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Rare earth metals to be extracted from West Virginia coal impoundments
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A company will hire 100 people and invest $60 million in southern West Virginia to extract rare earth metals from coal waste impoundments. Gov. Jim Justice… Read More
The Biden administration has yet to finish a key review of mountaintop removal’s health impacts
ORGAS, West Virginia (OVR) — LeRoy and Penny Ferrell are unloading groceries under a carport next to their Boone County home. The couple grew up in the area and have… Read More
Black lung patients and advocates urge mine safety officials to update silica dust standards
Ohio Valley ReSource · Black lung patients, advocates urge mine safety officials to update silica dust standards CABIN CREEK, W.Va. (OVR) — Jerry Coleman mined West Virginia coal underground for… Read More
White House Climate Advisor Sees A Path To A Clean Energy Transition Through Coal Country
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (OVR) — For decades now, rhetoric around action on climate change has been about things like saving the planet, or saving polar bears. Just think: How many times… Read More
WV Remembers Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster On 11th Anniversary
RALEIGH COUNTY, W.Va. (OVR) — Monday marks 11 years since the Upper Big Branch coal mine disaster in Raleigh County, West Virginia, where 29 miners were killed on April 5,… Read More
Blackjewel Bankruptcy Leaves Damaged Lands, Miners’ Compensation In Limbo
WHITESBURG, Ky. (OVR) — The Blackjewel bankruptcy case has been ongoing since the summer of 2019 when Blackjewel, LLC abruptly collapsed, leaving over 2,000 miners in Wyoming, Kentucky and West… Read More
Advocates Say Citizen Mining Complaint Process Weakened By Rule Change
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. (OVR) — Environmental and community advocates in Appalachian coal communities are concerned about a new federal rule, finalized this week, that is changing the process that allows citizens… Read More
Coal Country: Can a Play About a Mine Disaster Help Bridge a National Divide?
The actors deliver their lines from a sparse stage — just a few benches around them and 29 modest lights above. For the most part they speak directly to the… Read More
Justice Coal Companies Agree to Settle $5 Million in Delinquent Mine Safety Debts
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (OVR) — Coal companies owned by the family of West Virginia Governor Jim Justice have agreed to pay more than $5 million in overdue mine health and safety… Read More
Bankrupt Blackjewel Coal Still Racking Up Environmental Violations, Officials Warn
An attorney for the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet told a federal judge Wednesday that the bankrupt coal company Blackjewel has accrued nearly 300 environmental violations since it entered bankruptcy… Read More
While “Zombie” Mines Idle, Cleanup And Workers Remain In Limbo
The sound of metal banging against metal broke the calm on the high mesa separating Colorado’s Paradox and Big Gypsum valleys. An old rusted headframe marked the entrance to an… Read More
Official: Kentucky Cabinet Fails to Secure Coal Worker Bonds
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The state’s Labor Cabinet hasn’t secured the necessary bonds from coal companies that would cover wage payments to miners if their employer unexpectedly shuts down, Kentucky… Read More
Judge: Ex-coal CEO Blankenship’s Conviction Should be Tossed
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Former coal CEO Don Blankenship’s misdemeanor conviction for conspiring to violate mine safety laws should be tossed out, a federal magistrate judge in West Virginia recommended… Read More
Mines That Change Owners Have Worse Safety Record, Audit Finds
A new federal government report shows that mines that changed ownership had worse safety records than mines where ownership did not change. According to an audit from the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector… Read More
Still Fighting: These Widows’ Stories Show Larger Effects of Black Lung Epidemic
Nancy and Rich Potter had the kind of marriage that made other couples jealous. He’d take her on spontaneous trips. She’d wear her Daisy Dukes just for him. Joyce Birman… Read More
KY Coal Mine That Belonged To WV Governor Causes Damaging Floods Again
The rain started around 10:30 p.m. By midnight, the creek in front of Elvis and Laura Thackers’ house had swelled to a mighty flood, uprooting trees, moving boulders and surging… Read More
Miners Urge Congressional Action On Pensions, Black Lung Fund
Retired coal miners and coal community activists are on Capitol Hill this week urging action on two important issues for miners: pensions and black lung benefits. Advocates say funds supporting… Read More
Safer Direction? Top Mine Regulator Addresses Concerns About Dust And Deaths In Coal
As President Trump attempts to revive the struggling coal industry, the administration’s top regulator for mine safety used a recent lecture at West Virginia University to lay out his priorities… Read More
Coal Fatalities Rise: Miner Deaths Increase Amid Low Coal Employment
A rash of fatal coal mining accidents in the Ohio Valley region pushed the nation’s total number of mining deaths to a level not seen since 2015, sparking concern among… Read More
Strip Mining Science: Trump Administration Stops Mining Health Study
The Perry County Public Library in Hazard, Kentucky, lies along Black Gold Boulevard — a name that nods to the wealth the coal from these hills has generated. On a… Read More
West Virginia To Review Mining-Health Research
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s administration will review studies linking mountaintop removal mining with health problems in nearby communities. State health officer Dr. Rahul Gupta tells The Charleston Gazette that the… Read More