Feature Stories
Microbial Life Discovered Deep in Canada’s Kidd Creek Mine
August 27, 2019
Researchers have uncovered the first direct evidence of resident microbes in Kidd Creek Mine, a 3-kilometer-deep copper and zinc mine in Ontario. The findings, published last month (July 18) in Geomicrobiology Journal, confirm previous work indicating that ancient, sulfate-rich water
Mining Internship Provides Deep Learning Experience for Penn State Student
August 26, 2019
This summer, one Penn State Brandywine student struck gold with his internship. Literally. Rising junior Samuel Dikeumunna spent 11 weeks at the Turquoise Ridge/Twin Creeks gold mine operated by Nevada Gold Mines near Golconda, Nevada. His daily routine included taking
MSHA Audit Shows Mines No Safer Despite $1 Billion in Fines
August 26, 2019
An audit of the federal system that fines mining companies for unsafe conditions found no evidence that more than $1 billion in mine safety penalties over 18 years deterred unsafe mining practices. The four-year long audit from the Office of
New Caterpillar Facility in Arizona Promotes Collaboration and Innovation
August 19, 2019
When the Caterpillar Tucson Mining Center (TMC) opened in Tucson, Arizona, USA, in April 2019, it brought together several different entities that support surface mines around the world, enabling collaboration and innovation that will allow the company to better support
Why the Carbon Tax Would Backfire on America
August 5, 2019
Several members of Congress have floated different carbon tax bills in recent days, some of which have both Democratic and Republican sponsorship. But marginal bipartisan support for enacting a new tax on American families and businesses doesn’t make it good
Renovations Underway at Pocahontas Exhibition Coal Mine in Virginia
August 1, 2019
Renovations which will improve access into a exhibition coal mine and add new facilities to its adjoining museum were continuing Thursday in Tazewell County, Va. The Pocahontas Exhibition Coal Mine is among the Southwest Virginia economic development projects being funded
Coal Companies Begin to Adapt as Powder River Basin Restructures
July 29, 2019
In 2015 and 2016, three massive coal companies in Wyoming filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy: Arch Coal, Alpha Natural Resources and Peabody Energy. “The national story was [that] this is the warning for coal,” said Rob Godby, an energy economist
Modern Societies Require Minerals and Mining; America is Largely Dependent on Foreign Sources
July 29, 2019
Congressional bills would end U.S. mining and leave America dependent on foreign critical materials. When OPEC imposed its 1973 embargo, the United States was just over 40 percent dependent on foreign sources for its oil. But sudden price hikes and
Birth of the Basin: Belle Ayr Mine Started a Decades-long Boom for PRB Coal
July 23, 2019
Michael Hopper was a fresh-faced 20-year-old new to Wyoming’s wide-open spaces and next-cowboy-up, blue-collar philosophy when he rolled into Gillette in 1972. He packed his two-wheel-drive GTO muscle car with what it could hold and drove more than 1,200 miles
There’s Still Life in Coal
July 23, 2019
International coal prices have fallen sharply over recent months. The spot free on board (FOB) price of coal shipped from Australia’s Newcastle export terminal stood at $72.50/t on 13 June 2019, 40pc below a peak of $120/t reached in July
