One dead following coal mining accident in Eastern Kentucky

A man was killed in an equipment accident in a small underground coal mine in Bell County on Monday, the first coal-mining death of the year in Kentucky.

Jeffery Norman Slone, 56, of Clinton, Tenn., was helping make sure the mine was being dug straight, according to Jason Steele, deputy coroner in Bell County.

A shuttle car, which is used to move coal, struck and killed Slone, according to the state Energy and Environment Cabinet.

Steele said he could not confirm the cause of Slone’s death before an autopsy scheduled for Tuesday.

Steele described Slone as an engineer. The Energy and Environment Cabinet identified him as a surveyor with 30 years of mining experience.

The accident happened at 11:20 a.m. at the Toms Fork Mine in the Balkan community, near the Harlan County line.

The mine is operated by Tennco Energy Inc., according to state and federal records. It is a new mine, licensed by the state last November, and federal records don’t show any production at the mine during the last quarter of 2018.

The mine had only been extended about 600 feet underground, Steele said.

“They were just kind of getting going,” Steele said.

The mine listed 28 employees last year.

Slone worked for a contractor at the mine, not for Tennco, Steele said.

There had been two inspections at the mine since it opened. Inspectors issued a closure order during one inspection because of safety issues with the roof, which were corrected the next day, according to the Energy and Environment Cabinet.

The state had one death last year in a coal-mining accident.

Hubert Grubbs Jr., 29, died on March 28 when he got caught in a moving conveyor belt at the underground D-11 Panther mine near Cumberland, in Harlan County. The mine was operated by Blackjewel LLC, according to federal records.

Safety shortcomings caused the accident, federal investigators said.

Nationwide in 2018, there were 27 fatalities at all types of mines, with 12 of those at coal mines and 15 at facilities such as rock quarries, the agency announced Tuesday.

The total was the second-lowest number of mining deaths ever.

Gov. Matt Bevin and Charles G. Snavely, secretary of the Energy and Environment cabinet, offered their condolences for Slone’s death.

“We will learn more about how this accident happened and what can be done to prevent another such loss of life,” Snavely said.

This story was originally published January 14, 2019 at 12:48 PM.