November 30, 2017
Some mines in the next decade will run without humans and instead rely on robots, virtual models and sensors, according to Anglo American Plc. Anglo is betting on technology, such as computerized drills with “chiseling ability as good as a …
October 4, 2017
When disaster hits the chemical plants in Port Arthur, Texas, triggering fires like those that flared in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Hilton Kelley is the man fielding panicked calls from neighbors unsure whether they should evacuate their homes. Kelley, …
July 25, 2016
Federal regulators have concluded that a Harlan County coal mine operator’s negligence resulted in a miner’s death earlier this year. A report issued by the Mine Safety and Health Administration found that Lone Mountain Processing’s Huff Creek No. 1 failed …
May 12, 2016
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced Wednesday a global settlement with Worcester Sand and Gravel Company Inc., of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, to resolve citations and orders in three separate dockets. An administrative law judge with …
March 30, 2016
Former coal baron Donald Blankenship should face the maximum sentence of one year in prison for flouting mine-safety rules, prosecutors said, urging a judge to send a message to the coal industry. The government asked U.S. District Judge Irene Berger …
February 3, 2016
Underground coal mines will ramp up testing for the dust that causes breathing problems and leads to black lung disease under a new federal rule that took effect February 1. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is requiring coal …
December 31, 2015
Amid layoffs and idled operations, the U.S. coal industry is close to setting a record low for on-the-job deaths in coal mines. In late December, there were 11 deaths in coal mines nationwide for the year, putting the industry on …
December 14, 2015
Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship will be sentenced next year on a conviction of conspiring to violate safety rules at the mine where a deadly explosion occurred. U.S. District Judge Irene Berger on Dec. 10 scheduled Blankenship’s sentencing for …
December 7, 2015
A 48-foot black granite monument with life-size silhouettes of 29 fallen miners defines this small Appalachian town, just downhill from the site of one of the deadliest U.S. mine disasters. Survivors and friends of those who couldn’t escape the underground …
December 4, 2015
To hear Donald L. Blankenship tell it, the U.S. coal industry has been undone by inept regulators, evil unions, the media and “global warming hoaxers.” But for jurors at his criminal trial in Charleston, West Virginia, it’s the king of …