Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 19, 1991                   TAG: 9104190427
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BIG STONE GAP                                LENGTH: Medium

STATE SAYS MINE OWNER PARTLY AT FAULT IN ROOF FALL

The state Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy said its investigation determined that LJ's Coal Corp. Mine No. 1 was at least partly to blame for a Feb. 13 roof fall. The agency's report issued Wednesday said the mine was violating its approved roof control plan.

Commonwealth's Attorney C.M. "Rick" Callahan said he will meet with officials from the department's mining division Wednesday to review the findings.

The department's report said the company cut coal ribs in a manner that created excessively wide and unsupported work areas inside the mine near the Lee County community of St. Charles.

The mine's roof-control plan called for entries 22 feet wide, but workers had widened sections to as much as 32 feet and failed to lessen the stress on the ceiling, the report said.

"Lack of adequate roof support combined with a significant geological fracture in the roof resulted in the massive fall," the report said.

The fall, which was about 115 feet long and as much as 15 feet thick, was the worst Virginia mine disaster since a 1983 explosion killed seven miners.

Division of Mines spokesman Mike Abbott said Virginia law makes no provision for a financial penalty against the mine owners or operators.

The federal Mine, Safety and Health Administration also is investigating the roof fall and is expected to issue its report within the next week, officials said.

The state has issued violation notices and closure orders to the company, Abbott said.

The violation notices were issued because the company failed to promptly report the roof fall to the department and exceeded permitted entry width in an area outside the roof fall, Abbott said.

The closure orders were aimed at improper mining techniques used in the mines, he said. Those techniques included the failure of management to withdraw miners from an area of imminent danger, he said.

According to Abbott, the improper mining practices began on the day of the collapse, and mine officials made no effort to notify authorities that they were altering an approved plan.

Abbott said the mine had been inspected by Department of Mines employees five times in the 12 months before the fall. The last inspection was on Jan. 15, less than one month before the fall, he said.

The mine resumed operations this month after the area of the collapse was sealed.

Keywords:
FATALITY