Feature Stories
$1.25 Million Project at University of Arizona Could Make Mining Safer
January 27, 2012
A University of Airzona engineering research program into new methods of determining rock strength could reduce hazardous working conditions that currently cause thousands of deaths every year in mining and construction. A University of Arizona geotechnical engineer has been awarded $1.25…
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: Tips to Resolve Conflicts at Work
January 27, 2012
When I was a member of the United Mine Workers of America, I believed it was my duty and in my personal interest to understand the contract inside out. I read it over and over again and soon felt I was…
WVU Names Engineering and Mineral Resources College for Alumnus Ben Statler
January 20, 2012
West Virginia University’s engineering and mineral resources school will be named the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources in honor of businessman, philanthropist and alumnus Ben Statler. Statler and his wife, Jo, both natives of Monongalia County, pledged…
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: Respectful Communication Builds Workplace Trust
January 11, 2012
I once had a supervisor who seemed to mistrust everyone on the crew. He was not totally without cause since the mechanic made fun of him at every opportunity. One week I was sick but still worked everyday. However, I had…
Draeger Safety Equipment Has Evolved in Pittsburgh Pa. for 100 Years
January 6, 2012
The name Draeger isn’t as well known to Pittsburghers as the storied Heinz or Mellon names. Yet for almost as long as the ketchup and banking titans have been fixtures in the region, the German company has been an intimate partner…
Pittsburgh Region Hosts Cutting-Edge Coal Research
January 6, 2012
The Pittsburgh Coal Seam was not the reason the French and British settled in Pittsburgh. That honor goes to the strategic importance of the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. That coal seam is why a city grew up here,…
New Technology Makes Mines Safer
December 29, 2011
In the earliest days of coal mining, when a working lamp and a canary were the best safety tools available to the men who entered the dark underground shafts, it was common knowledge that many would never return. “When you cut…
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons:Goal Setting and Perseverence Led to Success
December 27, 2011
When I worked in the coal mine in the mid-1970s, I was also pursuing my undergraduate degree, taking two courses a quarter at the Eastern Campus of Ohio University in St. Clairsville. I was on shift work and taking classes in…
QR National Opens Billion-dollar Rail Project in Queensland, New Vital Coal Link
December 20, 2011
QR National unveiled a new vital transport link for the Queensland coal industry yesterday, opening its $1.1 billion Goonyella to Abbot Point (GAP) Expansion project in the northern Bowen Basin coalfields. Acting Premier, Treasurer and Minister for State Development and Trade…
Real Life Mining Stories: Attention to Safety is Part of Being a Responsible Leader
December 14, 2011
Roof falls, which often occur during the process of mining, were the source of the majority of coal mine accident and fatalities in the 1970s and 1980s. When you have tons of stone above your head, from time to time one…
