Mine Safety and Health Administration News

Death of West Virginia Miner Marks 6th US Coal Mining Fatality of 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 Eagle Mine in the Kanawha County …

Coal Executive Murray Files for Federal Benefits to Treat His Black Lung Disease

U.S. coal baron Robert Murray, whose company Murray Energy filed for bankruptcy last year, has applied for federal benefits to treat his black lung disease after opposing more stringent coal dust regulations for years, according to report by West Virginia …

West Virginia Governor’s Coal Companies to Pay $5M in Fines for Safety Violations

Billionaire West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s coal companies have agreed to pay more than $5 million for thousands of mine safety violations, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The civil case brought by prosecutors in Virginia last year on behalf of the …

West Virginia Coal Miner Killed on Job Site

West Virginia regulators say a 43-year-old coal miner has been killed on the job. The Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training says shuttle car operator Ronald R. Taylor of Belington died of head injuries when he was struck by …

Lawsuit Filed Against Mine Safety Agency Over 2010 West Virginia Mine Blast

A lawsuit filed by a West Virginia miner’s widow says the Mine Safety and Health Administration didn’t do enough to stop the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports Carolyn Diana Davis filed the lawsuit April 5 that …

Ex-Coal CEO Blankenship Urges Trump to Probe 2010 Mine Blast in West Virginia

A former coal executive who last week finished a yearlong prison sentence for conspiring to violate safety standards at a mine where a deadly blast occurred, has urged U.S. President Donald Trump to “get to the truth” about the incident. …

Bodies of Mississippi Workers Recovered From Gravel Pit

Rescuers have recovered the body of a second man who disappeared in a landslide at a gravel pit in southern Mississippi earlier this month. The second body was found around 9:50 p.m. Friday and removed Saturday morning, said Mississippi Emergency …

Search Ongoing For 2 Mississippi Workers Trapped In Gravel Pit Landslide

A search for two workers who went missing after a landslide at a gravel pit in southern Mississippi is underway, according to a spokeswoman for the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Amy Louviere said Monday the search for two workers …

Defense Rests in West Virginia Mine Blast Trial, Blankenship Stays Mum

Former Massey Energy Chief Donald Blankenship won’t take the witness stand to explain what happened when a company mine exploded in 2010 killing 29 workers, choosing instead to leave his fate in the hands of jurors at his criminal trial …

Massey Mines Alerted Workers When Safety Inspectors on Site: Testimony

Massey Energy executives used an advanced warning system at the company’s Upper Big Branch mine to alert workers as soon as federal inspectors arrived on site, a former miner testified Thursday at the criminal trial for ex-chief executive Donald Blankenship. …