MSHA DATABASEMSHA records · 17 contributing sources · snapshot Oct 13, 2026

MINE DETAILS

Black Thunder

ActiveSurfaceCoal (Bituminous)
MSHA MINE ID4800977
LOCATIONCampbell, WY
PUBLIC RECORD23,694 linked rows

LOCATION

Mine location

1 of 1 mine with usable MSHA coordinates. Select a marker to open a mine.

Mine coordinates

2025-01-01 – 2026-10-13Applies to production, safety and portfolio metrics. Silica samples have separate filters.

Violations

173

30 significant & substantial (S&S)

  1. 2025 Q136
  2. 2025 Q214
  3. 2025 Q325
  4. 2025 Q451
  5. 2026 Q11
  6. 2026 Q240
  7. 2026 Q30
  8. 2026 Q4 *6

Accident records

23

0 records classified as fatality

  1. 2025 Q11
  2. 2025 Q22
  3. 2025 Q34
  4. 2025 Q45
  5. 2026 Q15
  6. 2026 Q24
  7. 2026 Q32
  8. 2026 Q4 *0

Proposed penalties · USD

69,925.00

167 of 173 violations with amounts

  1. 2025 Q117,657
  2. 2025 Q29,823
  3. 2025 Q37,946
  4. 2025 Q414,331
  5. 2026 Q11,818
  6. 2026 Q218,350
  7. 2026 Q3—
  8. 2026 Q4 *—

On-site inspection hours

917.25

9 inspections · 9 with hours

  1. 2025 Q1—
  2. 2025 Q2278.00
  3. 2025 Q3—
  4. 2025 Q4328.25
  5. 2026 Q120.00
  6. 2026 Q2240.25
  7. 2026 Q30.00
  8. 2026 Q4 *50.75
Quarterly safety data
QuarterViolationsS&SProposed USDAccident recordsFatality recordsInspectionsOn-site hours
2025-Q136817,657.00100—
2025-Q21439,823.00201278.0
2025-Q32557,946.00400—
2025-Q451314,331.00502328.3
2026-Q1111,818.0050220.0
2026-Q240818,350.00402240.3
2026-Q300—2010.0
2026-Q4 *62—00150.8

Most cited CFR sections

All violations issued in the selected period. Counts combine subsections.

Safety activity

  1. violation5033581

    77.1606(c)

  2. violation5034575

    77.505

  3. violation5034223

    77.1606(c)

  4. inspectionF03EA02

    Regular Safety and Health Inspection · 50.8 on-site hours

  5. violation5034222

    77.1605(l) · S&S

  6. violation5034221

    77.602(a) · S&S

  7. violation5033580

    77.1000

  8. accident220262600009

    HANDLING OF MATERIALS · NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT

    Accident narrative

    the incident occurred when an employee was aligning and installing a 120Lb truck bed pivot pin into the left rear truck pivot bore. the pivot pin slipped during manual positioning and the employees' finger was smashed between the pin and the bore opening. the injury resulted in a near amputation of the right pinky fingertip near the first knuckle

  9. inspectionF010EEF

    Verbal Hazard Complaint Inspections · 0.0 on-site hours

  10. accident220262310001

    SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON · NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT

    Accident narrative

    Employee was exiting the pit bus at the beginning of shift when they slipped causing a small verifiable fracture to the fibula. Employee was able to return to work.

  11. accident220261620003

    FIRE · ACCIDENT ONLY

    Accident narrative

    A grass fire started at the rail road tracks and spread to the mine property. The fire could not be put out in 15 minutes.

  12. violation5034214

    77.1110 · $432.00 proposed

  13. violation5033779

    77.400(a) · $366.00 proposed

  14. violation5034213

    77.1713(d)(1) · $504.00 proposed

  15. violation5033778

    77.502 · $465.00 proposed

  16. accident220261620004

    SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON · DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY

    Accident narrative

    Employee was walking down the boarding ladder of haul truck when EE slipped and injured EE's arm trying to catch self. Dr. appointment on 06/03/26 confirmed bicep tear.

  17. violation5034211

    77.410(c) · $151.00 proposed

  18. violation5034210

    77.1110 · $465.00 proposed

  19. violation5034209

    77.502 · $465.00 proposed

  20. violation5034208

    77.809 · $151.00 proposed

  21. violation5033554

    77.1607(p) · $245.00 proposed

  22. violation5033553

    77.404(a) · $193.00 proposed

  23. violation5034207

    77.1104 · $209.00 proposed

  24. violation5034206

    77.1109(a) · S&S · $818.00 proposed

  25. violation5034205

    77.208(d) · $245.00 proposed

Safety sources and definitions

MSHA Violations (issue date), Accidents (accident date), and Inspections (begin date). Snapshot 2026-10-13.

Counts describe published rows, including contractor records; accident records are not distinct incidents or numbers of people injured.

Zero means no matching records in the imported sources, not proof of no events. Historical coverage differs by source; absence before a source begins reporting is not a zero incident rate. Invalid or absent dates and records after the snapshot are excluded.

S&S means SIG_SUB=Y. Fatality records use DEGREE_INJURY_CD=01. Proposed penalties are not final assessed or paid amounts; missing dollar values are omitted.

Inspection hours are SUM_TOTAL_ON_SITE_HOURS attributed to the inspection start date, without supervisor/trainee hours. Missing hours are omitted; a started inspection may still be open.

Portfolio totals use current mine membership, including events before the current owner or operator's tenure.

CFR headings link to the current Title 30 index; they are not historical legal determinations.

Latest EIA month: 2026-07Source checked 2026-10-13 · publication lag differs from MSHA.

REPORTED RECEIPTS · SHORT TONS45,939,728716 rows · 53 receiving plants
HEAT CONTENT · BTU/LB8,920Weighted by reported tons
SULFUR / ASH · % BY WEIGHT0.30 / 5.08Separate averages over measured receipts
DELIVERED COST · USD/TON38.3492.8% of reported tons have usable costs
Quarterly receipts and quality
QuarterShort tonsHeat · Btu/lbSulfur %Ash %Delivered USD/ton
2025-Q3 *8,395,4248,8830.335.2435.84
2025-Q412,913,8058,9000.305.0838.16
2026-Q110,963,3848,9480.295.0939.21
2026-Q29,409,2108,9410.315.0539.51
2026-Q3 *4,257,9058,9390.274.8338.92
Month / sourceReceiving plant / supplierShort tonsDelivered USD/tonHeat · Btu/lbSulfur %Ash %PurchaseTransport
2026-07EIA row 11355 · preliminaryHolcomb108 · KS · BLACK THUNDER - ARCH30,70432.208,9790.245.00ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11387 · preliminaryComanche (CO)470 · CO · ARCH28,47031.039,0530.234.00ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11388 · preliminaryComanche (CO)470 · CO · ARCH28,32331.349,1000.224.20ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11495 · preliminaryMichigan City997 · IN · CORE NATURAL RESOURCES, INC15,15143.828,8850.194.40ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11514 · preliminaryWalter Scott Jr Energy Center1082 · IA · CORE SALES LLC131,03226.668,9830.244.40ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11530 · preliminaryLa Cygne1241 · KS · CORE NATURAL RESOURCES, INC32,60629.868,9410.274.60SpotSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11531 · preliminaryLa Cygne1241 · KS · CORE NATURAL RESOURCES, INC32,70029.879,0090.264.40SpotSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11535 · preliminaryLa Cygne1241 · KS · CORE NATURAL RESOURCES, INC32,72630.888,8220.355.70SpotSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11536 · preliminaryLa Cygne1241 · KS · CORE NATURAL RESOURCES, INC97,69630.258,7130.356.00SpotSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11537 · preliminaryLa Cygne1241 · KS · CORE NATURAL RESOURCES, INC81,93829.528,7800.385.60SpotSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11539 · preliminaryLa Cygne1241 · KS · CORE NATURAL RESOURCES, INC49,19229.538,7180.365.50SpotSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11541 · preliminaryLawrence Energy Center1250 · KS · CORE NATURAL RESOURCES, INC31,75640.649,0240.224.50SpotSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11543 · preliminaryLawrence Energy Center1250 · KS · CORE NATURAL RESOURCES, INC47,41340.488,8070.365.60SpotSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11572 · preliminaryShawnee1379 · KY · ARCH COAL SALES31,79335.008,9930.244.80ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11573 · preliminaryShawnee1379 · KY · ARCH COAL SALES31,87134.279,0190.234.60ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11574 · preliminaryShawnee1379 · KY · ARCH COAL SALES47,33833.428,9980.234.30ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11584 · preliminaryR S Nelson1393 · LA · ARCH COAL SALES15,18840.599,0600.254.40ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11586 · preliminaryR S Nelson1393 · LA · NAVAJO TRANSITIONAL ENERGY CO., LLC45,11241.599,0250.204.40ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11587 · preliminaryR S Nelson1393 · LA · ARCH COAL SALES45,38541.079,0100.214.50ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11633 · preliminaryJ H Campbell1710 · MI · ARCH COAL SALES173,68852.139,0060.224.40SpotSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11634 · preliminaryJ H Campbell1710 · MI · ARCH COAL SALES47,67551.498,9640.234.60SpotSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11639 · preliminaryMonroe (MI)1733 · MI · ARCH COAL SALES79,07041.239,0700.224.40ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11640 · preliminaryMonroe (MI)1733 · MI · ARCH COAL SALES142,20041.388,9260.264.80ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11645 · preliminaryClay Boswell1893 · MN · BLACK THUNDER - ARCH125,60747.288,8250.285.00ContractSUBRail
2026-07EIA row 11666 · preliminaryHawthorn2079 · MO · CORE NATURAL RESOURCES, INC16,39027.458,7080.365.70SpotSUBRail
Coverage, sources and calculations
  • Reported coal receipts at EIA-923 power plants/terminals; this is not a census of mine shipments, exports or metallurgical sales.
  • Matches use only the published MSHA ID, normalized to seven digits. Unidentified mine origins remain in the source table but are not assigned to a mine.
  • Portfolio attribution uses current MSHA ownership, not ownership at the shipment date. Receipts and production can differ because of timing, stocks and coverage.
  • Quality means are weighted by positive reported tons with that measurement. Delivered cost uses only rows with published cost, positive heat and positive tons; missing/withheld costs are never zero-filled.
  • USD/ton = (cents/MMBtu ÷ 100) × MMBtu/ton. This is plant delivered cost, not mine sales price or revenue.
  • Receipt month is as published, including records supplied by annual respondents. Recent months are preliminary and subject to revision. Missing rows do not prove zero shipments.

Imported releases start 2008-01. This window includes 12 published months. EIA releases · Survey instructions

  • 2026 · preliminary · EIA923_Schedules_2_3_4_5_M_07_2026_21SEP2026.xlsx · Page 5 Fuel Receipts and Costs
  • 2025 · final · EIA923_Schedules_2_3_4_5_M_12_2025_Final.xlsx · Page 5 Fuel Receipts and Costs

Latest priced year: 2024Source checked 2026-10-13. Prices apply only to their calendar year.

FOB PRICE BENCHMARK · USD/TON13.96Published county average
ESTIMATED SALES · SHORT TONS44,477,605Allocated from published county sales
ESTIMATED COAL REVENUE · USD620,907,365Covered mines only · not reported revenue
ANNUAL PRODUCTION COVERED100.0%1 of 1 producing annual mine records
Mine / countyAnnual production · tonsCounty FOB · USD/tonEst. sales · tonsEst. coal revenue · USDBasis / availability
Black Thunder4800977 · Campbell, Wyoming44,480,97613.9644,477,605620,907,365County allocation estimate26.16% of eligible county production11 eligible mines / 11 sales respondents
Method, assumptions and source records
  1. This is an annual county-sales allocation, not reported mine or company revenue. Currency is nominal USD in the source year; quantities are short tons.
  2. Mine share = same-year annual mine production / eligible same-county production. Estimated sales = published county sales × share. Estimated coal revenue = estimated sales × published county average FOB price.
  3. The model assumes eligible mines share county sales in proportion to production and receive the county-average price. Matching mine counts is a check, not proof of identical respondents. Mine quality, contracts and sales timing can differ substantially. No statistical confidence interval is implied.
  4. FOB excludes transport and insurance. EIA-923 delivered costs do not enter this model. No grade premium, state/national fallback, quarterly apportionment or carry-forward to a later year is applied.
  5. Eligibility follows the source's production threshold and excludes preparation-only and refuse operations. Withheld values, inconsistent county counts and missing/ambiguous locations produce no estimate.
  6. County sales are published in thousands of tons and prices to cents. Calculations retain precision, but the inputs are rounded and the allocation is approximate.
  7. Portfolio attribution uses current MSHA ownership, not ownership during the sales year. Covered-mine sums exclude unavailable estimates and must not be read as whole-company revenue. Coverage denominators use the annual EIA mine-production release.

Sales-reporting threshold: 50,000 short tons per mine in 2024. Withheld sales or prices stay unavailable.

EIA Table 30 · county sales and FOB prices · EIA annual mine production · Release index

Annual report released November 19, 2025. Method: county-sales-allocation-v1. JSON and CSV preserve source row numbers and file checksums.

OWNERSHIP

Operator and controller history

Current ownership comes from MSHA Mines. Historical start and end dates come from MSHA Controller and Operator History.

CURRENT HIERARCHYCore Natural Resources Inc → Thunder Basin Coal Company LLC → Black Thunder
HISTORY RECORDS410 relationships
INTERVAL CHECKPASScontroller/operator overlap
—

Core Natural Resources InccontrolsThunder Basin Coal Company LLCoperatesBlack Thunder

msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 4800977
—

Arch Resources InccontrolsThunder Basin Coal Company LLCoperatesBlack Thunder

msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 4800977
—

Ashland Inc et alcontrolsThunder Basin Coal Company LLCoperatesBlack Thunder

msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 4800977
—

Atlantic Richfield CompanycontrolsThunder Basin Coal Company LlcoperatesBlack Thunder

msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 4800977
Other historical summaries · source-specific periods

RECORD SUMMARY

Production, safety and enforcement

These summaries use the periods stated on each card, independently of the reporting period above.

01 / SAFETYwatch

Accidents and injuries

577 historical accident/injury rows; 4 coded fatalities and 8,856 lost days across the published record.

ACCIDENT + INJURY RECORD89 since 2021
accidentsmine-production-quarterly
02 / COMPLIANCEwatch

Violations and penalties

1,623 violation rows across the full record; 352 carry an S&S flag and $1,212,772 appears in current assessed amounts.

ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY517 since 2021
inspectionsviolationsassessed-violationsorders-107a
03 / HEALTHwatch

Occupational health samples

1,401 coal dust; 142 coal quartz; 321 noise. 0 personal-sample rows have a published C/E ratio above 1; 35 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.

OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE2K samples
coal-dust-samplesquartz-samplesnoise-samples
04 / PRODUCTIONcontext

Quarterly production and employment

410K employee hours and 802 summed average employees across reported subunits in the latest published quarter.

2026-Q29.6M tons
mine-production-quarterlymine-production-yearly
05 / LEGALwatch

Contests, conferences and decisions

85 contested-violation rows, 92 civil-penalty docket/decision rows, and 60 conference records linked by issuance number.

POST-ISSUANCE LIFECYCLE237 linked rows
conferencescontested-violationscivil-penalty-dockets-decisions
06 / CONTRACTORScontext

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.

ENTITY-LEVEL CONTEXT80 linked entities
contractor-production-quarterlycontractor-production-yearlyaccidentsviolations
07 / INSPECTIONScontext

Inspections

369 inspection events and 29K published inspection hours across the historical record.

OVERSIGHT COVERAGE52 since 2021
inspectionsviolations

HEALTH SAMPLING

Silica and quartz

Matching records55 coal · 0 personal · 0 area
Sample status5 not voided0 voided · 0 status not reported
Mean coal quartz concentration13.6 µg/m³5 eligible measurements · 0 missing concentration
2026 · Apr 27, 2026–May 11, 2026
Date / sampleDataset / analyteOccupation / areaMeasurementSample statusPublished action
58541591 / lab 2026019930Coal quartzQuartzHIGHWALL DRILL OPERATORDESIGNATED WORK POSITION24 µg/m³7.6% quartzNot voidedNot reported
58541938 / lab 2026017695Coal quartzQuartzHIGHWALL DRILL OPERATORDESIGNATED WORK POSITION3 µg/m³1.9% quartzNot voidedNot reported
58541937 / lab 2026017687Coal quartzQuartzBULLDOZER OPERATORDESIGNATED WORK POSITION8 µg/m³8.5% quartzNot voidedNot reported
58541654 / lab 2026017689Coal quartzQuartzHIGHWALL DRILL OPERATORDESIGNATED WORK POSITION8 µg/m³4.1% quartzNot voidedNot reported
58541643 / lab 2026017691Coal quartzQuartzBULLDOZER OPERATORDESIGNATED WORK POSITION25 µg/m³13.1% quartzNot voidedNot reported
Sources and interpretation
  • Coal means use numeric concentrations from samples marked not voided, excluding control/invalid sample types and dates after the snapshot. Missing values remain null; reported zeroes remain zero.
  • Quarterly means describe available samples, not mine-wide or worker-average exposure. Quarters with no eligible measurements remain empty; the current quarter is partial.
  • Personal C/E is MSHA's published concentration-to-limit ratio. A value above 1 is not by itself a citation or a determination under the 2024 silica rule. Personal and area files do not publish a void-status field.
  • Area records include bulk-dust analyses and are kept separate from personal exposure results. Their concentration units are not specified in the source dictionary.
  • Missing samples do not establish safe conditions. Coal quartz percentage and concentration are separate measures. No compliance threshold is inferred for coal samples.

Coal quartz field definitions ↗Metal/nonmetal personal field definitions ↗Metal/nonmetal area field definitions ↗

EIA + TITLE 30

EIA production and cited regulations

EIA annual figures are reported separately from MSHA. Regulation links use the current eCFR snapshot.

RECENT PUBLIC RECORDS

Recent violations and samples

Latest records retained for inspection; aggregates above use the full source history.

VIOLATIONS12 latest shown
503358177.1606(c)Citation
503457577.505Citation
503422377.1606(c)Citation
503422277.1605(l)S&S
503422177.602(a)S&S
503358077.1000Citation
503421477.1110Citation
503377977.400(a)Citation
OTHER HEALTH SAMPLES8 latest shown

Coal dust, noise and other contaminants. Silica records above ↑

Coal dustHIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR
.116 mg/m³Voided · CONTROL FILTER VOID
Coal dustHIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR
.007 mg/m³Not voided
Coal dustBULLDOZER OPERATOR
.027 mg/m³Not voided
Coal dustBULLDOZER OPERATOR
.094 mg/m³Not voided
Coal dustBULLDOZER OPERATOR
.073 mg/m³Not voided
Coal dustBULLDOZER OPERATOR
.108 mg/m³Not voided
Coal dustHIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR
.028 mg/m³Not voided
Coal dustHIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR
.209 mg/m³Not voided

SOURCE COVERAGE

Reporting dates and coverage

17 datasets contain linked records. Missing datasets are listed below.

DATASETROWSWINDOWSTATUS
Accident, Injuries, and Illnessessafety · contractors577Feb 22, 2000—Sep 5, 2026mine-keyed
Addresses of Recordidentity · logistics1Dec 1, 1980—Dec 1, 1980mine-keyed
Assessed Violationscompliance · legal1,575May 24, 2000—Jun 8, 2026mine-keyed
Civil Penalty Dockets and Decisionscompliance · legal92Nov 10, 2003—Aug 26, 2026mine-keyed
Coal Dust Sampleshealth · safety1,401Mar 9, 2000—Jul 16, 2055mine-keyed
Conferencescompliance · legal60Nov 22, 2002—Oct 26, 2023mine-keyed
Contested Violationscompliance · legal85Mar 8, 2005—Jun 3, 2026mine-keyed
Contractor Employment and Production — Quarterlycontractors · production · safety14,024Not published—Not publishedentity-linked
Contractor Employment and Production — Yearlycontractors · production · safety3,030Not published—Not publishedentity-linked
Controller and Operator Historyidentity · compliance4Jan 1, 1975—Jun 1, 1998mine-keyed
Mine Employment and Production — Quarterlyproduction · safety · compliance310Not published—Not publishedmine-keyed
Mine Employment and Production — Yearlyproduction · safety · compliance79Not published—Not publishedmine-keyed
Inspectionssafety · compliance369Jan 26, 2000—Oct 1, 2026mine-keyed
Minesidentity · production · logistics1Not published—Not publishedmine-keyed
Metal and Nonmetal Area Sampleshealth · safety—No published rowsabsent / not applicable
Metal and Nonmetal Personal Health Sampleshealth · safety—No published rowsabsent / not applicable
Noise Sampleshealth · safety · equipment321May 24, 2000—Apr 27, 2026mine-keyed
Quartz Samples — Coalhealth · safety142Oct 16, 2000—May 11, 2026mine-keyed
Violationscompliance · safety · legal1,623May 24, 2000—Oct 5, 2026mine-keyed
107(a) Orders Issuedsafety · compliance—No published rowsabsent / not applicable

NOTES

Limitations

  • Contractor production is entity-level and is never represented as mine-attributable.
  • Missing rows can mean no event, publication delay, identity mismatch, or inapplicability.