Massey Energy (NYSE:MEE) Sued for Wrongful Death in Upper Big Branch Explosion

The families of two of the coal miners killed in the blast at the Upper Big Branch mine of Massey Energy (NYSE:MEE) last year have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the mine's owner saying it was a "catastrophe waiting to happen".

The families of two coal miners killed in the Upper Big Branch mine blast last year filed wrongful death lawsuits against the mine's owner, Massey Energy Co, saying it was a "catastrophe waiting to happen,"

The suits come a week after Massey's head of security at the West Virginia mine was charged with impeding investigators probing the April 5, 2010, explosion that killed 29 miners in the worst U.S. mine accident in four decades.

According to the suits, the families of Joe Marcum and Adam Morgan, who died in the explosion, are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as a result of "the willful, wanton and recklessly unsafe manner" in which Massey operated the mine.

The complaints allege Massey had "an abysmal safety record" and the number of federal safety violations more than doubled between 2008 and 2009 -- something then-Chief Executive Officer Don Blankenship was aware of.




Source = Reuters

Massey's (NYSE:MEE) Options Grow as Blankenship About to Depart

As Massey Energy (NYSE:MEE) CEO Don Blankenship prepares to retire on December 31, many options are available to the company going forward, and evidently more flexibility as well.

Several people close to Massey's situation say just about everything is on the table at this time, from the company selling itself, an acquisition of a smaller competitor, or the company staying as it is.

As far as acquisitions of other companies go, the leading name at this time is International Coal Group (NYSE:ICO). Talks have been going on for some time there, stopped for awhile, and resumed again on the announcement that Blankenship was going to retire at the end of the year.

Talks has ended because the CEO of International Coal, Ben Hatfield, wasn't sure he wanted to work for Massey again. He had worked their previously for 23 years.

Now that Blankenship is leaving, ArcelorMittal SA (NYSE:MT) has expressed a renewed interest in the possibility of acquiring Massey. They didn't' pursue them because of the assumption Blankenship would probably block the attempt. Now they've hired JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) to advise them on what to do going forward.

Another among the several companies interested in purchasing Massey is Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:ANR).

Massey has about 2.8 billion tons of reserves, with 1.3 billion of that metallurgical coal, which is more profitable as it is used in the production of steel. Prices for met coal have risen by over 60 percent since a year ago.