Feature Stories
Columbia River Coal Export Facility in Wash. Challenged on Greenhouse Gases, Delay Likely Until 2011
December 14, 2010
Plans to open the first major coal export facility on the West Coast are likely to be delayed until next year because of an appeal filed by a coalition of environmental groups, which say shipping coal to Asia throws a wrench…
Real Life Mining Stories with Leadership Lessons: Getting the Feel for Leadership Takes Work
December 13, 2010
When I was a roof bolter in the coal mine, I developed a feel for the levers on the roof bolter I ran. As I advanced the drill steel through the mine roof, I could sense the change in texture of…
West Virginia May Soon Set Nation-Wide Pattern to Get Around the EPA
December 13, 2010
Coal mining has long been under attack from environmentalists and especially the Environmental Protection Agency. The result of these attacks have caused coal mines to be closed until they receive certification and permits that meet the approval of bureaucrats that are…
E.P.A. Delays Tougher Rules on Emissions
December 13, 2010
The Obama administration is retreating on long-delayed environmental regulations — new rules governing smog and toxic emissions from industrial boilers — as it adjusts to a changed political dynamic in Washington with a more muscular Republican opposition. The move to delay…
Trinidad Colorado Awaits Reopening of Cline’s New Elk Mine; Could Be Mining By Year-End
December 9, 2010
The coal mines that once fueled the region’s economy are returning to life. The reopening of the New Elk Mine west of town may bring 400 jobs to the area. Ron Thompson, mine manager, said that over the next year there…
FACES of Coal Initiative Looks to Change Public Perception of Coal
December 2, 2010
Clarifying the importance of coal to the commonwealth is a task of FACES of Coal — the Federation for American Coal, Energy and Security. Clarifying misconceptions of the coal industry, such as surface mining or mountaintop removal, is also a goal…
Real Life Mining Stories with Leadership Lessons: Leaders’ Actions Impact All Employees
November 30, 2010
That first day I spent as a coal miner is burned into my memory like few others. I arrived at the mine site and sought the man in charge, the shift foreman. The men called him Head and Ears for, as…
Editorial: Killing U.S. Coal Mining is Economically Stupid
November 30, 2010
President Obama announced in March an ambitious plan to double U.S. exports within five years. “In a time when millions of Americans are out of work, boosting our exports is a short-term imperative,” he said. If it is, the administration needs…
Spike TV Begins Filming at Cobalt Coal’s Westchester Mine in W. Va.
November 18, 2010
Regardless of what happens in the next three months, the up-coming 10-part Spike TV series titled “Coal,” will premier in Premier. “When we signed the contract with Original Productions, we received pre-screening rights,” Mike Crowder, vice president of Cobalt Coal Corp.,…
Northwest Colorado Coal Production Decreasing
November 18, 2010
The coal industry was once in a time of high optimism, riding a wave of “robust” production levels, Colorado Mining Association President Stuart Sanderson said. The year was 2004, and the state’s coal industry was producing 40 million tons of coal.…
