.
STILLWATER MINING COMPANY
November 18, 1997
WEST 96-281-RM


           FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

                      1244 SPEER BOULEVARD #280
                        DENVER, CO 80204-3582
                    303-844-3577/FAX 303-844-5268

                          November 18, 1997


STILLWATER MINING COMPANY,        :   CONTEST PROCEEDING
             Contestant           :
                                  :   Docket No. WEST 96-281-RM
        v.                        :   Citation No. 7900016; 5/21/96
                                  :
SECRETARY OF LABOR,               :
  MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH          :   Stillwater Mine
  ADMINISTRATION (MSHA),          :   Mine I.D. No. 24-01490
             Respondent           :
                                  :
                                  :
SECRETARY OF LABOR,               :   CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDING
  MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH          :
  ADMINISTRATION (MSHA),          :   Docket No. WEST 97-179-M
             Petitioner           :        A.C. 24-01490-05583
                                  :
        v.                        :   Stillwater Mine
                                  :
STILLWATER MINING COMPANY,        :
             Respondent           :


                               DECISION

Before:  Judge Manning

     By order dated November 11, 1997, I granted the Secretary of
Labor's motion for summary decision on all issues except the degree
of negligence attributable to the violation.  In the order, I held
that there are no genuine issues as to any material fact in these
cases.  I also held that the Secretary established a violation of
30 C.F.R. �50.11(b) as a matter of law.  My order granting, in part,
the Secretary's motion for summary decision is attached to and made
a part of this decision.

     Citation No. 7900016, issued May 21, 1996, alleged that Stillwater
Mining Company ("Stillwater") failed to make available to the Mine
Safety and Health Administration ("MSHA") an accident investigation
report of the Kenneth Goode fatality.  Stillwater made a number of
documents available to MSHA, but the Secretary alleged in the citation
that these documents did not comply with the requirements of section
50.11(b).  The citation alleged that the violation was not serious and
was not of a significant and substantial nature.  The citation also
alleged that the violation was the result of Stillwater's high
negligence.  The Secretary proposed a penalty of $50 for the alleged
violation.

     In my order of November 11, I held that there were no genuine
factual issues in these cases and that the Secretary was entitled to
summary decision as a matter of law on the issue of whether Stillwater
violated section 50.11(b).  I denied the Secretary's motion with
respect to her determination that the violation was the result of
Stillwater's high negligence.  I determined that the Secretary had
not established high negligence.

     By letter dated November 13, 1997, counsel for the Secretary
advised me that the citation will be modified to show that the
violation was the result of Stillwater's moderate negligence.  With
this modification, I hereby find that there are no genuine issues
as to any material fact with respect to Stillwater's negligence and
that the Secretary is entitled to summary decision on this issue as
a matter of law.  MSHA advised Stillwater by letter dated May 6, 1996,
that it needed to submit its report of the Kenneth Goode fatality to
MSHA on or before May 20, 1996.  The letter referred to section 50.11
and stated that the regulation "requires that the report be complete
and contain information listed in the criteria section of 50.11(b)."
(Sec. Ex. A-1).  MSHA did not receive a report from Stillwater on or
before May 20 and did not receive a request for an extension of time
from Stillwater.  By letter dated May 23, counsel for Stillwater
stated that the requested documents had already been produced in
litigation pending before Former Commission Administrative Law Judge
Arthur Amchan.  Stillwater also provided these documents to MSHA
before the end of September 1995.

     As stated in my order granting summary decision, the documents
previously submitted by Stillwater do not comply with the requirements
of section 50.11(b) and cannot be deemed to be a report of Stillwater's
accident investigation under that section.  Mine operators have been
providing accident reports as required by section 50.11(b) for years
and Stillwater's failure to provide such a report upon MSHA's request
constitutes moderate negligence.

                      APPROPRIATE CIVIL PENALTY

     Section 110(i) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act sets
out six criteria to be considered in determining an appropriate
civil penalty.  The Secretary proposed a nominal penalty of $50.00
for the violation.   Given that I have granted the Secretary's
motion for summary decision, I have reviewed the six criteria to
ensure that there is support for the Secretary's proposed penalty.
I find that Stillwater employed about 271 miners underground during
the second quarter of 1995 and reported 131,116 man-hours of
underground production during that quarter.  (Sec. Ex. A-3 at 121).
In his decision involving the Kenneth Goode fatality, Judge Amchan
determined that Stillwater is a "relatively large operator."
Stillwater Mining Co. 18 FMSHRC 1291, 1298 (July 1996).  The
Secretary did not submit evidence concerning Stillwater's history
of previous violations and I assume that the penalty should not
be raised or lowered as a result of this criteria.  Id.  The
proposed penalty will not affect Stillwater's ability to continue
in business.  The violation was not serious and was the result of
Stillwater's moderate negligence.  The violation was abated in good
faith when Stillwater supplemented its response to MSHA's request
for a report, as described in my order of November 11.  Accordingly,
I find that the Secretary's proposed penalty of $50.00 is supported
by the record.

                                ORDER

     The hearing scheduled in these cases is CANCELED.  Citation No.
7900016 is AFFIRMED, as modified to show moderate negligence.  The
notice of contest filed by Stillwater Mining Company in WEST 96-281-RM
is DISMISSED and Stillwater Mining Company is ORDERED TO PAY the
Secretary of Labor the sum of $50.00 within 40 days of the date of
this decision.

                                       Richard W. Manning
                                       Administrative Law Judge

Distribution:

James J. Gonzales, HOLLAND & HART, P.O. Box 8749,
Denver, CO 80201-8749  (Certified Mail)

Edward Falkowski, Esq., Office of the Solicitor,
U.S. Department of Labor, 1999 Broadway, Suite 1600,
Denver, CO 80202-5716  (Certified Mail)

RWM