Utah mine VP: We will resume coal mining operations at Crandall Canyon!

[Bluebear]

"In an industry long known for having quite a few greedy and uncaring mine operators, this statement is perhaps the most callous I have ever heard,'' said Cecil E. Roberts, president of United Mine Workers of America International. ``To do any further mining in an already unstable mine like Crandall Canyon is madness."

======
Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy Corp., co-owner of the Crandall Canyon Mine, expressed doubt that the tunneling operation, halted since Thursday's deaths, would resume. "It's likely these miners may not be found," Moore said.

Moore said there is recoverable coal in other parts of the 5,000-acre mine, and the company expected to resume operations at some point. He said he hadn't discussed that prospect with family members.

However, one mine safety expert said Monday he was skeptical whether any plan can be developed to ensure that mining could resume safely at the Crandall Canyon Mine. "I can say unequivocally that's inadvisable because of the pressures that have been exerted in that mine and the tragedy we've seen in the past two weeks. It would be inadvisable to go back in that mine and begin mining again," said Jack Spadaro. He is a former director of the federal National Mine Health and Safety Academy and has advised the miners' union and attorneys representing injured miners.

The head of the national coal miners' union, which does not represent Crandall Canyon miners, said it would be "madness" to continue mining there.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6863545,00.html

[bleedingheart]

1. and this doesn't surprise me...greed trumps safety...

if they can get more coal out...who gives a shit if more miners are at risk.

My uncle's brother was killed at 21 in a mine cave in...they brought his body home and laid it on the kitchen table for his mother...and left a bit of money to bury him...and they went back to the mine to get more coal.

[King Coal]

3. It used to be that mining companies hated losing a mule worse than a miner dying

in the mine. They had to buy a new mule, but there were always more miners waiting for a job. Have you ever heard of the Ludlow massacre? This is nothing compared to what has happened in the past.

[bleedingheart]

11. yes I have heard of the Ludlow Massacre

My father was a baby in 1919, his father went on strike here in PA...the company evicted all strikers out of the company houses. So my grandparents and their 4 small children were living in a tent until the strike settled. The company would not take back my grandfather so he was blacklisted from that mine. Had to move to another mining community. I think half of the misspellings I find on old mining documents with my grandfather's name are because he had to change his name to get a job...(he was a Croatian immigrant..people thought it was because he couldn't speak english...but that was bull..he could read/write in his own language and in english) My grandfather flat out refused to let my father come into the mines with him. my dad was the only son....out of 6 kids...so my dad ended up working for the "rag man"...until he joined the CCC...and then entered the service in WWII.

On my mother's side my great uncle was nearly in the Mather mine disaster here in PA that killed 195 miners...His sister went into labor the day before the disaster...and he had to stay on the family farm to help while the birthing was going on...(someone had to milk the cows...and great-grandma and the rest of the women were helping with the birth)....
My aunt's birth saved his life...

Below is a link that is about the Mather Mine disaster...
http://www.co.greene.pa.us/secured/gc/services/miners.htm

[King Coal]

14. Thanks Bleedingheart. My great grandfather was a cousin Jack.

He left Cripple Creek, CO at night on his hands and knees, literally, during a strike, and moved to Leadville and had more adventures there. He always said you can be a contract miner or be a number. It is a two-way street.

[blondeatlast]

15. What a great remembrance. Thank you for sharing that. nt

[King Coal]

7. And not just on the companies part. Sometimes greed trumps safety for the miners too.

You ought to see what happens when high-grade is found in a mine where there is free-milling gold. Been there, done that, stopped at the snack bar and got the T-shirt.

[Arkansas Granny]

22. You are absolutely right about greed trumping safety. Check out

this reference I found:

According to the American Society of Safety Engineers, retreat mining requires very precise planning and sequencing to ensure roof stability while the pillars supporting the roof are removed.

The reason the practice is used is that it pays off: The last bit of coal taken from pillars is pure profit, Oppegard said. Plus, if someone violates rules during pillar removal and there is a collapse, the evidence of rule violations are gone, he said.

Retreat pillar mining is one of the biggest causes of mine roof collapse deaths, according to studies done by the National Institutes of Occupational Safety and Health.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/07/america/NA-GEN-US-Mine-Collapse-Report.php

[youngdem]

2. Sorry asshole, that's a gravesite. NO mining in a grave site

Wanna mine it again? Go get your fucking employees out of the mine.

After all, if it isn't safe to reenter the mine to RESCUE TRAPPED MINERS, then it SURE THE FUCK ISN'T SAFE TO REENTER TO MINE!

Greedy assholes. Someone should toss their asses in the mine for a few days and see how they feel.

Anyone even need to bother to check what party this world class piece of shit belongs to?

[cgrindley]

4. Why are people so much more outraged by this than by

the Chinese collapse...

[Bluebear]

6. The Chinese mine did not collapse, it was flooded out

And I am outraged over both incidences.
===
"The news reports say it is a natural disaster because of the rain, but the accident is because of the mine management. Every year there is flooding," said Ma Xiumei, who came with her sister to the mine headquarters in Xintai, Shandong province, for information about their missing brother.

"If these miners are safely brought home we won't say a thing, but if it is the worst then they (the company) need to think about my younger brother's laid-off wife, his children, his aging mother," said Ma Xiuhua.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/21/ap4038677.html

[treestar]

19. Too busy being outraged about defective Chinese products

That affects Americans, you know! The Chinese collapse only affects Chinese people! :sarcasm:

[cgrindley]

20. My sister and brother in law taught at a Chinese university in the 1980s

pre-T-Square... and their biggest beef was with the almost universal dislike of ethics in China, which coupled with their psychotic concept of "saving face" more or less make giant disasters and horrible export goods like we're seeing today entirely predictable. To stop mine disasters and deliberate poisonings and so on, the Chinese are going to have to try to reverse a few thousand years of Chinese culture.

[backscatter712]

27. Nobody's heard of it.

Gotta love it - when six miners are trapped and three rescuers are killed trying to find them, all of the news stations turn into the Mine Collapse Channel.

But if it's hundreds of miners killed in a Chinese mine, oh well, they're just minorities, they'll be lucky to get a 30 second segment.

Did I forget to mention that I venomously hate the media?

[Fierce]

5. Miners, stand up and organize!

Shut it down!

[Vinca]

8. Hey, what's a few dead bodies along the way? Cost of doing business. nt

[spanone]

9. they said this the other day....they would dig around the dead miners...ain't that America

[theHandpuppet]

10. Wake up America! This is the price of our carbon footprint

To those who say they have the God-given right to waste as much energy as they can afford, here's the bill for your selfishness.

Destruction and poisoning of the lands where mining is conducted.

Death and disease for miners and their families.

Global warming thanks to the sulphur and mercury-spewing plants necessary to produce your energy needs. Here, Johnny, have some methane for breakfast.

Keep feeding the monsters like Murray, keep demanding more of the fossil fuel markets, and just put it on your tab. Sooner or later the bill will have to be paid.


Read up!
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-01-01-mine_x.htm
http://spewingforth.blogspot.com/2006/04/2006-coal-mining-deaths-now-surpass.html
http://usgovinfo.about.com/b/a/217685.htm
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/01/04/coal-mining/

[Bluebear]

21. You said it. nt

[spinbaby]

12. Bad idea

It is my understanding--from what I've gleaned from the Web and from talking to guys that work for Murray--that this mine is scheduled to close next year. It is essentially mined out and the longwalls have already been pulled and sent on to other mines. The only mining left in this mine is of the "retreat mining" variety in which they pull pillars. This seems to be what caused the disaster in the first place. Even if pillaring in this mine is deemed safe, it's a total PR disaster to attempt it.

[Uben]

13. Save the whales, shoot the seals

They can go back in for coal, but not dead miners?

Hey, there's a company to work for, huh?

Close the mine, fine the mine owners and operators a sum equal to everything they own, and make them live at the bottom of the mine for a period of five years.


Justice, Uben style!

[OlderButWiser]

16. I must ask

are the miners getting paid while the rescue attempt is in progress? Or are they laid off?

[spinbaby]

17. How much were the miners paid to begin with?

A question that's come up before. I suspect they were getting paid the least Murray could get away with.

[Uben]

18. They get paid good

$17/hr and all the coal they can eat!


/sarcasm

[Disturbed]

28. This is a non-Union Corp. The miners will do the work or

get fired. I suspect there will be enough miners that will risk their lives & continue the job. Will they unionize? I doubt it.In two weeks this issue will be forgotten as other events will occupy the Corp Media so called "News".

[Bucky]

23. "That these brave men have not have died in vain" no doubt.

We must mine the coal over there so that we don't have to mine it back here. Press on, boys, press on.

[BlooInBloo]

24. "died in vain" = "owner hasn't gotten his money. Fuckwads.

[coco77]

25. What happened to the old man...

who runs the show, he was running to the camera bragging and growling at the reports for the past few weeks. Since, the second disaster I haven't seen him...

[Bluebear]

26. "Whatever happened the Lord dictated" he said briefly today. nt