# Copley Trace Surface Mine

- **MSHA mine ID:** 4608704
- **Status:** Abandoned
- **Type / commodity:** Surface / Coal (Bituminous)
- **Location:** Wayne, WV
- **Operator:** Argus Energy WV LLC
- **Controller:** James H  Booth
- **Public source rows linked:** 6,137
- **Source coverage:** 17 / 20
- **Generated:** 2026-10-13T11:26:59.401Z

## Current entity hierarchy

**James H  Booth (C11194) → Argus Energy WV LLC (0050985) → Copley Trace Surface Mine (4608704)**

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

## Controller and operator valid-time history

- **Pen Holdings Inc → Pen Coal Corp:** 1998-03-01 through 2002-12-19; derived from co-tenure at mine 4608704; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **James H  Booth et al → Argus Energy WV LLC:** 2002-12-20 through current/open; derived from co-tenure at mine 4608704; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.

- History rows: 2
- Typed edges: 6
- 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 92 historical accident/injury rows; 0 coded fatalities and 5,947 lost days across the published record.
2. **COMPLIANCE — 0 since 2021:** Violations and penalties 750 violation rows across the full record; 493 carry an S&S flag and $1,135,046 appears in current assessed amounts.
3. **HEALTH — 183 samples:** Occupational health samples 128 coal dust; 2 coal quartz; 53 noise. 0 personal-sample rows have a published C/E ratio above 1; 4 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 944 employee hours and 2 summed average employees across reported subunits in the latest published quarter.
5. **LEGAL — 732 linked rows:** Contests, conferences and decisions 354 contested-violation rows, 352 civil-penalty docket/decision rows, and 26 conference records linked by issuance number.
6. **CONTRACTORS — 35 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 — 2 since 2021:** Inspections 141 inspection events and 5K 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 77.1606 — Loading and haulage equipment; inspection and maintenance.** (2 retained recent rows) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-Q/section-77.1606
- **30 CFR 77.404 — Machinery and equipment; operation and maintenance.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-E/section-77.404
- **30 CFR 77.1713 — Daily inspection of surface coal mine; certified person; reports of inspection.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-R/section-77.1713
- **30 CFR 77.1104 — Accumulations of combustible materials.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-L/section-77.1104
- **30 CFR 41.12 — Changes; notification by operator.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-G/part-41/subpart-B/section-41.12
- **30 CFR 77.1103 — Flammable liquids; storage.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-L/section-77.1103
- **30 CFR 77.1110 — Examination and maintenance of firefighting equipment.** (2 retained recent rows) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-L/section-77.1110
- **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 71.501 — Sanitary toilet facilities; maintenance.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-71/subpart-F/section-71.501
- **30 CFR 77.410 — Mobile equipment; automatic warning devices.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-E/section-77.410

## Source coverage

- **Accident, Injuries, and Illnesses:** 92 rows; 2000-01-20 through 2014-01-04; source ID `msha-accidents`
- **Addresses of Record:** 1 rows; 2024-09-26 through 2024-09-26; source ID `msha-addresses`
- **Assessed Violations:** 746 rows; 2000-02-15 through 2019-10-02; source ID `msha-assessed-violations`
- **Civil Penalty Dockets and Decisions:** 352 rows; 2005-01-18 through 2015-09-11; source ID `msha-civil-penalty-dockets-decisions`
- **Coal Dust Samples:** 128 rows; 2000-02-29 through 2017-05-22; source ID `msha-coal-dust-samples`
- **Conferences:** 26 rows; 2007-05-17 through 2015-04-24; source ID `msha-conferences`
- **Contested Violations:** 354 rows; 2005-03-17 through 2015-03-09; source ID `msha-contested-violations`
- **Contractor Employment and Production — Quarterly:** 2,696 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-contractor-production-quarterly`
- **Contractor Employment and Production — Yearly:** 624 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-contractor-production-yearly`
- **Controller and Operator History:** 2 rows; 1998-03-01 through 2002-12-20; source ID `msha-controller-operator-history`
- **Inspections:** 141 rows; 2000-01-31 through 2024-09-26; source ID `msha-inspections`
- **Mine Employment and Production — Quarterly:** 135 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-mine-production-quarterly`
- **Mine Employment and Production — Yearly:** 34 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-mine-production-yearly`
- **Mines:** 1 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-mines`
- **Noise Samples:** 53 rows; 2000-02-15 through 2016-12-06; source ID `msha-noise-samples`
- **Quartz Samples — Coal:** 2 rows; 2000-02-29 through 2000-09-06; source ID `msha-quartz-samples`
- **Violations:** 750 rows; 2000-02-15 through 2019-10-02; 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/copley-trace-surface-mine-4608704`
- JSON: `/api/v1/mines/copley-trace-surface-mine-4608704`
- Silica records, units, sample status and quarterly means: `/api/v1/mines/4608704/silica` (snapshot year by default; `?year=all` for history; `&format=csv` for all matching rows)
- Relationship JSON: `/api/v1/mines/4608704/relationships`
- MCP resource: `mine://4608704/assessment`
- Complete Title 30 corpus: `/data/title30-sections.json`