Latest Mining Headlines

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

U.S. Mine Safety Rule to Curb Black Lung Goes Into Effect

Feb 3 2016 // Underground coal mines will ramp up testing for the dust that causes breathing problems and leads to black lung disease under a new federal rule that took effect February 1.The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is...

Coal Miner Killed in Kentucky, 3rd Industry Fatality in 2016

Jan 22 2016 // A coal miner in western Kentucky died after being pinned against a wall by a mobile digging machine in an underground mine, the first coal mining death in the state this year and the third nationally.The death prompted a...

Brazil Police Accuse Vale, Samarco of Environmental Crime for Mine Disaster

Jan 15 2016 // Brazil’s Federal Police accused Vale SA and its Brazilian joint venture with BHP Billiton Ltd of environmental crime related to a November dam collapse that destroyed a city in the country’s southeast and sent...

Coal Miner Killed in West Virginia

Jan 6 2016 // State officials are investigating a fatal accident at an underground coal mine in southern West Virginia.The fatality involving a belt roller occurred early Monday at Greenbrier Minerals LLC’s Lower War Eagle Mine...

Brazil Mine Disaster Shows Value (and Harm) of Public Relations Responses

Jan 4 2016 // Within hours of a deadly mining spill in November that would become Brazil’s worst environmental disaster, BHP Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie was in front of a camera offering his sympathies to those...

Coal Mine Deaths at Record Low of 11 in 2015

Dec 31 2015 // Amid layoffs and idled operations, the U.S. coal industry is close to setting a record low for on-the-job deaths in coal mines.In late December, there were 11 deaths in coal mines nationwide for the year, putting the...

Ironshore Launches Professional Liability Coverage for Global Mining Sector

Dec 16 2015 // Ironshore International has launched a professional liability product designed to provide protection for risk exposures within the mining sector worldwide. Ironshore’s dedicated product provides coverage to engineers...

Blankenship Sentencing Set For Next Year in West Virginia Mine Case

Dec 14 2015 // Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship will be sentenced next year on a conviction of conspiring to violate safety rules at the mine where a deadly explosion occurred.U.S. District Judge Irene Berger on Dec. 10 scheduled...

Kentucky Mining Company Fined for Clean Water Act Violations

Dec 10 2015 // Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet has agreed to levy a stiff fine against a coal mining company that acknowledged thousands of Clean Water Act violations, effectively barring the company from operating in...

How a King of Coal Conspired Against Mine Safety

Dec 4 2015 // To hear Donald L. Blankenship tell it, the U.S. coal industry has been undone by inept regulators, evil unions, the media and “global warming hoaxers.” But for jurors at his criminal trial in Charleston, West...

Blankenship Found Guilty of Conspiracy in W. Virginia Mine Blast

Dec 3 2015 // Former Massey Energy Chief Executive Don Blankenship was found guilty in federal court on Thursday of conspiring to violate safety standards at the Upper Big Branch mine, the site of a 2010 blast that killed 29...

Blankenship Jury Still Deadlocked in West Virginia Mine Blast Case

Dec 2 2015 // Jurors at former Massey Energy Co. Chief Donald Blankenship’s criminal trial ended their eighth day of deliberations after telling the judge they remain deadlocked on charges the coal executive plotted to ignore...

Brazil Mining Disaster to Lead to Stricter Insurance Standards, Oversight

Nov 20 2015 // Brazil’s worst mining accident will lead to stricter insurance standards under a revised version of an industry bill first introduced to Congress two years ago.The cost of damage to communities, loss of life and...

Mine Disasters Show Real Cost of Using Cheap Solutions for Waste Storage

Nov 18 2015 // As miners globally review the way they store waste in the wake of another horrific dam spill, the solution may be as simple as it is dramatic: spend a lot more.Images of sludge spewing into towns and rivers could be a...

Defense Rests in West Virginia Mine Blast Trial, Blankenship Stays Mum

Nov 17 2015 // Former Massey Energy Chief Donald Blankenship won’t take the witness stand to explain what happened when a company mine exploded in 2010 killing 29 workers, choosing instead to leave his fate in the hands of jurors...

Brazil Mine Disaster Could Devastate Ecosystem for Many Years

Nov 16 2015 // The collapse of two dams at a Brazilian mine has cut off drinking water for quarter of a million people and saturated waterways downstream with dense orange sediment that could wreck the ecosystem for years to come.Nine...

Brazil Slaps Initial Fine of $66 Million on Mine for Burst Dam Disaster

Nov 13 2015 // Brazil’s president slapped preliminary fines of 250 million reais ($66.2 million) against a mine in the country’s southeast where two dams burst, killing nine people and coating a two-state area with mud and...

Brazil Vows to Make BHP & Vale Pay Fine & Cleanup Costs for Mine ‘Catastrophe’

Nov 12 2015 // Brazil’s government said on Wednesday it may fine mining giants BHP Billiton Ltd and Vale SA for the “environmental catastrophe” caused by ruptured dams at an iron ore mine jointly owned by the companies...

Kentucky Court: Mine-Safety Laws Don’t Apply to Subcontractors

Nov 12 2015 // Kentucky’s mine-safety laws and regulations didn’t apply to a subcontract worker who died while installing a massive garage door on a building at a mine site in Muhlenberg County, the state’s Supreme...

Insurers Face Claims of $600 Million from Brazilian Mine Disaster: Sources

Nov 11 2015 // Insurers covering risks for a Brazilian mine where two dams burst last week, killing at least six people, could pay up to $600 million in claims, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday.A property...