Surface Coal Mining

Don Blankenship talked about the need to increase surface mining of coal in order to meet the nation’s energy requirements. Blankenship joined Massey Energy Company in 1982, working first in its Rawl Sales & Processing Co. subsidiary. He rose through leadership positions in other subsidiaries until reaching his present positions in November 2000. Blankenship also served as the company’s president from November 2000 through November 2008. Massey Energy Company is the fourth largest coal company in the United States. An explosion at the company’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia on April 5, 2010, killed 29 miners, making it the deadliest coal mine explosion in the United States in forty years.