West Virginia mine deaths News

6 Years After Upper Big Branch Tragedy, Ex-CEO of Mine Faces Sentencing

Six years after 29 miners were killed in a West Virginia coal dust explosion, the man who ran the mining company like a fiefdom — a coal baron and power broker who earned millions of dollars a year — will …

Blankenship Verdict Too Late for Struggling West Virginia Coal Industry

A 48-foot black granite monument with life-size silhouettes of 29 fallen miners defines this small Appalachian town, just downhill from the site of one of the deadliest U.S. mine disasters. Survivors and friends of those who couldn’t escape the underground …

U.S. Judge Denies Motion to Drop Mine Blast Charges Against Ex-Massey CEO

A federal judge has denied nine motions to dismiss charges against former Massey Energy Chief Executive Officer Don Blankenship related to a 2010 mine explosion in West Virginia that killed 29 people. Blankenship faces three felony counts for allegedly ignoring …

West Virginia Mine Where Two Died Had Pattern of Safety Violations

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 Patriot Coal Corp.’s Brody Mine No. 1 collapsed about …