-B/section-48.31
- **30 CFR 50.12 — Preservation of evidence.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-I/part-50/subpart-B/section-50.12
- **30 CFR 50.10 — Immediate notification.** (2 retained recent rows) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-I/part-50/subpart-B/section-50.10
- **30 CFR 75.512 — Electric equipment; examination, testing and maintenance.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-75/subpart-F/section-75.512

## Source coverage

- **Accident, Injuries, and Illnesses:** 110 rows; 2001-09-13 through 2013-10-21; source ID `msha-accidents`
- **Addresses of Record:** 1 rows; 2015-12-10 through 2015-12-10; source ID `msha-addresses`
- **Assessed Violations:** 1,053 rows; 2000-12-07 through 2015-02-13; source ID `msha-assessed-violations`
- **Civil Penalty Dockets and Decisions:** 334 rows; 2007-08-01 through 2015-03-26; source ID `msha-civil-penalty-dockets-decisions`
- **Coal Dust Samples:** 1,860 rows; 2001-01-15 through 2013-01-09; source ID `msha-coal-dust-samples`
- **Conferences:** 32 rows; 2001-05-08 through 2013-03-27; source ID `msha-conferences`
- **Contested Violations:** 334 rows; 2006-07-17 through 2013-03-01; source ID `msha-contested-violations`
- **Contractor Employment and Production — Quarterly:** 868 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-contractor-production-quarterly`
- **Contractor Employment and Production — Yearly:** 201 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-contractor-production-yearly`
- **Controller and Operator History:** 9 rows; 1979-09-01 through 2013-01-01; source ID `msha-controller-operator-history`
- **Inspections:** 377 rows; 2000-01-12 through 2015-02-13; source ID `msha-inspections`
- **Mine Employment and Production — Quarterly:** 111 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-mine-production-quarterly`
- **Mine Employment and Production — Yearly:** 28 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-mine-production-yearly`
- **Mines:** 1 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-mines`
- **Noise Samples:** 113 rows; 2002-08-12 through 2011-10-31; source ID `msha-noise-samples`
- **Quartz Samples — Coal:** 219 rows; 2001-01-17 through 2012-11-01; source ID `msha-quartz-samples`
- **Violations:** 1,078 rows; 2000-12-07 through 2015-02-13; source ID `msha-violations`

## Caveats

- This is public-record decision support, not legal advice or an official MSHA record.
- Missing data can indicate no event, publication delay, an unresolved identity, or inapplicability.
- Contractor production data is entity-level and is not attributed to this mine.

## Alternate representations

- HTML: `/mines/bluff-spur-mine-4405559`
- JSON: `/api/v1/mines/bluff-spur-mine-4405559`
- Silica records, units, sample status and quarterly means: `/api/v1/mines/4405559/silica` (snapshot year by default; `?year=all` for history; `&format=csv` for all matching rows)
- Relationship JSON: `/api/v1/mines/4405559/relationships`
- MCP resource: `mine://4405559/assessment`
- Complete Title 30 corpus: `/data/title30-sections.json`