# Upper Big Branch Mine-South

- **MSHA mine ID:** 4608436
- **Status:** Abandoned and Sealed
- **Type / commodity:** Underground / Coal (Bituminous)
- **Location:** Raleigh, WV
- **Operator:** Performance Coal Company
- **Controller:** Alpha Natural Resources Holdings, Inc
- **Public source rows linked:** 18,129
- **Source coverage:** 17 / 20
- **Generated:** 2026-10-13T11:26:59.401Z

## Current entity hierarchy

**Alpha Natural Resources Holdings, Inc (0127923) → Performance Coal Company (P22901) → Upper Big Branch Mine-South (4608436)**

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

## Controller and operator valid-time history

- **Hanson PLC → Peabody Coal Company:** 1994-09-01 through 1994-10-14; derived from co-tenure at mine 4608436; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **Massey Energy Company → Performance Coal Company:** 1994-10-15 through 2011-05-31; derived from co-tenure at mine 4608436; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. → Performance Coal Company:** 2011-06-01 through 2016-07-25; derived from co-tenure at mine 4608436; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **Alpha Natural Resources Holdings, Inc → Performance Coal Company:** 2016-07-26 through current/open; derived from co-tenure at mine 4608436; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.

- History rows: 4
- Typed edges: 10
- Interval anomalies: 0
- 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 369 historical accident/injury rows; 31 coded fatalities and 10,091 lost days across the published record.
2. **COMPLIANCE — 0 since 2021:** Violations and penalties 3,912 violation rows across the full record; 1,569 carry an S&S flag and $15,047,652 appears in current assessed amounts.
3. **HEALTH — 4K samples:** Occupational health samples 3,146 coal dust; 238 coal quartz; 137 noise. 0 personal-sample rows have a published C/E ratio above 1; 62 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 13K employee hours and 39 summed average employees across reported subunits in the latest published quarter.
5. **LEGAL — 2,769 linked rows:** Contests, conferences and decisions 1,252 contested-violation rows, 1,285 civil-penalty docket/decision rows, and 232 conference records linked by issuance number.
6. **CONTRACTORS — 17 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 876 inspection events and 77K 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 71.208 — Respirable dust samples; report to operator; posting.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-71/subpart-C/section-71.208
- **30 CFR 77.404 — Machinery and equipment; operation and maintenance.** (2 retained recent rows) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-E/section-77.404
- **30 CFR 75.312 — Main mine fan examinations and records.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-75/subpart-D/section-75.312
- **30 CFR 77.400 — Mechanical equipment guards.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-E/section-77.400
- **30 CFR 77.1605 — Loading and haulage equipment; installations.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-Q/section-77.1605
- **30 CFR 75.202 — Protection from falls of roof, face and ribs.** (2 retained recent rows) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-75/subpart-C/section-75.202
- **30 CFR 75.220 — Roof control plan.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-75/subpart-C/section-75.220
- **30 CFR 75.320 — Air quality detectors and measurement devices.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-75/subpart-D/section-75.320
- **30 CFR 75.1714-3 — Self-rescue devices; inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, and recordkeeping.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-75/subpart-R/section-75.1714-3
- **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:** 369 rows; 2000-01-31 through 2012-08-23; source ID `msha-accidents`
- **Addresses of Record:** 1 rows; 2012-09-26 through 2012-09-26; source ID `msha-addresses`
- **Assessed Violations:** 3,779 rows; 2000-01-05 through 2012-06-25; source ID `msha-assessed-violations`
- **Civil Penalty Dockets and Decisions:** 1,285 rows; 2002-10-18 through 2014-12-19; source ID `msha-civil-penalty-dockets-decisions`
- **Coal Dust Samples:** 3,146 rows; 2000-01-08 through 2012-08-20; source ID `msha-coal-dust-samples`
- **Conferences:** 232 rows; 2000-04-26 through 2009-03-09; source ID `msha-conferences`
- **Contested Violations:** 1,252 rows; 2003-03-10 through 2012-01-11; source ID `msha-contested-violations`
- **Contractor Employment and Production — Quarterly:** 2,243 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-contractor-production-quarterly`
- **Contractor Employment and Production — Yearly:** 486 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-contractor-production-yearly`
- **Controller and Operator History:** 4 rows; 1994-09-01 through 1994-10-15; source ID `msha-controller-operator-history`
- **Inspections:** 876 rows; 2000-01-03 through 2012-07-16; source ID `msha-inspections`
- **Mine Employment and Production — Quarterly:** 140 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:** 137 rows; 2000-02-29 through 2009-12-08; source ID `msha-noise-samples`
- **Quartz Samples — Coal:** 238 rows; 2000-01-13 through 2010-03-23; source ID `msha-quartz-samples`
- **Violations:** 3,912 rows; 2000-01-05 through 2013-05-08; 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/upper-big-branch-mine-south-4608436`
- JSON: `/api/v1/mines/upper-big-branch-mine-south-4608436`
- Silica records, units, sample status and quarterly means: `/api/v1/mines/4608436/silica` (snapshot year by default; `?year=all` for history; `&format=csv` for all matching rows)
- Relationship JSON: `/api/v1/mines/4608436/relationships`
- MCP resource: `mine://4608436/assessment`
- Complete Title 30 corpus: `/data/title30-sections.json`