Latest Mining Headlines
All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Kentucky Lawmakers Want Faster Med-evacs after Mine Accidents
Mar 19 2008 // A severely burned Ora Murphy lay on a gurney at a coal mining operation in the remote mountains of eastern Kentucky waiting for a medical helicopter to transport him to a hospital nearly 100 miles away. Problem was, no one...
Virginia Receives $260K Grant for Mine Safety Training
Mar 12 2008 // Virginia is getting more than $259,000 in mine health and safety grants. The funds come from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration. The agency says it has announced more than $8.2...
Feds Give West Virginia $543,898 for Mine Safety Training
Mar 12 2008 // The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has given West Virginia about $544,000 for mine safety training. The grant is part of more than $8 million the agency is providing nationally for training in 49 states and...
Feds Toughen Limit on Asbestos Exposure in Nation’s Mines
Mar 3 2008 // A federal limit on asbestos exposure at mining operations nationwide is now in line with the standard for other industries. A final rule issued Friday by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration limits asbestos...
W. Va.: Survivor and One Victim’s Family Settle Sago Mine Lawsuits
Feb 28 2008 // Randal McCloy Jr., the lone survivor of the Sago Mine disaster of 2006, and the family of one victim have settled lawsuits in West Virginia against the mine’s owner. Lawyers for McCloy and the estate of David Lewis...
Judge: Trapped Miners Can Sue Company, Not 3 Others
Feb 22 2008 // Eight of the nine miners trapped underground in July 2002 when a Pennsylvania mineshaft flooded can continue their suit against the firm that controlled the mine, a judge ruled. Six other miners who narrowly escaped being...
Seal Breaks at Abandoned W.Va. Mine, Floods Yards, Highway
Feb 14 2008 // The earthen seal at a former underground coal mine in Delbarton, W. Va., sprung a leak, sending thousands of gallons of water through the yards of several homes and onto a state highway, officials said Tuesday. The seal...
Pa. Senate Passes Long-Awaited Mine Safety Measure
Feb 13 2008 // The first major rewrite of Pennsylvania’s 1961 mine safety law received unanimous approval from the state Senate this week, but the mine workers union wants the House to make additions to it. Under the current draft,...
Lawmakers Want Answers from Mine Administration on Penalties
Jan 31 2008 // Lawmakers want to know why federal mine safety regulators didn’t assess penalties for hundreds of citations issued since 2000, and what is being done to correct the problem. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health...
Federal Study Backs Installation of Shelters in Nation’s Mines
Jan 28 2008 // Federal researchers have concluded that airtight refuge chambers could save trapped miners and merit installation in the nation’s 731 underground coal mines. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health...
Ky. Measure Would Ease Safety Requirements for Some Surface Mines
Jan 25 2008 // Kentucky’s smallest coal companies would get a reprieve from a year-old mine safety law under legislation pending in the General Assembly. The measure would relieve companies that employ fewer than 10 miners from...
House Democrats Pass Mine Safety Bill Despite Bush Veto Threat
Jan 18 2008 // Defying White House veto threats, the Democratic-controlled House this week passed sweeping mine safety legislation aimed at preventing future underground disasters like the one that took nine lives last year at Crandall...
New Federal Mine Safety Legislation up for Vote
Jan 17 2008 // More than two dozen Appalachian families who have lost loved ones in coal accidents are supporting a federal bill that would mandate more safety measures. Among the supporters are the widows of the 2006 Kentucky Darby...
Pa. Senate Panel Advances Long-Delayed Mine Safety Measure
Jan 17 2008 // A bill that would install a slew of safety measures into Pennsylvania’s long-outdated law protecting coal miners received unanimous approval from a state Senate committee this week. The bill, which is headed for a...
Kentucky Reports First Mining Death of 2008
Jan 10 2008 // Kentucky is reporting the nation’s first mine death of 2008. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration says an eastern Kentucky coal truck driver died Tuesday at Blue Ridge surface mine in Perry County. The mine...
Bush Retains U.S. Mine Safety Chief
Jan 7 2008 // The country’s top mine-safety regulator will stay on the job despite the expiration of his temporary appointment as assistant labor secretary for mine safety and health. President Bush designated Richard Stickler as...
Federal Figures Show 32 Coal Miners Killed in 2007
Jan 3 2008 // Despite a decline in fatal accidents, federal statistics show 2007 was the second deadliest year since 2002 for U.S. coal miners. According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, 32 miners died on the job last year,...
Virginia Nears Third Year without a Mine Death
Dec 28 2007 // With the end of 2007 days away, Virginia is nearing a third consecutive year without a coal mining death. Virginia, ranked No. 10 in the nation in coal production, saw its last coal mining fatality on Oct. 23, 2004. Mike...
Federal Panel Recommends Fireproof Conveyor Belts in Nation’s Mines
Dec 21 2007 // Nearly two years after a conveyor belt fire killed two miners in Logan County, W. Va., a congressionally mandated study recommends that fireproof conveyor belts be standard in the nation’s coal mines. The study says...
W.Va. Delays Deployment of Steel-Shelled Mine Shelters
Dec 21 2007 // West Virginia’s mine safety chief has delayed deployment of steel-shelled shelters in underground coal mines because they could not meet a state standard for internal temperatures during testing. Ron Wooten, director...
