Latest Mining Headlines
All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Global Mining Standard Omits Ban on Upstream Dams Sought by Civil Groups
Jun 25 2020 // A sweeping global standard that sets out how the world’s largest miners care for waste dams falls short of measures environmental and civil society groups say are needed to avert future disasters, according to a copy...
South Dakota Property Owners Sue Over Recently Exposed Mine, Sinkhole
May 29 2020 // Residents of a Black Hawk, South Dakota, neighborhood where a sinkhole has exposed an abandoned mine endangering their properties have filed a $75.5 million lawsuit claiming government entities and private developers were...
Talc Miner Imerys to Forfeit North America Units to Settle 14,000 Cancer Lawsuits
May 18 2020 // Imerys SA, which mines talc used in Johnson & Johnson’s iconic Baby Powder and other products, agreed to turn over its North American operations to resolve more than 14,000 lawsuits claiming the mineral caused...
Explosion at Anglo American Coal Mine in Australia Injures 5, Halts Production
May 6 2020 // An explosion halted production on Wednesday at a coal mine run by Anglo American in Australia’s northeastern state of Queensland, injuring five people just months after a review of the industry called for better...
W. Va. Gov. Justice’s Coal Firms to Pay $1M in Fines, Penalties in Mine Contract Dispute
Apr 28 2020 // A federal judge in Kentucky has ordered companies owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice to pay more than $1 million in fees and expenses in a lawsuit that accused them of defaulting on a mining contract. U.S. District...
Judge Refuses to Stop Idaho Tribe Lawsuit Against Mining Company
Jan 14 2020 // A Clean Water Act lawsuit filed by the Nez Perce Tribe that seeks to force a Canadian gold mining company to acquire permits for pollution discharged from its central Idaho facility will be allowed to continue, a federal...
West Virginia Coal Miner Killed in Beltline Accident
Dec 27 2019 // A West Virginia coal miner died while working at a Murray Energy mine, Gov. Jim Justice’s office said Tuesday. Raymond Leonard Starkey Jr., 21, of New Martinsville, was fatally injured Monday while helping to repair...
Vale Says Mine Collapse in Brazil Partially Linked to High Water Level
Dec 13 2019 // The deadly collapse of a Vale SA’s mining waste dam in Brazil was partially triggered by “a persistently high water level” that caused the structure to lose strength and stability, according to a report...
Mining Group Has Concerns on Global Tailings Dam Safety Standards
Nov 20 2019 // The world’s largest mining trade group said on Monday it has concerns with standards being considered for global tailings dam safety, especially how the new rules will apply to new and existing facilities. An...
Before Ambush, Burkina Faso Mine Workers Sought More Transport Protection: Reuters
Nov 19 2019 // Five months before an ambush killed 39 colleagues, local workers at a Canadian-owned gold mine in Burkina Faso pleaded with managers to fly them to the site rather than go by a road that was prone to attacks, two people...
Vale’s ‘Negligence’ May Have Cost Lives, Says Brazil Mining Regulator
Nov 12 2019 // Brazil’s mining regulator on Tuesday blasted iron ore miner Vale SA for failing to disclose problems with a mining dam before a deadly collapse in January, saying this kept the agency from taking actions that could...
Dam Collapse in Siberia Kills At Least 15 Gold Miners
Oct 21 2019 // At least 15 gold miners were killed on Saturday when a dam collapsed, flooding an artisanal mining encampment in a remote part of Siberia, officials said. Heavy rains had weakened the dam and water broke through, sweeping...
Report: Kentucky Coal Miner Crushed by 2,000-Pound Rock
Oct 1 2019 // A federal report says failure to control parts of a Kentucky coal mine led to the death of a miner crushed by a 2,000-pound piece of rock and coal. A U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration report says 48-year-old Felix...
Brazil Police Accuse Mining Firm Vale, Auditor of Fraud Related to Deadly Dam Collapse
Sep 23 2019 // Brazilian federal police proposed criminal charges against Vale SA, auditor TÜV SÜD and 13 of their employees, alleging fraud in relation to a deadly dam collapse in January, according to a document seen by Reuters on...
Coal Mine Electrician Dies in Accident at West Virginia Mine
Sep 19 2019 // West Virginia officials say a 40-year-old coal mine electrician has died in an accident. The West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training says Steven Vernon Keeney of Sylvester died of injuries from an...
Kentucky Coal Miner Dies in Accident
Sep 10 2019 // A coal miner has died from injuries suffered in an accident at a western Kentucky mine. A statement from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet says 39-year-old Jeremy Elder of Providence died Thursday from critical...
Machines Taking Over Jobs at Giant Copper Mine in Chile
Aug 15 2019 // Machines are taking over a giant Chilean copper mine, replacing about a third of the workforce as owner Codelco struggles to keep its title as the world’s largest producer of the metal. Codelco officially inaugurated...
Idaho Tribe Sues Mining Company Over Pollution
Aug 12 2019 // The Nez Perce Tribe has filed a lawsuit to force a Canadian company to clean up an idle central Idaho mining area – which the company says it plans to do if it gets approval from U.S. officials to restart mining at the...
Mining Firm Vale Must Fix All Damages from Deadly Dam Collapse: Brazil Court
Jul 10 2019 // A Brazilian state judge on Tuesday convicted mining company Vale SA for damages caused by the deadly rupture of a tailings dam in January that killed at least 240 people. Judge Elton Pupo Nogueira ruled that Vale is...
EPA Drilling into Colorado Mine for Superfund Cleanup Investigation
Jun 11 2019 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to drill a test well into an inactive mine tunnel in southwestern Colorado to get information for a Superfund cleanup, the agency said. The EPA said it will drill into the...
