Latest Mining Headlines
All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Veteran Inspector White Named West Virginia Mine Safety Chief
Jan 2 2013 // A longtime mine inspector and safety official will now head such efforts in West Virginia, after Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin appointed Eugene White as director for the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training. White...
Kentucky Miner Who Reported Safety Violations Faces Discipline
Dec 20 2012 // The Office of Mine Safety and Licensing is asking that an eastern Kentucky miner who reported safety violations be put on probation because he worked in unsafe conditions. Mackie Bailey faces a hearing in February with the...
Former Massey Mine Executive to Enter Plea Next Month
Dec 14 2012 // A former president of Massey Energy’s White Buck Coal Co. will enter a plea on federal conspiracy charges in January as prosecutors continue to investigate the 2010 explosion at another Massey operation that killed...
Marsh Names Pittsburgh-Based East and Central Zone Mining Leader
Dec 10 2012 // Marsh, the insurance broking division of Marsh & McLennan Cos., announced that Douglas Schwab has rejoined the firm as its new East and Central zone mining leader.Douglas SchwabIn this newly-created position, Schwab...
West Virginia Mine Blast Probe Widens, Top Executives Could Be Next
Nov 30 2012 // Federal prosecutors investigating the West Virginia mine explosion that killed 29 men have widened their net, filing criminal charges against a longtime Massey Energy executive who worked closely with former CEO Don...
Kentucky Mine Officials Face Prison
Nov 19 2012 // Plea agreements say two supervisors at an eastern Kentucky mine where a coal miner was killed last year knowingly violated federal safety laws. Accoording to the documents, Jefferson Davis and Joseph Miniard are planning...
Kentucky Earthquake Not Due to Mining: Geologist
Nov 14 2012 // Geologists say the 4.3 magnitude earthquake that shook eastern Kentucky last weekend was too deep to be induced by the region’s underground mining activity. The epicenter was about 10 miles west of Whitesburg, in the...
Supreme Court Hears West Virginia Mine Widows’ Plea
Oct 19 2012 // Federal inspectors must share the blame — and therefore face a lawsuit — for a 2006 West Virginia coal mine fire that killed two miners, a lawyer for their widows argued at the state Supreme Court on Wednesday. Lawyer...
Risk Of Lawsuits Preventing Abandoned Mine Cleanup In Colorado
Sep 11 2012 // Colorado mining authorities have dug through a mountainside and reopened the dark granite shaft of an abandoned mine that turned deadly, trying to find options for dealing with one of the West’s worst environmental...
West Virginia Widows Press Case for Mine Inspectors’ Liability
Aug 21 2012 // The widows of two West Virginia coal miners killed in a 2006 fire want the state Supreme Court to rule that private and federal mine safety inspectors can be held legally liable when workers die as a result of their...
West Virginia to Decide Mine Inspectors’ Liability
Aug 6 2012 // The West Virginia Supreme Court has set a Oct. 17 date to consider whether Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors can be held liable for coal miners’ deaths. A federal appeals court in Richmond last month...
West Virginia Mine Regulators Slow on Inspections, Permits
Jul 27 2012 // West Virginia mine regulators have failed to meet internal goals for timely inspections and permits, a legislative audit concluded, but agency officials disagree with the auditors over why. The report released this week to...
West Virginia Court to Hear Mine Inspectors’ Liability Case in October
Jul 25 2012 // The West Virginia Supreme Court has set an October argument date to consider the issue of whether Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors can be held liable for coal miners’ deaths. A federal appeals court...
Mining Deaths Down in First Half of 2012
Jul 23 2012 // Nineteen mining deaths occurred during the first six months of the year, the second-lowest midyear toll ever recorded, federal regulators said. Fourteen miners died during the same period last year. The Mine Safety and...
West Virginia High Court to Decide Mine Inspectors’ Liability for Deaths
Jul 19 2012 // A federal appeals court said this week that the state Supreme Court should decide whether Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors can be held liable for coal miners’ deaths, calling it “a matter of...
State’s Safety Inspections at Kentucky’s Harlan Mine Found Lax
Jul 17 2012 // A published report says Kentucky’s state investigators found few problems at a Harlan County mine where federal investigators found enough violations during a surprise safety blitz in May to shut the facility down...
Black Lung Protections for Miners Failing; Cases Continue to Rise
Jul 11 2012 // Black lung diagnoses have doubled in the last decade, and a new investigation blames a combination of factors, including operators who cheat the system and lax enforcement by regulators. Experts have warned of the...
West Virginia Mine Sealed
Jul 2 2012 // Alpha Natural Resources has completed sealing the West Virginia mine where an explosion killed 29 workers in 2010. Alpha spokesman Ted Pile told The Register-Herald that the seals are covered with fill dirt. The mine...
Alpha Seals West Virginia Mine Where 2010 Blast Killed 29
Jun 22 2012 // Alpha Natural Resources has completed sealing the West Virginia mine where an explosion killed 29 workers in 2010. Alpha spokesman Ted Pile told The Register-Herald that crews put the final concrete seal in place at the...
Kentucky Governor Promoting New Drug Law for Miners
Jun 21 2012 // Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear is promoting a newly passed law that permanently revokes the credentials of miners who fail drug tests. Beshear was in Pikeville on Tuesday where he said the law sends a clear message that drug...
