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By Taylor Kuykendall, Reporter -
West Virginia's coal industry is hoping federal coal regulators will have guidelines for approving more extended-face, or deep-cut, coal mining plans as soon as spring.
West Virginia Coal Association Vice President Chris Hamilton has been advocating the use of remotely operated continuous miners with a face operation as far away as 40 feet. Though most machinery is designed to operate at that distance, Hamilton said, approval for deeper cuts have not been approved often.
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After the 2006 Sago Mine disaster killed 12 miners,West Virginia public officials vowed to crack down on unsafe practices in the industry.
But in April 2010, we were reminded how much work needs to be done to improve mine safety. It was then that 29 miners died in another Mountain State disaster, at the Upper Big Branch Mine.
During his State of the State speech, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin urged legislators to approve a new package of mine safety rules.
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The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration is shifting gears when it comes to mine safety.
MSHA Coal Administrator Kevin Stricklin, a guest speaker at the 39th annual West Virginia Coal Mining Symposium in Charleston Wednesday, told MetroNews the agency is shedding light above ground.
"Last year there were 12 fatalities on the surface and 9 underground. So it tells us we need to focus more on surface operators,” Stricklin said following his appearance before operators.
MSHA Chief Joe Main kicked off a new campaign on Tuesday called "Rules to Live By 3." It deals with the safety precautions and regulations that every surface miner needs to know.
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West Virginia's coal industry is hoping federal coal regulators will have guidelines for approving more extended-face, or deep-cut, coal mining plans as soon as spring.
West Virginia Coal Association Vice President Chris Hamilton has been advocating the use of remotely operated continuous miners with a face operation as far away as 40 feet. Though most machinery is designed to operate at that distance, Hamilton said, approval for deeper cuts have not been approved often.
Hamilton said extended cuts are safer because they require fewer moves of the mining equipment.
"Extended cut mining also prevents upwards of 50 percent of equipment moves in an underground working section, which means not only the continuous miner, but the roof bolters, the scoop operators or the shuttle cars," Hamilton said. "It's aimed at reducing the exposure a lot of the miners have to these large machines being moved around from place to place in underground working conditions."
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal regulators said Wednesday the nation's coal mines have made huge strides in safety, pointing to a dramatic reduction in the number of accidents and injuries in the nation's single largest district in southern West Virginia.
But Mine Safety and Health Administration coal administrator Kevin Stricklin said there's still a lot of work to be done, and said his agency will continue cracking down on operators with a history of safety violations.
"We're trying to pick on the bad guys," he said at theWest Virginia Coal Association's annual mining symposium in Charleston.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The lawyer for the only person convicted so far in the Upper Big Branch mine disaster predicts the Mine Safety and Health Administration will increasingly pursue criminal prosecutions.
At a Charleston mining symposium, attorney Bill Wilmoth said three bills in Congress all call for stiffer penalties.
He urged operators to involve lawyers early and often when there's word of an investigation, and to consider whether the company and employees need separate representation.
He says they should also consider whether to cooperate with investigators and turn over requested documents. He says that's what got his client, former security chief Hughie Elbert Stover, in trouble.
Stover was convicted last fall of lying to investigators and trying to destroy records after the explosion that killed 29 miners in West Virginia. He's awaiting sentencing.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Coal operators should be more cautious about talking to government mine safety investigators to avoid being ensnared in increased criminal prosecutions in the wake of the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, according to the lawyer who defended a former Massey Energy security director convicted of lying in the disaster probe.
Former U.S. Attorney Bill Wilmoth told mining industry officials they should more strongly consider asserting their Fifth Amendment rights when called to answer questions by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration's investigation teams.
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U.S. Department of Labor
To the Mining Community:
Mine Safety and Health Administration 1100 Wilson Boulevard Arlington, Virginia 22209-3939
Thirty seven miners died in work-related accidents at the nation's mines in 2011. There were 21 coal mining and 16 metal/nonmetal mining fatalities last year, compared with 48 and 23, respectively, in 2010, making 2011 the year with the second-lowest number of mining deaths since statistics were first recorded in 1910.
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Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and Sen. Joe Manchin will serve as keynote speakers on Thursday and Friday respectively. Federal Miner Health and Safety Administration Director Joe Main will also address the event on Thursday. A full schedule of events is attached to this release.
The Mountaineer Guardian Awards for excellence in safety will be presented at lunch on Thursday and the Reclamation Awards will be announced at lunch on Friday.
The event has rapidly grown to become one of the major events on the annual events schedule in West Virginia. More than 800 people have pre-registered this year.
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