Latest Mining Headlines
All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Families of 2 Maryland Miners File Wrongful Death Suit
Apr 20 2010 // The families of two western Maryland coal miners who died in a 2007 highwall collapse near Barton are seeking $8 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. The families of Dale Jones and Michael Wilt filed the complaint Thursday...
Investor Suit Targets Massey Directors, Execs Over West Virginia Mine Blast
Apr 19 2010 // A trust fund that invests in Massey Energy wants the board of directors and top executives held personally accountable for the recent explosion that killed 29 coal miners. The Manville Personal Injury Trust sued last week...
Massey Officials Meeting with West Virginia Miners’ Families on Benefits
Apr 16 2010 // Massey Energy Co. said its officials are meeting with families of the 29 miners killed the April 5 blast at its Upper Big Branch mine to describe the benefits the firm will provide them and denied it was trying to stave...
West Virginia Mine Panel Seeks Greater Role in Massey Investigation
Apr 14 2010 // The West Virginia panel that writes mining safety rules wants to join state and federal inspectors underground as they work to figure out what caused last week’s explosion that killed 29 men. Typically, the state...
West Virginia Mine Death Toll Reaches 29; Grieving Begins
Apr 12 2010 // Time stopped five days ago for the families of 29 coal miners killed in the devastating explosion at Upper Big Branch mine. As thousands waited, hoping for any word someone might have survived Monday’s blast, life in...
West Virginia Mine Accident Could Spur New Regulations
Apr 9 2010 // The U.S. mining industry may face additional regulations following this week’s deadly explosion at a West Virginia coal mine. Key lawmakers have vowed to look into the accident at Massey Energy’s Upper Big...
Massey Has Insurance for Mine Blast But Not for Business Interruption
Apr 9 2010 // Massey Energy Co. said Friday it will increase coal production at its other mines to compensate for production lost at the West Virginia mine where at least 25 miners died in a blast this week. It expects to reopen the...
Massey Mines’ Fight Safety Violations, Fines Go Unpaid
Apr 8 2010 // The company that runs the West Virginia mine where an explosion killed at least 25 workers frequently sidesteps hefty fines by aggressively contesting safety violations, including recent problems with the ventilation...
Some Miners Say Massey Energy Lax on Safety; Other Locals Defend Firm
Apr 8 2010 // The company that owns the West Virginia mine where at least 25 workers died in the worst U.S. mining disaster for a quarter century puts profits ahead of workers welfare, some former employees said Wednesday. Questions...
West Virginia Hoping for a Miracle in Mine Rescue
Apr 7 2010 // Drills boring into a West Virginia coal mine Wednesday carried hope for a “miracle” rescue of four miners missing after a blast killed 25 people in the worst U.S. mine disaster in a quarter century. The...
At Least 25 Dead in West Virginia Coal Mine Blast
Apr 6 2010 // An explosion ripped through a West Virginia coal mine owned by Massey Energy, killing at least 25 miners in the deadliest U.S. mining disaster since 1984. Governor Joe Manchin said Tuesday morning that four miners remained...
153 Remain Trapped in China Mine
Mar 31 2010 // Workers reported underground water leaks days before a flood coursed through a coal mine in northern China, where 153 people remained trapped Tuesday in potentially one of the country’s worst mining disasters, a...
Kentucky Moves to Raise Mine Fund’s Home Insurance Limit
Mar 31 2010 // The General Assembly has passed a bill that would allow the Kentucky Department of Insurance to pay homeowners up to $300,000 for damage resulting from geologic shifts triggered by mining. The current limit allowed to be...
U.S. Safety Chief Pressures Mines to Install High-Tech Equipment
Mar 30 2010 // America’s top coal mine regulator says he will redouble pressure on the industry to meet a 4-year-old congressional mandate to equip the nation’s underground mines with high-tech communications and tracking...
Chile’s Mines and Refineries Escape Damage from Aftershocks
Mar 12 2010 // Chile’s mining and refinery sectors escaped damage Thursday as a series of powerful aftershocks rocked the world’s largest copper producer in the wake of one of the biggest earthquakes ever...
West Virginia Mine Foreman Pleads Guilty to Faking Safety Records
Mar 12 2010 // A foreman accused of faking a safety inspection report at a Patriot Coal Corp. mine pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of making false statements and certifications under federal mine safety laws. John Renner, 40, of...
Willis Sees Premium Rates Softening for Mining Industry in 2010
Feb 4 2010 // “Rates for Mining Property Damage & Business Interruption (PD/BI) insurance are likely to soften in 2010, but could harden again should this volatile sector experience a catastrophic loss, according to the latest...
Vermont Supreme Court: Landowner Can Sue Mine President
Jan 20 2010 // The Vermont Supreme Court says a landowner can sue the president of the Vermont Asbestos Group over contamination on property next to a former asbestos mine in Eden and Lowell. The Supreme Court has overruled a lower...
U.S. Mine Deaths At Record Low
Jan 4 2010 // The number of miners killed on the job in the United States fell for a second straight year to 34, the fewest since officials began keeping records nearly a century ago. That was down from the previous low of 52 in...
U.S. Mine Safety Chief Vows to End Black Lung Disease
Dec 15 2009 // The nation’s mine safety czar said Friday that the U.S. must put a stop to black lung disease, a work-related illness that has killed roughly 10,000 coal miners this decade. “Now is the time to act to end this...
