Latest Mining Headlines
All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.
As Production Declines, Coal Miner Fatalities at Historic Low
Jan 15 2021 // Five miners died in U.S. coal mines in 2020, an all-time low mark for an industry in a year that saw continuing declines in production as electric providers move away from burning coal. The federal Mine Safety and Health...
Investors Sue Parent Company Behind Alaska Gold Mine
Jan 6 2021 // The company behind a proposed copper and gold mine in Alaska faces lawsuits from investors claiming it misled shareholders who have seen an 85% drop in stock value since the summer. Two lawsuits filed in U.S. District...
2 Die in Louisiana Salt Mine Ceiling Collapse
Dec 17 2020 // Two people died when the ceiling in a salt mine fell in Louisiana, authorities and the mine operator said. A portion of the ceiling in a part of the underground mine on Avery Island came down on Dec. 14. Sixteen employees...
Inspector General Urges Mine Safety Agency to Tighten Silica Dust Rules for Miners
Dec 4 2020 // The inspector general for the U.S. Department of Labor is urging the government’s mine safety agency to tighten restrictions on a dangerous substance that is inhaled by coal miners. A report from the inspector...
Death of West Virginia Miner Marks 6th US Coal Mining Fatality of 2020
Nov 25 2020 // A coal miner died Monday in a workplace accident in southern West Virginia, the governor’s office said. Taylor Meldin Halstead, 20, of Bob White, was killed in the accident at Panther Mining LLC’s American...
South Carolina County Mulls Loosening Mining Regulations
Nov 17 2020 // A South Carolina county is considering relaxing its mining regulations. The Sun News in Myrtle Beach reports Horry County Council could enact zoning ordinances that would make it easier to dig mines near homes and wetlands...
English Court Blocks $6.6B Brazil Lawsuit Against Mining Firm BHP Over Burst Dam
Nov 9 2020 // A 5.0 billion pound ($6.6 billion) English lawsuit against Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP has been struck out, in a blow to a 200,000-strong Brazilian claimant group seeking damages after a devastating dam failure in...
Man Killed in Accident in Central Pennsylvania Mine
Nov 5 2020 // Authorities on Wednesday were investigating after a man died in a central Pennsylvania coal mine. Daniel Shoener, 37, of Donaldson, was struck by a rock about 1,000 feet below the surface in Williamstown Mine on Tuesday...
Wisconsin DNR Wants to Raise Mining Fees, Require More Detailed Plans
Oct 29 2020 // Mining applicants would have to pay more for permits and licenses, supply more detailed plans to state regulators, and work around a new list of areas deemed off-limits under regulations the Wisconsin Department of Natural...
Mining Giants BHP, Vale Accused of Colluding to Cut Payouts to Victims of Dam Collapse
Oct 26 2020 // Brazilian federal prosecutors have accused mining giants BHP and Vale of colluding with a lawyer to reduce compensation for victims of a fatal dam collapse and interfere with a landmark lawsuit against BHP in the UK. A...
2 Kentucky Coal Miners Die in Mining Accidents in 1 Week
Oct 16 2020 // A coal miner working underground in western Kentucky died after being struck by a coal scoop. It was the second coal mining death in Kentucky in less than a week and the fourth overall in the U.S. this year. Phillip...
Prosecutors Want Brazil Court to Make Vale Mine Replace Executives Tied to Lax Safety
Sep 4 2020 // Federal prosecutors in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state are seeking a court order for miner Vale SA to replace executives they accuse of disregarding safety procedures following two deadly mining disasters. They have...
Sierra Leone Residents’ Damages Suit Against Miner Is Part of Activist Trend
Aug 25 2020 // FREETOWN – At the foot of a slag heap some 40 meters high, Adi Kalie Bangura showed the black welts that dot his arms and legs that he says are the result of drinking and bathing in water contaminated by Sierra...
Appeals Panel Rejects Suit over Abandoned Mine Shaft Death in Colorado
Aug 7 2020 // A federal appeals panel has upheld the dismissal of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a woman who died when the car she was riding in drove off a Forest Service road and into an abandoned mine shaft in the...
Miner BHP Calls $6.3B English Lawsuit over Brazil Dam Collapse ‘Pointless and Wasteful’
Jul 22 2020 // Anglo-Australian miner BHP has dismissed as pointless and wasteful a 5 billion pound ($6.3 billion) English lawsuit by 200,000 Brazilian people and groups over the 2015 collapse of a dam that led to Brazil’s worst...
Colorado Paying $7M for Cleanup of Former Alaska Mine
Jul 17 2020 // A Colorado company agreed to a $7 million cleanup plan for Alaska’s only uranium mine, which has left radioactive waste in the Tongass National Forest. Newmont Corporation is expected to fill the former Ross-Adams...
Anglo-Australian Miner BHP Faces $6.3B Lawsuit in UK over 2015 Brazil Dam Disaster
Jul 15 2020 // More than 200,000 Brazilian people and groups will next week kick off a 5 billion-pound ($6.3 billion) lawsuit against Anglo-Australian miner BHP in Britain over a 2015 dam failure that led to Brazil’s worst...
Mining Groups Should Be Required to Buy Insurance for Tailings Dams: Report
Jun 30 2020 // Mining companies should be required to buy private insurance for tailings dams and their board of directors should be held legally responsible for any disasters, a coalition of 140 environmental groups said in a report...
Chile’s Environment Regulator Files Charges Against Codelco for Mining Waste Pollution
Jun 29 2020 // Chile’s environmental regulator on Thursday said it had filed charges against state mining company Codelco over a 2016 tailings spill and river and estuary contamination at its Andina mine in a mountainous region...
Chilean Union Workers Want Probe Into Coronavirus Deaths at Codelco Copper Mine
Jun 26 2020 // SANTIAGO— Unionized mine workers in Chile late on Wednesday demanded an investigation into the death of a third miner from coronavirus at state-run Codelco, increasing pressure on the world´s largest copper producer as...
