The company expects to start ventilation fans over the weekend beginning May 14. Once the fans are started, the mine atmosphere will continue to be monitored by officials from the company, as well as federal and state safety officials. This group will determine when the atmosphere is stable and when rescue teams can enter the mine to begin an examination.

The mine has been sealed since mid-February when a cave-in behind the longwall mining equipment ignited methane that is believed to have started a fire underground. Since then, the company, along with officials from the Virginia Division of Mines, Minerals and Energy and the US Mine Safety and Health Administration, have been monitoring the mine atmosphere from airshafts and boreholes drilled into the mine from the surface. These readings indicate there is no active fire and the mine atmosphere is inert.