Utah mine spars with MSHA

For the third time since Jan. 24, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration has ordered Utah?American Energy Inc. to cease operation of its longwall section of the West Ridge Mine near Price, due to danger the agency said was posed following three seismic "bumps" that occurred at the Carbon County mine last month.

A bump or bounce is a seismic jolt that can propel chunks of coal or rock inside a mine.

"The agency's order to stop mining under the current plan was based on West Ridge's recent history of bounces and their increasing magnitude, deeper mining conditions, and the fact that there are no barrier pillars in place to help support the mine's roof and ribs," said MSHA spokesperson Amy Louviere, in an e-mail to the Deseret News. "In MSHA's judgment, these conditions did not afford adequate protection to the West Ridge miners."

The West Ridge Mine experienced a series of three bounces on Jan. 24, Jan. 26 and Jan. 31 in the longwall portion of the mine. Following the third bounce, which left one miner injured, MSHA ordered the company to withdraw from the affected section of the mine until Feb. 7.

MSHA modified, but did not lift, the closure order to allow longwall mining machinery to be operated remotely from a specific location, according to Louviere. The West Ridge Mine was operating a longwall mining machine by remote control.

The modification allowed for an additional 240 feet of mining. Once the area was mined, MSHA re-evaluated the effectiveness of the company's plan and determined that there was still significant evidence that the likelihood of continued bouncing on the face would have the potential of injuring miners. The agency notified mine officials that the current method of mining presented unacceptable risks to miners.

Significant bounces occurred Feb. 12 and 13, and one of them damaged the longwall shearing machine, indicating conditions underground still presented safety issues, Louviere said.

UtahAmerican Energy said in a news release this past weekend that it plans to contest the agency's order to close the longwall section of the mine. "The company regrets that it has no other option than to seek legal remedy," said Kevin Anderson, a Salt Lake City attorney for UtahAmerican Energy.

The company plans to seek a hearing before an administrative law judge in Denver in an attempt to resolve the dispute and resume operations at the mine. A hearing that had been scheduled for last week was canceled when both parties believed they had reached an agreement for a revised mine plan, but that agreement fell through.