Latest Mining Headlines
All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.
West Virginia Lawmakers Urged to Hold Mine Operators Accountable
Feb 9 2012 // West Virginia must hold coal operators accountable for any negligence or misconduct to prevent another Upper Big Branch, the worst U.S. coal mine disaster in four decades, the state’s special investigator of that...
West Virginia Firm Develops ‘Guardian Angel’ for Miners
Feb 7 2012 // A West Virginia company is working on a piece of equipment designed to keep miners safer. Trinity Resources, headquartered in Putnam County, demonstrated its a mobile mine safety chamber this week at the West Virginia...
Global Mining Insurance Market Capacity Down 30% After Losses: Willis
Feb 6 2012 // In 2011, the mining insurance market was not only hit by $2.7 billion in natural catastrophe losses, but over 60 operational losses totaling $835 million. The $3.5 billion total estimate of losses facing mining insurers...
Mine Safety Chief Seeks to End Complacency Over Safety
Feb 5 2012 // If there’s one lasting cultural change Mine Safety and Health Administration Director Joe Main wants to make in both the federal agency and the industry it regulates, it’s ending the cycle of intensity and...
Coal Mines Becoming Safer But Some Still ‘Don’t Get It,’ Says U.S. Regulator
Feb 3 2012 // Coal operators across the country are changing the way they work, and mines are becoming safer, but the head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said Thursday there are still too many who...
Australia Evacuates Flooded Towns; Coal Mines Close
Feb 3 2012 // Heavy rains shut four coal mines in eastern Australia on Friday as military helicopters evacuated stranded residents from inundated towns, and authorities warned of further flash flooding. More than 11,000 people in...
Two Vermont Towns to Decide on Abandoned Asbestos Mine
Jan 31 2012 // Voters in Lowell and Eden are going to vote on whether to request that an abandoned asbestos mine be declared a federal Superfund hazardous waste site so it can be cleaned up and eventually redeveloped as a biomass power...
West Virginia Lawmakers’ Personal Tragedies Spur Mine Safety Bill
Jan 18 2012 // For two West Virginia lawmakers who lost fathers in coal mining accidents, preventing disasters like the 2010 Upper Big Branch explosion has taken a personal turn with Monday’s introduction of a bipartisan safety...
Settlements Reported in West Virginia Mine Blast That Killed 29
Jan 11 2012 // Coal company Alpha Natural Resources has reached settlements with all the families of the miners killed in the worst U.S. mining disaster in four decades, a lawyer for two of the families said on Wednesday. Mark Moreland...
Utah Pollution Fighters Sue Kennecott Over Mining Dust
Jan 9 2012 // Clean air groups are making good on a promise to sue Kennecott Utah Copper over air pollution. The groups say Kennecott is kicking up too much dust at its Bingham copper mine and should curtail operations. They say...
Mines Must Disclose Safety Violations to Investors Under New SEC Rules
Dec 22 2011 // Mining companies will need to disclose to investors information about health and safety violations under new rules adopted on Wednesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The rules, which are required by last...
Utah Pollution Fighters Sue Kennecott Over Mining Dust
Dec 21 2011 // Clean air groups are making good on a promise to sue Kennecott Utah Copper over air pollution. The groups say Kennecott is kicking up too much dust at its Bingham copper mine and should curtail operations. They say...
Questions Raised About Federal Probe of West Virginia Mine Blast
Dec 13 2011 // Newly disclosed records show U.S. Labor Department officials stopped independent investigators from questioning how federal regulators handled methane leaks from the floor of the Upper Big Branch mine several times before...
Settlements Reached in Remaining West Virginia Sago Mine Lawsuits
Nov 18 2011 // Settlements have been approved in the six remaining wrongful-death lawsuits filed by the families of miners who died in the 2006 Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia. Circuit Judge Charles King also signed off on several...
Kentucky Reports Year’s 7th Miner Death
Nov 9 2011 // A foreman has been killed at an underground mine in eastern Kentucky, the third mine-related fatality in the state in 10 days. State officials said in a statement that due to the recent deaths, analysts from the Office of...
Settlement Near in West Virginia Sago Mine Disaster
Nov 7 2011 // A West Virginia judge will consider approving a settlement in the six remaining wrongful-death lawsuits filed by the families of miners who died in the Sago Mine disaster. The workers were killed after a powerful methane...
Alpha Says Safety Improving at Massey Mines
Nov 4 2011 // The number of mine injuries has been cut in the five months since Alpha Natural Resources bought Massey Energy, which had owned the coal mine where 29 men died in a blast last year, Alpha’s CEO said...
Ex-Mine Official Convicted in Deadly West Virginia Disaster
Oct 26 2011 // The former security chief at a West Virginia coal mine where 29 miners died last year was convicted of two felonies Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Hughie Elbert Stover, 60, was convicted by a federal...
Safety Crackdown Not Harming Mining Industry: Official
Oct 24 2011 // The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration’s continuing crackdown on the coal industry hasn’t deterred the industry’s growth, director Joe Main said Friday. From April 2010 to June 2011, the number...
West Virginia Orders Emergency Mine Inspections
Oct 19 2011 // West Virginia mine safety officials have ordered emergency inspections of up to 500 rescue shelters in the state’s underground coal mines. The Office of Miners Health, Safety and Training issued the order...
