Feature Stories
Tech Entrepreneurs Begin Galactic Gold Rush with Plans for Space Mining
December 14, 2016
While Elon Musk and other billionaire entrepreneurs grow increasingly closer to the finish line of a heated race to determine who will be the first to send humans to Mars, another type of space exploration company has emerged with a
Barrick Gold Moving Cortez Hills Mine Into the Future with Digital Reinvention of Mining
December 14, 2016
Barrick Gold Corp. is moving Cortez Hills Mine into the future of the industry with a “digital reinvention” of mining. The company announced in September that it partnered with Cisco to bring “cutting-edge technology” into the industry. “We are proud
King Coal Comeback? Trump Win Brings Hope for Miners
December 8, 2016
The rumblings within the coal industry in southern Indiana might not be from the blasting in nearby mining operations. There are whispers about once closed mine pits re-opening. And, there are innuendos that coal companies are becoming liquid and getting
Huge Changes Expected Under Trump Administration as EPA Celebrates 46 Years
December 7, 2016
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began operating 46 years ago after former President Richard Nixon proposed it as a way to address mounting pollution concerns across the country. EPA celebrated its 46th anniversary Friday, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump
Donald Trump Says He Wants to Help Coal Miners. But Does Congress?
December 2, 2016
Few pockets of America have been more fervently in support of President-elect Donald Trump than coal country. During his campaign, a hard-hat-wearing Trump made explicit appeals to miners, promising to reverse the recent and precipitous decline of the eastern coal
Montana Tech Uses Mine Water from Orphan Boy Copper Mine to Heat Buildings
November 28, 2016
Walking through a dark tunnel, lit only by the dim headlamp on his hardhat, Scott Rosenthal, department chair of Montana Tech’s Mining Engineering Department, gives a fairly bland assessment of the school’s latest project. “It’s unique, but when you see
Trump’s Plan to Bring Back Coal Country Places EPA in Crosshairs
November 16, 2016
President-elect Trump’s plan to bring back the coal industry will likely start by scrapping the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate change agenda, according to a newly appointed member of his transition team. The agency would be dialed back to focus strictly
A President Trump Spells Sudden Optimism for Coal in Pennsylvania
November 16, 2016
In recent years, coal communities and power plants, coal’s biggest clients, knew which way the industry was headed. As the power sector’s reliance on coal has waned — and it shuttered coal-fired plants and embraced other fuels — many mining
What Does Trump’s Victory Mean for Energy Policy?
November 11, 2016
Real estate mogul Donald Trump has won the presidential election, and that likely means the Obama administration’s global warming agenda will be massively scaled back or scrapped altogether. Trump, a Republican, has promised to cut the EPA, scrap the Paris
Obama’s Clean Power Plan to Cost $479 Billion and Increase Consumer Electric Rates
November 4, 2016
President Barack Obama’s plan to fight global warming will raise energy prices and drag many low-income Americans into “energy poverty,” according to a new study. The so-called Clean Power Plan (CPP) would significantly increase the price of electricity in the
