Latest Mining Headlines

All the headlines from our Mining Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Peabody Reaches Coal Mine Cleanup Deal with 3 U.S. States

Jul 28 2016 // Peabody Energy Corp., the largest U.S. coal producer, reached a deal to cover mine clean-up liabilities while in bankruptcy with three U.S. states, court documents showed on Tuesday.Peabody has benefited from a federal...

Regulators Say Kentucky Mine Operator Negligence Caused Fatal Accident

Jul 25 2016 // Federal regulators have concluded that a Harlan County coal mine operator’s negligence resulted in a miner’s death earlier this year.A report issued by the Mine Safety and Health Administration found that Lone...

West Virginia to Receive $524K in Grants for Mine Safety Courses

Jul 12 2016 // The West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training will receive more than $524,000 in federal funds for training courses aimed at reducing mining accidents, injuries and illnesses.The Mine Safety and...

Alpha Natural Resources Reaches Deal with U.S. to Exit Bankruptcy, Clean-Up Mines

Jul 8 2016 // The U.S. government agreed to a mine clean-up deal that allows coal producer Alpha Natural Resources to exit bankruptcy, despite concerns that Alpha will be unable to fund $400 million in commitments, a government lawyer...

BHP to Fight $6B Civil Claim over Brazil Mining Disaster

Jul 1 2016 // BHP Billiton on Friday said it would appeal against the decision by a Brazilian court to reinstate a $6 billion public civil claim over last year’s Samarco iron ore mine disaster.BHP and 50-50 joint-venture partner...

West Virginia, Alpha Natural Reach $300M Mine Cleanup Deal

Jun 13 2016 // West Virginia environmental officials say they struck a $300 million-plus deal for mine cleanup with bankrupt coal giant Alpha Natural Resources.The Department of Environmental Protection said the agreement would cover...

Jim Justice-Owned Mine Cited by Kentucky Regulators for Mudslide Damage to Homes

Jun 9 2016 // Kentucky regulators have cited a company owned by coal operator Jim Justice for conditions that they say contributed to a mudslide and flooding that damaged six homes in Pike County. Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet...

U.S. to Hear Concerns Over Coal Mines’ Self-Bonding

May 20 2016 // The United States is considering whether to reign in a subsidy on coal mine cleanup costs and in so doing shield taxpayers from those liabilities, a leading regulator for the mining industry said on Wednesday.The program,...

Massachusetts Mine Operator to Pay $180K to Resolve Safety Violations

May 12 2016 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced Wednesday a global settlement with Worcester Sand and Gravel Company Inc., of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, to resolve citations and...

Judge Grants Class Action Status to West Virginia Miner Lawsuit

May 6 2016 // A lawsuit filed by miners in West Virginia who say they were unlawfully laid off in Wyoming County has been certified as a class action.The Register-Herald reports Judge Irene Berger granted the certification Tuesday in...

Company to Pay $10.3M for Cleanup of South Dakota Mine

Apr 18 2016 // A Colorado mining company will pay $10.3 million to the state of South Dakota and the federal government to cover part of environmental cleanup costs at an abandoned gold and silver mine in the northern Black Hills, a...

Massey Ex-CEO Blankenship Sentenced to 1 Year in Jail for Fatal Mine Explosion

Apr 6 2016 // Former coal baron Donald Blankenship was sentenced to a year in prison for evading mine-safety rules in one of the final chapters of a fatal mine explosion that was the worst U.S. coal industry accident in almost 40...

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

Apr 6 2016 // 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 learn...

Miner Killed in Eastern Kentucky Mining Accident

Mar 29 2016 // State officials say an eastern Kentucky coal miner has died in an accident at a Harlan County mine. A statement from the Energy and Environment Cabinet says 48-year-old Mark Frazier of Line Fork died Friday after being hit...

Lawmakers Seek Audit of Mine Cleanup Insurance Program

Mar 9 2016 // Federal auditors should examine a program that has allowed leading coal companies to lower cleanup insurance costs and could leave taxpayers on the hook if the miners declare bankruptcy, Democratic lawmakers said on...

Samarco, BHP & Vale Agree to Pay $5B in Damages for Brazil Mining Disaster

Mar 3 2016 // Mining company Samarco and its owners, BHP Billiton and Vale SA , reached a deal with the Brazilian government on Wednesday to pay an estimated 20 billion reais ($5.1 billion) in damages over 15 years for a deadly dam...

Brazil & Samarco Close to Agreeing on Damages from Mining Disaster

Feb 26 2016 // Brazil’s government and Samarco Mineracao SA are meeting on Friday to finalize the settlement of a lawsuit for damages caused by a deadly dam spill at a mine in November, with the attorney general’s office...

U.S. Says Coal Mine Companies Should Cover Full Cleanup

Feb 25 2016 // The ailing coal industry must face the costs of cleaning up spent mines even as companies get pushed toward bankruptcy, the U.S. Interior Secretary said this week.The mining industry is responsible for restoring old mine...

Wyoming Acknowledges Coal Mine Cleanup Insurance Policy is Flawed

Feb 18 2016 // A program that has allowed U.S. coal companies to forego cleanup insurance on massive western mines is flawed and needs to be fixed, Wyoming officials have told federal regulators.Coal companies must restore the land...

Midwest Group Challenges Peabody Energy’s Plan to Self-Bond Mines

Feb 16 2016 // A Midwestern environmental group has followed through on its promise to formally challenge Peabody Energy’s ability to guarantee it has enough money for future cleanup of its Illinois and Indiana coal mines.The...