Latest Mining Headlines
All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.
West Virginia Mine Where Two Died Had Pattern of Safety Violations
May 14 2014 // The West Virginia coal mine where a collapse this week killed two workers had “chronic compliance issues” and received numerous citations from inspectors last year, federal authorities said on Tuesday. The...
Coal Companies Challenge Black Lung Mining Regulation
May 4 2014 // More than a dozen coal companies, including a unit of Patriot Coal Corp., challenged a new federal mine-safety regulation aimed at reducing black lung disease, with some arguing the objectives are unattainable. The...
Mining Industry Vows to Fight Obama Administration Coal Dust Rule
Apr 23 2014 // The Obama administration ordered a 25 percent cut in the levels of coal dust in U.S. mines to reduce deadly black lung disease, a move that drew criticism from the mining industry and the threat of a lawsuit. The rule...
West Virginia Mine Board Approves Detection System Rule
Apr 15 2014 // A new state mine safety rule will require coal operators to install detection systems that automatically shut down continuous mining machines when people get too close. The rule gives companies until July 1, 2017, to...
How Robots, Drones Are Transforming Mining and Mine Safety
Apr 4 2014 // Mines without miners? Not quite. Still, a technology boom in robots, drones, driverless trucks and pilotless trains is beginning to reshape one of the world’s most labor-intensive industries, portending automation of...
Allianz Expands in Canada to Energy, Mining Markets
Apr 4 2014 // Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer, is expanding in Canada, targeting protection for the energy and mining industries. The insurer, which offers corporate property and casualty coverage in Canada through brokers,...
Kentucky Senate Debates Mine Safety Budget
Mar 28 2014 // Coal mines in Kentucky would be subject to fewer state inspections under the Senate’s budget proposal — a change that safety advocates say would raise the risk for miners, but one the plan’s proponents argue...
Miner to Chair NetVU Board of Directors; Other Members Named
Mar 10 2014 // Debbie Miner, of Henriott Group Inc. in Lafayette, Indiana, is the new chairman of the board of NetVU, the network for users of Vertafore insurance technologies. Miner started working in the industry in 1972 for...
Kentucky Mine Inspector Resigns Amid Ethics Questions
Feb 19 2014 // A longtime state mine inspector has resigned amid inquiries about whether he sought or accepted money from an eastern Kentucky lawmaker who owns coal mines. Kentucky Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement inspector...
Willis Mining Risk Review Warns Industry Not to Cut Risk Management
Feb 3 2014 // Willis Group Holdings recent publication, Mining Risk Review 2014, comments: “With the prospect of rising costs, falling commodity prices and decreased productivity levels, mining companies are embracing cost cutting...
Nevada Gold Mine Criticized for 61 Workplace Safety Violations
Feb 2 2014 // An assistant U.S. secretary of labor is criticizing a Nevada gold mine for failing to protect its workers after federal inspectors issued 61 citations and orders for health and safety violations at Elko County’s...
West Virginia Mine Regulators Urge More Safety Reforms
Jan 8 2014 // West Virginia mining regulators are calling for more reforms to protect coal miners’ health and safety. A report from the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training recommends tougher state standards to...
University of Arizona Grant To Study Mine Risk Management
Jan 8 2014 // The University of Arizona will conduct two research studies on ways to improve mine safety using $1.3 million in grants from a mine safety foundation. The two grants announced Monday will pay for a risk management study by...
Strengthening Cyclone Sets Path for Australia’s Iron Ore Mines
Dec 30 2013 // A tropical cyclone intensifying off northwestern Australia was on course to sweep across some of the world’s largest iron ore mines after causing giant shipping ports to close. Iron ore prices rose on Monday as...
Colorado Mine Where 2 Died Cited by Feds
Dec 24 2013 // Federal mine inspectors have found 97 violations at a Colorado mine where two miners died of carbon-monoxide poisoning last month. The Durango Herald reported that Mine Safety and Health Administration officials found the...
West Virginia Lawsuit Pushes Mandatory Safety Devices in Coal Mines
Dec 24 2013 // Two West Virginia agencies should force coal operators to install detectors that automatically shut down mobile machinery in mines when people get too close, according to a lawsuit. Mountain State Justice lawyers filed an...
Most West Virginia Mines Lack Automatic Shutdown Systems on Machinery: Report
Nov 21 2013 // Four percent of underground equipment in West Virginia coal mines are fitted with detectors that automatically shut down mobile machinery when people get too close, according to a state survey. The Charleston Gazette...
At Least Two Killed In Colorado Silver Mine Accident
Nov 18 2013 // Two miners were killed and 20 injured on Sunday in an accident at a silver mine in southwestern Colorado, authorities said. The cause of the accident at the historic Revenue-Virginius Mine in Ouray County, about 330 miles...
Nevada Mine Pollution Deal Brings Residents $19.5M
Nov 18 2013 // Rural neighbors of an abandoned World War II-era copper mine that has leaked toxic chemicals in northern Nevada for decades have won up to a $19.5 million settlement from companies they accused of covering up the...
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Upper Big Branch Mine Setttlement Payouts
Nov 11 2013 // A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by relatives of three men killed in the Upper Big Branch mine disaster who claimed that Alpha Natural Resources failed to pay them each $1.5 million as promised under a settlement...
