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Coronado to idle seven mines, lay off about 530 workers in April
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN LORADO, W.Va. — Coronado Global Resources/Greenbrier Minerals LLC will idle seven southern West Virginia mining operations and terminate about 530 employees this spring, according to a federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice issued Friday. The company expects the layoffs to begin April 14, 2026, or within the 14-day
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Coal miners could pay if inspectors lose offices on DOGE list
BY NADIA RAMLAGAN KY NEWS CONNECTION Dozens of mine safety field offices in Kentucky and across the country would close under a proposal by the federal Department of Government Efficiency. According to an analysis by the nonprofit Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, offices in Barbourville and Harlan are on a list of seven in Kentucky slated
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Past harm is not a free ticket to future exploitation
Martin County’s past does not excuse future harm of any kind. We have heard simplistic statements from regulators, elected officials and developers (in public hearings and otherwise) such as, “Anything (nuisance) wouldn’t be as [bad] as coal mining.” Those words come from a place of ignorance and condescension. Let us explain. When regulators and officials
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Martin County Historical & Genealogical Society hosts scholars for coal mining research collaboration
INEZ — On Sept. 24, the Martin County Historical & Genealogical Society welcomed Anna Fenyvesi from Hungary and Briane Turley and his wife Anne from West Virginia State University. Professor Turley has done extensive research on the effects of coal mining in rural areas of Kentucky and West Virginia. He has also examined the influence
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How We Owned a Mine, or A Brief History of Kentucky’s Mining Cooperative
A Hungarian immigrant created a collectively owned coal mine that, for a brief moment, proved an alternative to ruthless and exploitative mining operations of Appalachia in the early 20th century. by Anya Petrone Slepyan July 10, 2024 For over 100 years, Himler House stood on a hill overlooking Beauty, formerly Himlerville, in Martin County, Kentucky. Once the
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1951 Kermit mine disaster: Eleven coal miners died in explosion at Burning Springs Collieries
BY KYLE LOVERNMOUNTAIN CITIZEN (Editor’s Note: This is a rewrite of a story Lovern penned in 2006 about the Kermit mine disaster at Burning Springs on Jan. 18, 1951. Information for the original story came from newspaper archives at the Mingo County Library in Williamson and from an interview with the late Clyde Sparks, who
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Coal miner killed in West Virginia
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia coal miner was fatally injured Thursday night in Kanawha County. Kris Ball, 34, of Hart, W.Va., was killed at the Kanawha Eagle Coalburg Tunnel Mine, Gov. Jim Justice announced Friday. Blackhawk Mining Company owns the mine. “All the miners across our great state are absolute heroes,”
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Himlerville History
BY KARSON HAMMOND, MARLEE GRAYSON and KALEB RUSH Have you ever wondered how coal mining came to be or evolved where you live? Considering the fact that coal mining is such an important part of our community, I’d say that most of you have given it a thought. Well, I decided to do a little
