Mining

The near-tragic accident in Pennsylvania illustrates a hazard that coal miners have worried about for years: Maps of many abandoned mines are inaccurate, in part because former operators voraciously excavated beyond their boundaries. The nine Quecreek miners rescued late Saturday were trapped after drilling into a flooded shaft of the long-closed Saxman mine that was shown on their maps to be at least 200 feet farther along.

Citing the potential negative impact on air quality and visual blight, the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission took the first step Wednesday toward rejecting a proposed Santa Clarita-area mining operation. "What it boils down to is the quality of life for 250,000 people or the materials the project could produce," said Commissioner George Pederson, who represents the Santa Clarita Valley. "I happen to lean in the direction of quality of life."

The Bush administration will propose suspending new environmental regulations on hardrock mining that were imposed on President Clinton's last day in office over industry objections. The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management will announce today it is reopening the so-called revised 3809 regulations giving the government new authority to prohibit new mine sites on federal land, Associated Press learned.

Gov. Mark Schweiker said a special state commission will examine mine safety and recommend changes to prevent accidents like the one that trapped nine men in a flooded coal mine for more than three days. Meanwhile, five of the rescued miners held a news conference and thanked the public for supporting them throughout their ordeal. Some said they were disappointed they hadn't been contacted by the mining company that sent them underground. "I haven't heard from them," said Blaine Mayhugh, 31.

Mexican miners and steelworkers began calling off strikes across the country Thursday, a day after staging walkouts in support of a union boss faced with a leadership challenge. The 250,000-member National Mining and Metal Workers Union said it sent a memorandum to all 130 union chapters saying that workers should do what was in their best interest.

W.R. Grace and Co. and seven high-ranking employees knew a Montana mine was releasing cancer-causing asbestos into the air and tried to hide the danger to workers and townspeople, according to a federal indictment unsealed Monday. More than 1,200 people became ill, and some of them died, prosecutors said. The asbestos was naturally present in a vermiculite mine operated by Grace in the town of Libby for nearly 30 years.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 2 Tuesday to approve the terms of a federal consent decree allowing a 56.1-million ton gravel and sand mine near Santa Clarita. The proposed mine, to be built by Mexican concrete giant Cemex Inc., has generated intense opposition from residents concerned about air quality and other environmental issues.

City voters will go to the polls today for a special election on Measure M, a tax that would fund a study of the mining industry's environmental impact on Irwindale. If approved by a two-thirds majority of voters, the 9.74-cent-per-ton mining tax would only be imposed on mining-related entities, and revenues would be funneled into a "mining impact fund."

A U.S. mining company has admitted that it released tons of mercury into the air and water over a period of years at one of its Indonesian gold mines but denied that the releases had any health effects for people. Indonesian police have accused Newmont Mining Corp.'s local subsidiary, Newmont Minahasa Raya, of dumping heavy metals into Buyat Bay, causing residents to develop skin diseases and tumors.

A Merced County farming family is facing opposition from other local farmers over a proposal to expand a gravel mining operation on its land. Owners of the Bettencourt Ranch say the land is private property and they should be able to do whatever they want. "We want a permit, but more than that we believe somebody has to take a stand for private property rights," said Pat Ferrigno, one of the ranch owners.