Latest Mining Headlines
All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.
U.S. Safety Chief Pressures Mines to Install High-Tech Equipment
Mar 30 2010 // America’s top coal mine regulator says he will redouble pressure on the industry to meet a 4-year-old congressional mandate to equip the nation’s underground mines with high-tech communications and tracking...
Chile’s Mines and Refineries Escape Damage from Aftershocks
Mar 12 2010 // Chile’s mining and refinery sectors escaped damage Thursday as a series of powerful aftershocks rocked the world’s largest copper producer in the wake of one of the biggest earthquakes ever...
West Virginia Mine Foreman Pleads Guilty to Faking Safety Records
Mar 12 2010 // A foreman accused of faking a safety inspection report at a Patriot Coal Corp. mine pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of making false statements and certifications under federal mine safety laws. John Renner, 40, of...
Willis Sees Premium Rates Softening for Mining Industry in 2010
Feb 4 2010 // “Rates for Mining Property Damage & Business Interruption (PD/BI) insurance are likely to soften in 2010, but could harden again should this volatile sector experience a catastrophic loss, according to the latest...
Vermont Supreme Court: Landowner Can Sue Mine President
Jan 20 2010 // The Vermont Supreme Court says a landowner can sue the president of the Vermont Asbestos Group over contamination on property next to a former asbestos mine in Eden and Lowell. The Supreme Court has overruled a lower...
U.S. Mine Deaths At Record Low
Jan 4 2010 // The number of miners killed on the job in the United States fell for a second straight year to 34, the fewest since officials began keeping records nearly a century ago. That was down from the previous low of 52 in...
U.S. Mine Safety Chief Vows to End Black Lung Disease
Dec 15 2009 // The nation’s mine safety czar said Friday that the U.S. must put a stop to black lung disease, a work-related illness that has killed roughly 10,000 coal miners this decade. “Now is the time to act to end this...
Willis Appoints Eggleston to Mining Insurance Practice in Tennessee
Dec 8 2009 // Insurance broker Willis Group has named Jeffrey Eggleston as senior vice president of its Mining Practice in Knoxville, Tennessee. Willis’ also recently added two other mining practice team members, Michael Ford,...
Massey Energy Settles Age Bias Claim with West Virginia Miners
Nov 4 2009 // Hundreds of miners who were not rehired after Massey Energy bought a West Virginia mine have settled an age discrimination lawsuit against the Richmond, Va.-based coal producer. A hearing to approve the deal is scheduled...
Feds Propose $504K Fines for Pennsylvania Mine Operator
Oct 21 2009 // The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration is proposing $504,900 in fines against an eastern Pennsylvania coal mine operator for a miner’s death. Forty-five-year-old Robert Carey was killed on June 16, 2008,...
Miner Dies in Southwest Virgnia Coal Mine
Aug 24 2009 // Virginia has recorded its first mining death of 2009. A veteran miner was killed early Thursday after coal and rock fell on him while he was working at mine in Wise County near Appalachia. Fifty-eight-year-old William...
West Virginia Worker Identified in Fatal Accident at Mine
Jul 30 2009 // A truck operator killed at a West Virginia surface mine on Tuesday has been identified. State mine agency spokeswoman Jama Jarrett said Wednesday that 28-year-old Mark Gray of Belle died Tuesday when his truck backed into...
Coal Miner Killed by Falling Rock in Western Pennsylvania
Jun 26 2009 // A coal miner is dead after being hit by falling rock inside a mine in southwestern Pennsylvania. Consol Energy officials say 54-year-old Robert Maust of Uniontown died early Wednesday morning after being struck by falling...
West Virginia Fines Trucking Firm for Fatal Mining Accident
May 21 2009 // The state of West Virginia has fined a trucking company $50,000 for violations investigators say contributed to a fatal coal mining accident in February, a spokeswoman for the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and...
Massey Energy Fined $2.5 Million for Fatal West Virginia Mine Fire
Apr 17 2009 // A Massey Energy subsidiary was fined $2.5 million fine this week after a federal judge accepted the company’s guilty plea to 10 criminal charges for a fire that killed two West Virginia coal miners. U.S. District...
U.S. Mining Safety Officials Look to Reduce Number of Contested Cases
Mar 31 2009 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has announced that settlement conferences held between mine operators and MSHA personnel to resolve enforcement disputes will be deferred...
Spring Brings Increased Wyoming Mining, Safety Concerns
Mar 23 2009 // The arrival of spring brings increased activity at Wyoming mines and quarries, and with it, a greater risk of workplace accidents, safety officials say. Seasonal workers becoming reacquainted with their jobs and the use of...
Workers Charge Kentucky Mine Safety Law ‘Under Attack’
Mar 6 2009 // Critics are complaining that three measures pending in the Kentucky legislature could undo key provisions of the state’s mine safety law. One would sharply reduce inspections performed by the Kentucky Office of Mine...
Kentucky Lawmaker’s Mine Cited For Safety Violation
Mar 4 2009 // A Kentucky lawmaker pushing to reduce the number of medics required at small mines owns a mine that was cited last year for not having the personnel on duty. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that state inspectors last...
Willis Analyzes Mining Industry ‘Insurance Crunch’
Mar 3 2009 // A new report from Willis’ London office concludes that the “global mining industry is caught in a ‘classic insurance market crunch’ as mining companies, faced with declining commodity prices and...
