“The jurisdictional determination has been made and this is under OSHA, so they are investigating,” MSHA spokesperson Jesse Lawder confirmed to ILN on Wednesday.

The worker, whose name has not been released, was working at the Loveridge property near the preparation plant in Marion County at about 6.10pm Monday when the core rig he was working with overturned and crushed him.

MSHA and OSHA immediately formed a joint effort to establish jurisdiction for the incident.

Consol spokeswoman Lynn Seay confirmed shortly after the incident that the worker, a crew member of Seitel, was an independent subcontractor.

“Consol Energy granted Seitel access to its property to conduct geophysical seismic testing, for which it had obtained the necessary permits,” she said.

“The independent testing was not associated with Consol Energy’s active coal mining or gas operations.”

Lawder said it was reported to the agency that the small rig was drilling 30-foot holes and setting off shots for potential Marcellus shale drilling work.

The Loveridge preparation plant serves the Loveridge mine, which operates a longwall and continuous mining sections.

The mining operation extracted about 5.9 million tons of steam coal from the Pittsburgh 8 seam in 2011.