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Two Massey mines hit with imminent danger citations

TWO Massey Energy operations in West Virginia and Kentucky have been cited by the US Mine Safety ...

Donna Schmidt
Two Massey mines hit with imminent danger citations

In a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing disclosed this week, the company said one of the citations was issued January 13 to Bandmill Coal’s Rum Creek preparation facility in Logan County. Federal officials said that an emergency stop mechanism on a stockpile dozer malfunctioned.

No injuries were reported as a result of the condition. The operator replaced the malfunctioning mechanism.

Also on January 13, Martin County Coal’s Voyager No. 7 mine in Martin County, Kentucky, received an imminent danger order after a mine examiner reported that mine roof and ribs on his required travel route were not being supported or otherwise controlled to protect individuals from potential hazards.

No injuries resulted from the condition, Massey noted in the documentation. Additionally, the examiner’s travelway was rerouted and crews eliminated travel through the cited area.

Massey did not issue any further public statement on the federal order.

Imminent danger orders are issued by MSHA under section 107(a) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act, also known as the Mine Act.

Section 1503 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act, amended last July, now requires disclosure of all imminent danger incidents as part of new reporting requirements regarding mine safety.

Massey received an imminent danger citation earlier this month after an unnamed foreman at a Long Fork Coal site was observed working near the edge of a 75-foot highwall without a safety belt and line on January 6.

The producer has a total of 47 mines in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia and Tennessee, and holds 2.3 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves.

The company’s investigation into last April’s Upper Big Branch explosion is still ongoing, as is MSHA’s probe. Massey held a safety stand-down late last year to focus on potential hazards at all of its mines and facilities.

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