Latest Mining Headlines
All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Says Inspectors Must Have Full Access to North Dakota Mine
Aug 8 2014 // A North Dakota company must allow federal inspectors unfettered access to a sand and gravel mine that is the subject of workplace safety complaints, a federal judge ordered Aug. 6. The U.S. Department of Labor filed a...
Climate Change Debate in Denver Pits Coal Miners vs. Skiers
Jul 30 2014 // Coal miners took on skiers, and environmentalists dueled with business groups as the public debated sweeping rules from the Obama administration to combat global warming in a nationwide series of hearings yesterday. At the...
Congress Urged to Help Miners with Black Lung Disease
Jul 25 2014 // A retired coal miner who suffers from black lung disease urged Congress this week to help clear a backlog of claims of fellow miners who have the disease. “I look to y’all to help us to get that which we...
Mine Safety Agency Settles with 2 West Virginia Miners’ Widows
Jul 18 2014 // The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration has agreed to pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit over the deaths of two miners in a 2006 fire at an underground coal mine in West Virginia, according to court documents. Under...
West Virginia Mine Disciplines Managers After Black Lung Risk Exposed
Jul 9 2014 // Rhino Eastern LLC changed management at its Eagle Mine 3 after inspectors warned that coal miners faced the risk of deadly explosions and developing black lung disease. The company acknowledged falling short of safety...
Kentucky Budget Cut Means Staff Reduction at Mine Safety Agency
Jun 2 2014 // A budget cut in the state office that inspects the safety of mining sites is forcing a reduction in its staff. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that the staff of 141 full-time positions at the Office of Mine Safety and...
Labor Unrest Follows Turkey’s Deadliest Mine Disaster
May 15 2014 // Turkey’s labor unions went on strike today after at least 282 people died in the nation’s worst mine accident, which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said was “part of the nature of the...
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...
