While Miners Wait 1,500 Feet Beneath Solid Rock, Owner Blasts Mine Safety

While Miners Wait 1,500 Feet Beneath Solid Rock, Owner Blasts Mine Safety

by Mike Hall, Aug 9, 2007

The owner of the Utah mine, where six coal miners remain trapped following a mine collapse Monday morning, spoke out against mine safety improvements proposed following 2006’s Sago Mine disaster that killed a dozen miners.

As of Thursday afternoon, rescuers continued to drill a two-and-a-half-inch hole from above to communicate with the mines and deliver food and water if the six are still alive. Efforts to reach the site via the mine shaft where the collapse occurred could take another week.

Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy, the parent company of Utah American, which owns the Crandall Canyon Mine near Huntington, also continues to blame an earthquake for the collapse, despite seismographic evidence to the contrary.

He also denies that the practice called “retreat” mining was involved in the collapse, even though Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) officials confirm retreat mining has been used at the mine, in the area where the miners were working. In retreat mining, pillars of coal hold up an area of the mine’s roof. When that area is completely mined, the company pulls the pillar and grabs the useful coal, causing an intentional collapse.