World Mining Exploration News

China’s mining rescue efforts have had solid achievements, with the number of rescue teams reaching 397 and trained rescuers reaching 25,000, according to the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS).

In addition, 18 mining medical rescue bases and 24 medical rescue teams have been established, involving 8,000 medical workers, SAWS sources said.

Since 2004, national mining rescue teams have worked on 13,864 mining accidents and rescued 18,775 people, saving the lives of 6,315.

China’s mining accidents and related deaths have been dropping sharply this year, the coal mining industry, for example, had 25.5 percent fewer accidents and 23.7 percent fewer deaths in the first seven months. (more…)

A sudden escape of gas and coal killed 37 at a mine in the central Chinese province of Henan on Sunday, one day after a fire killed at least 19 and left 12 missing at another coal mine, the government said. The accident occurred at the privately operated Xinfeng No.2 coal mine in Henan’s Dengfeng city at about 1:30 am, the State Administration of Work Safety reported.

Production was officially suspended at the mine for safety checks as part of a technological upgrade but the managers had secretly continued to mine coal at night, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The agency said 108 workers were underground when the gas and coal poured into the shaft, with 64 escaping and rescuers pulling out seven others.

The mine was licensed to produce up to 150,000 tons of coal annually for the Guangxian Industrial and Trade Company and was undergoing a technological upgrade, the agency said. (more…)

Seven miners died and three others were missing after a coal mine cave-in on Saturday in Luoyang City, central China’s Henan Province, local authorities confirmed Sunday morning.

Rescuers recovered the bodies of the seven miners on Sunday from a collapsed goaf lane.

Ten miners were cleasing the deserted tunnel section, when the accident happened at 2:20 p.m. Saturday.

Shi Jichun, vice governor of Henan, has taken command of the rescue work at the site. He urged all-out effort to search for the missing.
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Five miners were hurt Monday at a mine in New Haven, West Virginia. That’s in Mason County.

The mining accident happened Monday afternoon at the Broad Run Mine. The mine is owned by Big River Coal Mining Company.

A mine safety spokesperson says a car that was taking miners in and out of the mine lost its brakes and collided with a supply car.

The car was carrying five workers and all of them were taken to the hospital. Four of them have already been treated and released. However, none of the injuries were serious.
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POVERTY around Indwe has led many people living in the township to earn their living dangerously – like digging for coal down an old mine from the 1800s just to put food on the table for their families.

The mine entrance, halfway up a mountain, is visible from the road on the left coming in from the Dordrecht side.

The mine was reopened by Phikile Skeyi in 1998 after he found the people from his town were dying of hunger.

“You know, you don’t have to wait for the government to come and support you; you will starve to death. It takes one man’s brains to feed a nation,” he said.
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Hurricane Ike has caused a fuel-frenzy in many states. Several gas stations in Albany have run out of fuel all together. And there could be more isolated shortages in the next few days.

Refineries on the Gulf Coast are still shut down as damage from Hurricane Ike is being assessed. The government is now releasing oil from its emergency stockpiles to refineries experiencing shortages.

In Albany, the Woodall’s on North Slappey, the BP on Dawson and Westgate, and the Chevron on Stuart Avenue are three stations completely out of gas. Some drivers say this shows us that we rely on too few sources for fuel.
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The Mine Safety and Health Administration announced Wednesday that the agency has asked the U.S. Attorney for Utah to conduct a criminal investigation into the August 2007 Crandall Canyon coal mining disaster, which ultimately killed nine men.

In a news release, Richard E. Stickler, acting assistant secretary of labor for MSHA said, “Through its investigation of the tragic accidents last year at Crandall Canyon, MSHA determined that the operator and its engineering consultants demonstrated reckless regard for safety. MSHA has referred this case for possible criminal charges.”

Previously, both the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions had requested a criminal probe of Crandall Canyon. House committee chairman, Rep. George Miller, D-California, said he believed that Laine Adair, General Manager of the Crandall Canyon coal mine, “willfully misled” federal officials. (more…)

Dozens of land mines accidentally exploded Sunday in Niger during a ceremony in which a group of former rebels were handing over arms, killing one person and wounding about 40 including the regional governor, the government said.

Government spokesman Mohamed Ben Omar said four soldiers were seriously injured.

The accident occurred in Goure, east of the capital, Niamey. Speaking over state radio and television, Omar said a government official who had worked as an intermediary with the rebels stepped on one mine which set off dozens of others, spreading shrapnel through an assembled crowd. He identified the intermediary as Moussa Bidal.

Omar said the wounded included the governor of Zinder province, Yahaya Yandaka. (more…)