It seems to me that mining is an industry where safety violations are usually minor, widespread, and commonplace. In our law firm, we have a paper mill as a client, and they get 10 violations every time an inspector walks through the plant. But the 10 violations are extraordinarily minor, and the sum of the fine - if there is one at all - is rarely above $2,000. Rather, the safety inspections are just used as a way to check up on manufacturers, keep them on their toes, and make sure they're not doing any thing really stupid.
I don't doubt it. Then again, obviously not all violations are minor. The son here alleged that there had been numerous roof cave-ins in recent times at this mine. If that's indeed true, don't know if they were the result of safety violations or not, but something obviously led to a major disaster. It might have just been bad, unavoidable luck, but perhaps not.