Latest Mining Headlines

All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.

W.Va. Miner Dies From Injuries Suffered in Weekend Accident

Aug 9 2007 // State and federal mine safety officials are investigating an accident that killed a section foreman at a mine in West Virginia’s Mingo County. Stevie Joe Browning, 24, died Monday at St. Mary’s Medical Center...

Ky. Coal Miner Who Spoke Out About Safety Claiming Discrimination

Aug 7 2007 // An eastern Kentucky coal miner claims he has been targeted by a Virginia company because he spoke out against unsafe working conditions at one of the company’s mines. Charles Howard, of Roxana, filed a complaint with...

6 Miners Trapped in Collapsed Utah Mine

Aug 7 2007 // A coal mine collapsed Monday in central Utah, trapping six miners less than 20 miles from the epicenter of a 4.0 magnitude earthquake, authorities said. The Genwal mine reported a “cave-in” at 3:50 a.m. MDT, an...

FBI data mining targets include insurance fraud suspects

Jul 23 2007 // The FBI is gathering and sorting information about Americans to help search for potential terrorists, insurance cheats and crooked pharmacists, according to a government report. Records about identity thefts, real estate...

After review of mine tragedies, U.S. promises stricter inspections

Jul 23 2007 // Federal inspectors missed obvious problems and failed to follow procedures at the Sago Mine in West Virginia and two other underground coal mines where 19 men died in high-profile accidents last year, the Mine Safety and...

FBI data mining targets include insurance fraud suspects

Jul 23 2007 // The FBI is gathering and sorting information about Americans to help search for potential terrorists, insurance cheats and crooked pharmacists, according to a government report. Records about identity thefts, real estate...

Kentucky Coal Mine Cited After Video Showed Cracked Seals

Jul 20 2007 // Federal mine-safety officials have cited an eastern Kentucky coal mine after a miner’s video showed some mine seals were cracked and leaking water. The video, shot by miner Charles Scott Howard inside the Cumberland...

Ky. Miner, Widows Ask Administration to Make Seal Rule Permanent

Jul 16 2007 // The seals in the underground Kentucky mine were supposed to block explosive gases, but they are weak, cracked, damaged – allowing water to gush through them. The disturbing images on the home movie were presented...

FBI Data Mining Targets Include Insurance Fraud Suspects

Jul 12 2007 // The FBI is gathering and sorting information about Americans to help search for potential terrorists, insurance cheats and crooked pharmacists, according to a government report. Records about identity thefts, real estate...

Tri-Star Mining Cited in April Deaths of Two Maryland Coal Miners

Jul 11 2007 // Federal mining regulators cited a western Maryland coal operator Monday for failing to ensure the safety of two workers who died when the side of an open-pit mine collapsed in April, burying the men beneath 93,000 tons of...

MSHA Announces Plans to Improve W. Va. Mine Inspections

Jul 6 2007 // Federal inspectors missed obvious problems and failed to follow procedures at the Sago Mine in West Virginia and two other underground coal mines where 19 men died in high-profile accidents last year, the Mine Safety and...

U.S. Mine Agency Admits Shortcomings, Vows Safety Steps

Jul 5 2007 // Federal inspectors missed obvious problems and failed to follow procedures before three high-profile accidents that killed 19 men at underground coal mines in West Virginia and Kentucky last year, according to the Mine...

West Va. worries about mine inspector shortage

Jul 2 2007 // West Virginia is looking for a few good mine inspectors, but the state’s safety chief doesn’t know where they’ll come from. Ron Wooten, director of the state Office of Miners’ Health Safety and...

Democrats in Congress Propose Major Mine Safety Legislation

Jun 21 2007 // A ban on using so-called belt air ventilation is among numerous provisions in sweeping coal mine safety legislation introduced in the U.S. House this week. Other provisions would speed the installation of better...

W. Va. Mine Safety Chief Worries About Shortage of Inspectors

Jun 5 2007 // West Virginia is looking for a few good mine inspectors, but the state’s safety chief doesn’t know where they’ll come from. Ron Wooten, director of the state Office of Miners’ Health Safety and...

Widows, Survivor of Explosion Sue Ky. Mine Owner, Pa. Company

May 23 2007 // A mine supervisor and a coal company put production over safety prior to an underground explosion last year that killed five miners, relatives and the sole survivor alleged Monday in a lawsuit. The lawsuit cited numerous...

Federal Officials Fine Ky. Mine Operator for Safety Violations

May 15 2007 // A southeastern Kentucky coal mine operator was fined $761,000 by federal regulators for safety violations found during a recent inspection. Stillhouse Mining LLC, an operator in Harlan County, was fined for four...

U.S. Officials: Lightning Likely Cause of Deadly W. Va. Sago Mine Blast

May 11 2007 // One or more lightning strikes likely caused an electrical current in a cable left deep inside the Sago Mine and touched off the methane blast blamed for the deaths of 12 coal miners last year, the federal Mine Safety and...

Feds to Unveil Conclusions on W. Va. Sago Mine Disaster

May 10 2007 // Federal investigators will issue their report Wednesday on the Sago Mine disaster, which killed 12 West Virginia coal miners in a January 2006 explosion and prolonged entrapment underground. Mine Safety and Health...

Mountaintop Mining Becomes Issue in Kentucky Governor’s Race

May 10 2007 // Removing Kentucky mountaintops in search of coal is a noisy, jarring process. Warning sirens blare, followed by massive explosions that shake the earth and propel broken rocks skyward. Bulldozers rumble across parched...