Latest Mining Headlines
All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.
West Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to False Mine Safety Reporting
Jul 31 2013 // A southern West Virginia mine foreman faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to falsifying safety reports at four mining operations. Federal prosecutors say 36-year-old Craig Belcher of Bluefield pleaded...
Kentucky Coal Mine Discrimination Claim Nearing ‘Amicable’ Settlement
Jun 17 2013 // A lawsuit against a western Kentucky coal mine accused of discriminating against black job applicants appears to be nearing a settlement. River View Coal, a subsidiary of Tulsa, Okla.-based Alliance Resource Partners, was...
Mines Associated with Kentucky Lawmaker Cited for Safety Violations
Jun 11 2013 // An influential eastern Kentucky legislator owns the permits on Pike County coal mines that have repeatedly been cited by the state for safety and environmental violations. Rep. Keith Hall’s Beech Creek Coal Co. and...
Environmental Groups Sue Landowners Over Mountaintop Mining in West Virginia
Jun 3 2013 // Environmental activists say three reclaimed mountaintop removal mining sites are still polluting West Virginia waterways, and they’re suing the current landowners in a novel attempt to stop it. The lawsuits filed in...
Miners’ Union Takes Unusual Legal Turn to Save Benefits in Bankruptcy
May 1 2013 // As mineworkers and retirees battle to salvage their pensions and benefits from the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal Corp., lawyers for their union are trying an unusual gambit – and one that may be a test case for...
Claim That Quake Caused Utah Mine Disaster Rejected
Apr 23 2013 // A University of Utah study had rejected a company’s claims concerning the cause of a 2007 collapse at Utah’s Crandall Canyon coal mine that killed nine people. The scientists presented findings of their...
Utah Mine Landslide 1 Of Largest In History
Apr 18 2013 // A massive landslide that halted operations at a major Utah copper mine last week was one of the largest in the history of open pit mining, an expert said this week. The assessment came after Kennecott Utah Copper announced...
Louisiana Lawmakers Seek Better Oversight of Salt Mines
Apr 16 2013 // Lawmakers in Lousiana are looking to prevent a repeat of the massive Assumption Parish sinkhole that officials say was caused by a collapsed underground salt cavern – and make sure prospective property owners know what...
Remembering 29 Miners Lost in West Virginia Blast 3 Years Ago
Apr 8 2013 // As West Virginians marked the third anniversary of an explosion that killed 29 coal miners Friday, congressional Democrats called the lack of action on tougher mine safety legislation “shameful.” Gov. Earl Ray...
Congressmen Renew Push for Tougher Federal Mine Safety Laws
Mar 26 2013 // With five coal mining fatalities in West Virginia so far this year, Democratic U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall is renewing his push for tougher federal laws. He and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., are co-sponsoring a new version of...
Research Panel Recommends Steps to Help Mine Workers Escape in Emergencies
Mar 18 2013 // Federal regulators and safety officials should consider requiring more backup air supplies and work to develop better breathing devices that would help the nation’s coal miners escape underground emergencies, a panel...
West Virginia Cites 45 Violations After 2 Deaths at Mine
Feb 28 2013 // State inspectors have issued 45 violations at a West Virginia coal mine since two men died there earlier this month, including one for negligently rigging the switch on a hoist with a piece of wood and a rusty bolt,...
Negligent Mine Inspectors Can Be Sued
Feb 25 2013 // Private and federal mine safety inspectors can be held liable and sued when a negligent inspection results in the wrongful death of a coal miner, the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled in handing a victory to the widows of...
West Virginia Coal Mines Shut Down to Review Safety Following Deaths
Feb 22 2013 // West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on Wednesday asked coal companies to halt production for an hour to review safety procedures following the state’s fourth mining fatality in two weeks and the sixth since...
West Virginia Revises Penalties for Mine Safety Violations
Feb 8 2013 // West Virginia regulators have revised a proposed rule that would increase fines for mine safety and health violations. The original proposal would have raised the civil penalties across the board. The revised rule filed...
West Virginia Court Rules Negligent Mine Inspectors Can Be Sued
Feb 7 2013 // Private and federal mine safety inspectors can be held liable and sued when a negligent inspection results in the wrongful death of a coal miner, the state Supreme Court ruled in handing a victory to the widows of two men...
West Virginia Not Enforcing Mine Coal Dust Standards: Report
Feb 5 2013 // State standards aimed at reducing buildups of explosive coal dust in underground mines but regulators haven’t been enforced in West Virginia. More than a fifth of the more than 5,500 dust samples taken from mines by...
Willis’ Report Focuses on Threats Facing Mining Industry
Feb 5 2013 // “Resource nationalism, poor infrastructure that impedes development and supply chain disruptions are some of the biggest risks facing the mining sector in the year ahead,” according to this year’s Mining...
Safety Rule on Methane in West Virginia Mines Stalled
Feb 4 2013 // A rule that could toughen the limits on methane gas levels in West Virginia coal mines remains stalled as state officials debate both definitions and a timetable for implementation. The State Journal said last week’s...
U.S. Issues Mine Safety Rule on Patterns of Violations
Jan 18 2013 // Labor Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced a final rule to strengthen safety in the nation’s most dangerous mines. Solis said that the rule, which revises the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s...
