No US Mine Flagged for Pattern of Violations in Fiscal Year 2026
MSHA screened all 12,000 US mining operations and issued zero pattern-of-violations notices, marking the third consecutive year without a POV designation.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced Wednesday that none of the roughly 12,000 active mining operations in the country triggered a pattern of violations notice during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2026 — the third straight year the agency has reached that outcome.
A pattern of violations designation is among MSHA's most powerful enforcement mechanisms under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. It applies to mines that accumulate a recurring pattern of significant and substantial violations — those deemed reasonably likely to cause serious injury or illness — along with other persistent compliance problems. Once a mine is placed on POV status, MSHA has authority to order miners withdrawn from any area where subsequent serious violations occur.
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Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Wayne D. Palmer credited both rigorous and impartial enforcement and voluntary compliance efforts by operators. Palmer noted the milestone coincides with what the agency described as the lowest all-injury rate ever recorded in the mining sector in 2025, calling the combination a sign of continued industry-wide safety improvement.
MSHA offers mine operators online tools — including a POV calculator and a significant-and-substantial violations calculator — to help them track their compliance standing in real time. The agency places the primary responsibility on operators to monitor their own violation and injury histories and take corrective action before reaching POV screening thresholds.
Continue reading at DOL News Releases and Briefs.
