Coal Mining NAICS 2121

May 27, 2025 - NIOSH Cuts Threaten Miner Safety

• Cuts to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, threaten miners’ safety just as the Trump administration seeks to expand mining in the US, NPR reports. The president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) condemned the cuts, stating “This is not just an attack on jobs. This is an attack on the very foundation of worker safety in the United States of America.” UMWA president said the dismantling of the Respiratory Disease Division at NIOSH eliminates the nation’s leading defense against black lung disease and other respiratory illnesses that afflict miners. In March, President Trump signed an executive order fast tracking permitting and expanding mining in the US. The cuts at NIOSH followed soon after. More mining means more miners to protect. However, miners' protections are being stripped away, according to UMWA.
• The scheduled retirement dates of dozens of coal-fired US power plants are being canceled as growth in energy demand and changes in environmental regulations keep the plants online, The New York Times reports. Wyoming’s 66-year-old Dave Johnston Power Plant – one of the oldest in the US that’s situated on the edge of the nation’s largest coal mine – was slated to close in 2027, but its planned retirement was canceled. According to a NYT analysis, utilities have extended the life of nearly a third of coal units with planned retirement dates. A 2023 study by Energy Innovation showed that 99% of operating US coal plants were more expensive to operate than replacement by local wind, solar, and energy storage resources. Some 780 coal units have retired since 2000 leaving the US with about 400, according to new data from the Global Energy Monitor cited by NYT.

• The highly-concentrated US coal mining industry is undergoing further consolidation as a result of the merger of two of the largest US coal producers. Amid a wave of industry deal making, CONSOL Energy and Arch Resources merged in January to form Core Natural Resources (CNR) with large and non-overlapping thermal and metallurgical coal operations, according to a press release. Newly-merged CNR owns 11 mines, including Pennsylvania’s Bailey, Enlow Fork, and Harvey mines and the largest underground mine complex in North America. “Through this transformational combination, we have created a global leader exceptionally well-positioned to compete and succeed in two significant, high-potential market segments – the global metallurgical and global high-rank thermal coal markets,” the company’s CEO Jimmy Brock said in a statement. Both companies sold an aggregate of 101 million tons of coal in 2023 that was used in steelmaking, power generation and industrial uses.
• Employment by coal mines shrank 5.3% in April compared to a year ago, while the average industry wage was flat at $35.49 per hour in March, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Competition from cleaner alternative energy sources – notably natural gas for electricity – has led to declining demand for coal and coal miners, whose numbers are down nearly 40% over the past decade, according to BLS figures. Sales for the US coal mining companies industry are forecast to grow at a 2.11% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to the Interindustry Economic Research Fund.