The Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration [MSHA] have issued ten orders to withdraw workers from a James River Coal Co. (JRCC) mine in Kentucky after an inspection there found what the agency called a pattern of violations, Morningstar reports.
Federal regulators issued the withdrawal instructions over the past month at the Abner Branch Rider Mine in Kentucky, managed by James River unit Beldose Coal Corp. The agency called its use of the latest orders “unprecedented.”
The latest violations at the Abner Branch Rider Mine included, according to MSHA, inadequate ventilation controls and inadequate roof, rib and face support, causing the withdrawal of more than 30 miners working over three shifts. Inspectors found that ventilation controls between the secondary escapeway and the belt entry had become damaged and difficult to open.
JRCC gained 47 cents, or 2.25%, to $21.38 at 3:54 p.m. in Nasdaq composite trading.
Leave a Reply