MINE DETAILS
Pioneer Preparation Plant
MSHA MINE ID1516858
LOCATION
Mine location
1 of 1 mine with usable MSHA coordinates. Select a marker to open a mine.
Mine coordinates
- Pioneer Preparation Plant37.24806, -83.04139Open map ↗
Quarterly trends
2025 Q1 – 2026 Q4
Database snapshot · 2026-10-17. MSHA quarterly production and employment reports.
Coal production
—reported short tons
Hours worked
—reported employee hours
Tons per hour
—production ÷ hours worked
Missing values appear as —. Totals use available reports. Tons per hour requires production and hours for the same quarters and a nonzero hours total. * Striped bars mark partial mine coverage or an incomplete quarter. See the table for coverage.
Quarterly data and reporting coverage
| Quarter | Coal (short tons) | Hours worked | Tons / hour | Avg. employees | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q1 | — | — | — | — | No report |
| 2025 Q2 | — | — | — | — | No report |
| 2025 Q3 | — | — | — | — | No report |
| 2025 Q4 | — | — | — | — | No report |
| 2026 Q1 | — | — | — | — | No report |
| 2026 Q2 | — | — | — | — | No report |
| 2026 Q3 | — | — | — | — | No report |
| 2026 Q4 | — | — | — | — | No report |
Safety and enforcement
2025-01-01 – 2026-10-17
Violations
150 significant & substantial (S&S)
Accident records
00 records classified as fatality
Proposed penalties · USD
2,265.0015 of 15 violations with amounts
On-site inspection hours
338.0010 inspections · 10 with hours
Counts are published records, including contractor records. * The quarter was incomplete at the snapshot date; recent counts may rise as reports arrive. — means no reported amount or hours. Portfolio totals use current membership.
Quarterly safety data
| Quarter | Violations | S&S | Proposed USD | Accident records | Fatality records | Inspections | On-site hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-Q1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 50.0 |
| 2025-Q2 | 11 | 0 | 1,661.00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 91.8 |
| 2025-Q3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.0 |
| 2025-Q4 | 1 | 0 | 151.00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 82.5 |
| 2026-Q1 | 2 | 0 | 302.00 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 37.3 |
| 2026-Q2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 46.5 |
| 2026-Q3 | 1 | 0 | 151.00 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20.0 |
| 2026-Q4 * | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7.0 |
Most cited CFR sections
All violations issued in the selected period. Counts combine subsections.
Safety activity
Regular Safety and Health Inspection · 7.0 on-site hours
Spot Inspection · 13.0 on-site hours
Impoundment Spot Inspection · 7.0 on-site hours
77.1104 · $151.00 proposed
Regular Safety and Health Inspection · 46.5 on-site hours
77.209 · $151.00 proposed
Spot Inspection · 30.0 on-site hours
77.207 · $151.00 proposed
Impoundment Spot Inspection · 7.3 on-site hours
77.1606(c) · $151.00 proposed
Regular Safety and Health Inspection · 82.5 on-site hours
Special Emphasis Programs · 3.0 on-site hours
77.1605(d) · $151.00 proposed
77.1606(c) · $151.00 proposed
77.1606(c) · $151.00 proposed
77.410(a)(1) · $151.00 proposed
77.1606(c) · $151.00 proposed
77.1606(c) · $151.00 proposed
77.1606(c) · $151.00 proposed
77.502 · $151.00 proposed
77.400(a) · $151.00 proposed
77.505 · $151.00 proposed
77.400(a) · $151.00 proposed
Regular Safety and Health Inspection · 91.8 on-site hours
Regular Safety and Health Inspection · 50.0 on-site hours
Safety sources and definitions
MSHA Violations (issue date), Accidents (accident date), and Inspections (begin date). Snapshot 2026-10-17.
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.
EIA-923 · COAL RECEIPTS
Coal shipments and quality
Receipts reported by power plants and terminals, matched by MSHA mine ID.
Quarterly receipts and quality
| Quarter | Short tons | Heat · Btu/lb | Sulfur % | Ash % | Delivered USD/ton | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-Q3 * | 61,604 | 12,469 | 0.81 | 10.50 | 107.65 | |
| 2025-Q4 | 96,162 | 12,538 | 0.92 | 10.17 | 107.78 | |
| 2026-Q1 | 117,168 | 12,508 | 0.91 | 10.35 | 112.21 | |
| 2026-Q2 | 124,559 | 12,523 | 0.82 | 10.52 | 116.61 | |
| 2026-Q3 * | 38,008 | 12,473 | 0.76 | 10.14 | 115.29 |
| Month / source | Receiving plant / supplier | Short tons | Delivered USD/ton | Heat · Btu/lb | Sulfur % | Ash % | Purchase | Transport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07EIA row 11861 · preliminary | Wateree3297 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 12,757 | 112.65 | 12,470 | 0.73 | 10.80 | SpotBIT | Rail |
| 2026-07EIA row 11869 · preliminary | Williams3298 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 25,251 | 116.62 | 12,475 | 0.77 | 9.80 | SpotBIT | Rail |
| 2026-06EIA row 9962 · preliminary | Wateree3297 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 12,739 | 115.31 | 12,520 | 0.83 | 10.70 | ContractBIT | Rail |
| 2026-06EIA row 9971 · preliminary | Williams3298 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 37,939 | 119.51 | 12,575 | 0.79 | 10.50 | ContractBIT | Rail |
| 2026-05EIA row 8118 · preliminary | Wateree3297 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 11,804 | 115.22 | 12,565 | 0.84 | 10.20 | ContractBIT | Rail |
| 2026-05EIA row 8490 · preliminary | Cope7210 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 24,722 | 116.85 | 12,500 | 0.83 | 10.50 | SpotBIT | Rail |
| 2026-04EIA row 6302 · preliminary | Wateree3297 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 12,776 | 112.72 | 12,455 | 0.86 | 10.60 | ContractBIT | Rail |
| 2026-04EIA row 6307 · preliminary | Williams3298 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 24,579 | 115.24 | 12,485 | 0.82 | 10.60 | ContractBIT | Rail |
| 2026-03EIA row 4504 · preliminary | Williams3298 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 23,981 | 112.32 | 12,475 | 0.91 | 10.30 | SpotBIT | Rail |
| 2026-02EIA row 2533 · preliminary | Wateree3297 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 36,063 | 109.44 | 12,490 | 0.98 | 10.50 | ContractBIT | Rail |
| 2026-02EIA row 2540 · preliminary | Williams3298 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 23,074 | 115.23 | 12,550 | 0.97 | 10.40 | ContractBIT | Rail |
| 2026-01EIA row 553 · preliminary | Wateree3297 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 11,337 | 110.46 | 12,510 | 0.75 | 10.20 | ContractBIT | Rail |
| 2026-01EIA row 558 · preliminary | Williams3298 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 22,713 | 114.27 | 12,530 | 0.81 | 10.20 | ContractBIT | Rail |
| 2025-12EIA row 34999 · final | Cope7210 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 50,868 | 106.26 | 12,510 | 0.89 | 10.20 | ContractBIT | Rail |
| 2025-11EIA row 32006 · final | Cope7210 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 21,704 | 110.23 | 12,575 | 1.02 | 10.40 | ContractBIT | Rail |
| 2025-10EIA row 29056 · final | Cope7210 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 23,590 | 108.81 | 12,565 | 0.88 | 9.90 | SpotBIT | Rail |
| 2025-09EIA row 25476 · final | Wateree3297 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 12,954 | 103.49 | 12,575 | 1.01 | 10.80 | ContractBIT | Rail |
| 2025-09EIA row 25487 · final | Williams3298 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 12,241 | 110.01 | 12,470 | 0.81 | 10.90 | SpotBIT | Rail |
| 2025-09EIA row 25993 · final | Cope7210 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 11,533 | 109.86 | 12,535 | 0.59 | 10.40 | SpotBIT | Rail |
| 2025-08EIA row 22325 · final | Wateree3297 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 11,871 | 104.62 | 12,250 | 0.81 | 10.20 | SpotBIT | Rail |
| 2025-08EIA row 22332 · final | Williams3298 · SC · B & W RESOURCES | 13,005 | 110.39 | 12,505 | 0.81 | 10.20 | SpotBIT | Rail |
Delivered cost includes transport and is not mine revenue. Missing prices remain blank. * Fewer than three months are published in the selected quarter. Receipts reflect the months EIA has published; an unfinished quarter is not comparable with a full quarter. Portfolio matches use current ownership.
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
EIA ANNUAL COAL REPORT · 2024
Coal prices and estimated revenue
Annual county prices and a production-based allocation of county coal sales.
The estimate assumes each eligible mine receives its county-average price and shares county sales in proportion to production. Actual sales and prices can differ substantially. Unavailable estimates are excluded; this is not a total for the whole portfolio. Annual price data uses a separate window from the MSHA charts.
| Mine / county | Annual production · tons | County FOB · USD/ton | Est. sales · tons | Est. coal revenue · USD | Basis / availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Preparation Plant1516858 · Knott, Kentucky | 0 | — | — | — | Preparation plant3 eligible mines / 3 sales respondents |
Method, assumptions and source records
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
—
Alpha Natural Resources Holdings, InccontrolsEnterprise Mining Company LLCoperatesPioneer Preparation Plant
msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 1516858—
Lipari EnergycontrolsB&W Resources Inc.operatesPioneer Preparation Plant
msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 1516858—
David WellscontrolsB&W Resources Inc.operatesPioneer Preparation Plant
msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 1516858—
Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.controlsEnterprise Mining Company LLCoperatesPioneer Preparation Plant
msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 1516858—
Amfire LLCcontrolsEnterprise Mining Company LLCoperatesPioneer Preparation Plant
msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 1516858—
Progress Energy InccontrolsDiamond May Coal Co IncoperatesPioneer Preparation Plant
msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 1516858—
Florida Progress CorporationcontrolsDiamond May Coal Company IncoperatesPioneer Preparation Plant
msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 1516858—
Charles E YatescontrolsAdena Processing IncoperatesPioneer Preparation Plant
msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 1516858—
Florida Progress CorporationcontrolsDiamond May Coal Company IncoperatesPioneer Preparation Plant
msha-controller-operator-history · controller/operator co-tenure derived on mine 1516858Other 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 / SAFETYneutral
Accidents and injuries
25 historical accident/injury rows; 0 coded fatalities and 814 lost days across the published record.
ACCIDENT + INJURY RECORD0 since 2021
accidentsmine-production-quarterly02 / COMPLIANCEwatch
Violations and penalties
538 violation rows across the full record; 163 carry an S&S flag and $100,052 appears in current assessed amounts.
ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY60 since 2021
inspectionsviolationsassessed-violationsorders-107a03 / HEALTHwatch
Occupational health samples
380 coal dust; 23 coal quartz; 199 noise. 0 personal-sample rows have a published C/E ratio above 1; 8 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 EXPOSURE602 samples
coal-dust-samplesquartz-samplesnoise-samples04 / PRODUCTIONcontext
Quarterly production and employment
14K employee hours and 24 summed average employees across reported subunits in the latest published quarter.
2002-Q40 tons
mine-production-quarterlymine-production-yearly05 / LEGALwatch
Contests, conferences and decisions
30 contested-violation rows, 30 civil-penalty docket/decision rows, and 2 conference records linked by issuance number.
POST-ISSUANCE LIFECYCLE62 linked rows
conferencescontested-violationscivil-penalty-dockets-decisions06 / 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 CONTEXT39 linked entities
contractor-production-quarterlycontractor-production-yearlyaccidentsviolations07 / INSPECTIONScontext
Inspections
180 inspection events and 6K published inspection hours across the historical record.
OVERSIGHT COVERAGE31 since 2021
inspectionsviolationsHEALTH SAMPLING
Silica and quartz
Coal quartz, metal/nonmetal personal samples and area samples. Snapshot Oct 17, 2026. 23 silica records across the mine’s published history.
Coal quartz concentration
Quarterly mean · µg/m³ · not-voided samples
— No eligible measurements. * Quarter in progress. Means describe the available samples, not average exposure across the mine.
Quartz % is the sample’s quartz content; µg/m³ is its reported concentration. Personal C/E is the ratio to the limit published with that sample. Personal and area concentration units and void status are not specified in those source files.
| Date / sample | Dataset / analyte | Occupation / area | Measurement | Sample status | Published action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No silica records match these filters. Missing samples do not establish safe conditions. | |||||
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.
ANNUAL COAL PRODUCTION0short tons
- LABOR HOURS
- 17,469
- AVG EMPLOYEES
- 8
- SUPPLY REGION
- Appalachia Central
- UNION
- No union code published
- OPERATION
- Preparation Plant
- COMPANY TYPE
- Independent Producer Operator
1 published EIA row aggregated under this MSHA ID. Components remain available in JSON.
30 CFR 77.1104Accumulations of combustible materials.1 recent row ↗30 CFR 77.209Surge and storage piles.1 recent row ↗30 CFR 77.207Illumination.1 recent row ↗30 CFR 77.1606Loading and haulage equipment; inspection and maintenance.6 recent rows ↗30 CFR 77.1605Loading and haulage equipment; installations.1 recent row ↗30 CFR 77.410Mobile equipment; automatic warning devices.1 recent row ↗30 CFR 77.502Electric equipment; examination, testing, and maintenance.1 recent row ↗
RECENT PUBLIC RECORDS
Recent violations and samples
Latest records retained for inspection; aggregates above use the full source history.
508446977.1104Citation
508002377.209Citation
508002277.207Citation
977903377.1606(c)Citation
977901277.1605(d)Citation
977493577.1606(c)Citation
977493477.1606(c)Citation
977904777.410(a)(1)Citation
Coal dust, noise and other contaminants. Silica records above ↑
Coal dustBULLDOZER OPERATOR
.053 mg/m³Not voided
Coal dustBULLDOZER OPERATOR
.03 mg/m³Not voided
Coal dustWEIGHMAN
.033 mg/m³Not voided
NoiseBULLDOZER OPERATOR
PEL dose: 0%Action-level dose: 1%
NoiseWEIGHMAN
PEL dose: 0%Action-level dose: 0%
Coal dustBULLDOZER OPERATOR
.035 mg/m³Not voided
Coal dustBULLDOZER OPERATOR
.034 mg/m³Not voided
Coal dustLABORER
.053 mg/m³Not voided
SOURCE COVERAGE
Reporting dates and coverage
17 datasets contain linked records. Missing datasets are listed below.
DATASETROWSWINDOWSTATUS
Accident, Injuries, and Illnessessafety · contractors25Jul 15, 2000—Aug 16, 2019mine-keyed
Addresses of Recordidentity · logistics1Sep 1, 2016—Sep 1, 2016mine-keyed
Assessed Violationscompliance · legal534Jan 11, 2000—Jul 7, 2026mine-keyed
Civil Penalty Dockets and Decisionscompliance · legal30Oct 15, 2009—Dec 14, 2017mine-keyed
Coal Dust Sampleshealth · safety380Jan 31, 2000—Aug 24, 2026mine-keyed
Conferencescompliance · legal2Dec 9, 2015—Dec 9, 2015mine-keyed
Contested Violationscompliance · legal30May 7, 2008—Jul 5, 2017mine-keyed
Contractor Employment and Production — Quarterlycontractors · production · safety1,706Not published—Not publishedentity-linked
Contractor Employment and Production — Yearlycontractors · production · safety383Not published—Not publishedentity-linked
Controller and Operator Historyidentity · compliance9Aug 1, 1989—Dec 18, 2014mine-keyed
Mine Employment and Production — Quarterlyproduction · safety · compliance16Not published—Not publishedmine-keyed
Mine Employment and Production — Yearlyproduction · safety · compliance27Not published—Not publishedmine-keyed
Inspectionssafety · compliance180Jan 11, 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 · equipment199Oct 24, 2001—Jun 25, 2026mine-keyed
Quartz Samples — Coalhealth · safety23Apr 12, 2000—Apr 26, 2024mine-keyed
Violationscompliance · safety · legal538Jan 11, 2000—Jul 7, 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.