Massey Energy will idle production at its 92 underground coal producing sections on October 29 to reinforce the message that safety is more important than production. It will conduct site specific training at these operations to reinforce the fact the company expects its miners to follow the law. The operations will also review past violations and emphasise best practices to eliminate future violations.
“Despite considerable training,” said Don L. Blankenship, Chairman & CEO, “there have been recent instances in the industry and at Massey where miners were not doing the right thing as they had been trained to do. The idling of production reinforces our philosophy that safety is first and production is second.”

Massey currently has 23 distinct Resource Groups, including 16 in West Virginia, five in Kentucky and one in Virginia. These complexes blend, process and ship coal that is produced from one or more mines, with a single complex handling the coal production of as many as seven distinct underground or surface mines. The mines have been developed at strategic locations in close proximity to preparation plants and rail shipping facilities.

Massey is the largest coal producer in the Central Appalachian region, which is the principal source of low sulphur bituminous coal in the US, used for power generation, metallurgical coke production and industrial boilers.