Latest Mining Headlines
All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.
W. Va. Gov. Manchin Signs Mine Safety, Workplace Bills
Apr 6 2007 // West Virginia has ratcheted up its coal mine safety laws. Gov. Joe Manchin signed the latest legislation spurred by last year’s fatal mining accidents. The bill approved by Manchin addresses such topics as...
Kentucky Coal Mine Widows Prove Powerful as Lobbyists
Apr 4 2007 // Claudia Cole would have considered herself an unlikely person to be a lobbyist in the state Capitol. She preferred the simple life of wife and mother. But when her husband was killed in a Kentucky coal mine, the country...
Kentucky Mine Owner Pleads Guilty to Workers Comp Fraud
Apr 3 2007 // Harold Simpson, owner and operator of Simpson Mining Co. in Perry County, Ky., pleaded guilty to mail fraud in U.S. District Court after special investigators with Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance discovered...
Some Worry Increased Fines Won’t Make Mines Safer
Mar 27 2007 // A new federal rule allowing increased penalties for mine safety violations could be meaningless if inspectors feel they cannot impose them, skeptics say. The changes, which take effect in late April, were required by the...
Federal Mine Safety Agency Increases Fines for Safety Violations
Mar 23 2007 // The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said this week it has finalized a rule that increases fines for all safety violations. “MSHA has structured the final rule so that higher penalties will induce...
W.Va. Expected to Approve First Coal Mine Shelters
Mar 12 2007 // Emergency shelters are about to become a reality in West Virginia coal mines. The state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training is expected to approve the first underground shelter designs this week, Randy...
State Alleges Cover-Up in Pa. Coal Mine Worker’s Death
Jan 30 2007 // Pennsylvania coal industry regulators have revoked the operating permit of a coal mine where a worker died in an explosion three months ago, alleging that a cover-up of a similar 2004 blast might have contributed to the...
W. Va. Tackles Mine Safety Rules to Address Sago Tragedy
Jan 19 2007 // Members of the state Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety say the panel may have a tough time crafting regulations to address the cause of the Sago Mine accident. The process of writing those rules officially began...
Wyoming Miners Trapped After Substation Failed
Jan 12 2007 // Nearly 100 miners at three mining operations were stranded underground in Wyoming Wednesday afternoon when an electrical substation near here failed at 1:30 p.m., officials said. The power failure affected the West Vaco,...
W.Va. report on Sago Mine blast leaves many questions unasnwered
Dec 25 2006 // The families of the Sago Mine victims aren’t the only ones who want more answers from the state about what went wrong Jan. 2. The United Mine Workers says the state’s theory is “cockamamie” and begs...
West Virgina Report on Sago Mine Explosion Expected Monday
Dec 8 2006 // The West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training will release its report into January’s fatal Sago Mine explosion on Monday, Director Ron Wooten said. Before releasing the report to the public,...
W.Va. Probe Finds Lightning Set Off Sago Mine Explosion
Dec 8 2006 // After nearly a year of studying the Sago Mine disaster, West Virginia state investigators have concluded that an unusually powerful lightning strike somehow ignited methane gas underground, a United Mine Workers official...
Widow Sues Kentucky Mine Operators for $65 Million
Nov 20 2006 // The widow of a miner killed in an underground roof collapse at a southeastern Kentucky mine is seeking more than $65 million in a lawsuit against the five Virginia companies that oversee the operation. Claudia Cole of...
BrickStreet hikes reserves for Sago coal miner
Nov 20 2006 // West Virginia’s workers’ compensation insurer may have to spend nearly $4 million more than planned on benefits for the families involved in January’s Sago Mine disaster. BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co....
BrickStreet hikes reserves for Sago coal miner
Nov 19 2006 // West Virginia’s workers’ compensation insurer may have to spend nearly $4 million more than planned on benefits for the families involved in January’s Sago Mine disaster. BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co....
Report Cites Safety Violations in Two West Virginia Mine Deaths
Nov 15 2006 // State and federal regulators failed to find safety violations that contributed to the deaths of two miners in a conveyor belt fire at an underground coal mine in January, according to an independent report. But J. Davitt...
Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Coal Mine Safety
Aug 25 2006 // A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit by coal miners demanding that the government do more to ensure miners have working oxygen supplies and know how to use them. The lawsuit was filed in June after Congress...
Judge Dismisses Suit Over W. Va. Sago Coal Mine Safety
Aug 24 2006 // A federal judge this week threw out a lawsuit by coal miners that demanded the government do more to ensure that miners have working oxygen supplies and know how to use them. The lawsuit was filed in June after Congress...
Casualty & Surety, Inc. announces new National Mining Program
Aug 18 2006 // BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Casualty & Surety, Inc. (CSI), a specialty MGA, is pleased to announce that it has been granted underwriting authority for a new National Mining Program. “Our carrier is rated...
Senators Broker Compromise on Federal Mine Safety Legislation
May 17 2006 // Senate lawmakers in Washington reached a bipartisan deal this week aimed at improving safety at the nation’s coal mines, including increasing oxygen supplies for miners. Sens. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Edward Kennedy,...
