Feature Stories
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…
Cloud Peak’s Spring Creek Coal Mine in Montana Spurs Communication Between Mine and Community
November 23, 2010
General Manager Bruce Jones itemized a long list of products and services that are routinely purchased in Billings, in his comments welcoming Billings business people on a tour sponsored by Cloud Peak and the Big Sky Economic Development Corporation, of which…
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.…
Real Life Mining Stories with Leadership Lessons: Teamwork Results from Common Goals
November 13, 2010
In 1978, I was a foreman at a coal mine east of Beallsville, Ohio. I enjoyed my weekends off because I was required to work a number of them. It’s a Sunday afternoon and I am relaxing with my family when…
Production Starts at Alliance Resource Partners’ Tunnel Ridge Mine in W. Va.
November 11, 2010
Beneath the rolling hills around Short Creek and Battle Run, the gnashing teeth of a continuous miner gradually bore through Ohio County’s last known coal reserve. With about 270,000 tons of coal produced since the first cut on March 26, operations…
