"With Massey Energy boss Don Blankenship headed to prison and some of the industry’s biggest companies bankrupt, a historic transformation may be ahead".
"Six years [after the 29 miners died, coal boss Don] Blankenship and the coal industry he championed are both on the ropes. The former chief executive is headed to prison and some of the biggest coalmining companies in the world are in bankruptcy or possibly headed that way –knocked out of electricity markets by cheap natural gas and the environmental regulations Blankenship so vehemently opposed.
The former chief executive of Massey Energy was sentenced this week to a year in prison for willfully violating mine safety standards – the highest penalty available under the law. Blankenship was not accused of direct responsibility for the accident – the worst in 40 years in the US.
Next week Peabody Energy, the world’s largest publicly traded coal company, will come to the end of a 30-day grace period to repay its crushing debts or fall into bankruptcy.
The company’s share price has fallen by 98% since 2011."
Suzanne Goldenberg reports for the Guardian April 8, 2016.
SEE ALSO:
"As Coal Company Profits Fell, Mining Firms Rewarded Executives Handsomely" (Casper Star Tribune)
