How many men died in the Knox Mine Disaster?
12 men
PITTSTON — Area residents took a moment on Sunday to remember the miners who lost their lives in the Knox Mine Disaster 57 years ago. On Jan. 22, 1959, 12 men died when the Susquehanna River broke into and flooded coal mines near Pittston.
What happened at the Knox Mine Disaster?
The Knox Mine Disaster It took three days to plug the hole in the riverbed, which was done by dumping large railroad cars, smaller mine cars, culm, and other debris into the whirlpool formed by the water draining into the mine. Sixty-nine miners escaped; twelve miners died and their bodies were never recovered.
What was the biggest mining disaster?
On April 26, 1942, during World War II, in the Benxihu (Honkeiko) coal mine in Liaoning Province, China, what is believed to be the worst mining disaster in history took the lives of over 1,500 people.
What role did the union play in the Knox Mine Disaster?
Subsequent state and federal investigations uncovered a sweetheart deal between Knox officials and organized crime. Bribing union officials allowed the company to violate contract provisions on pay, safety, and work conditions, leading to the disaster. The accident prompted Rep.
What caused the Knox Mine Disaster?
The disaster occurred when workers were ordered to dig illegally under the Susquehanna River without proper safety precautions, creating a hole in the riverbed which caused the river to flood into the many interconnected mine galleries in the Wyoming Valley between the right-bank (western shore) town of Exeter.
What happened to Pittston Coal Company?
Aftermath of the strike. In February 1990, the Pittston Coal Company and the UMWA came to a settlement. The current miners of Pittston would receive health and retirement benefits once again. Pittston Coal Company also had to pay around $10 million for the retirement benefits plan for pre-1974 miners.
What ended coal mining in the Wyoming Valley?
The Knox Mine disaster officially ended the anthracite era in the Wyoming Valley and is the most significant mining disaster in the history of the region.
Where is the deepest mine in the world?
Mponeng gold mine
The Mponeng gold mine located in the Gauteng province of South Africa, is the deepest operating mine in the world.
How many miners died mine 9?
On November 20, 1968, a catastrophic explosion rocked the Consol No. 9 coal mine outside of Farmington, West Virginia. Seventy-eight miners perished in that accident.
What happened at the Pittston West Virginia coal miners strike of 1989?
The strike, which lasted from April 5, 1989 to February 20, 1990, resulted from Pittston’s termination of health care benefits for approximately 1,500 retirees, widows, and disabled miners. The strike affected production in mines mostly in Virginia, but a few in West Virginia and Kentucky as well.
What is the richest mine in the world?
De Beers claims Jwaneng is the richest mine in the world. In 2009, the mine treated 8.2 million metric tons of rock to produce 11.5 million carats.
Where did the Susquehanna River break through the Knox Mine?
The Susquehanna River broke through into the many interconnected mine galleries in the Wyoming Valley between right-bank (west) town of Exeter, Pennsylvania and Port Griffith, left-bank (east) town in Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania, near Pittston.
Who are the illegal miners in Kleinsee Namaqualand?
The miners work undercover in the darkness where they mine diamonds, risking arrest. Kleinsee was once a booming mining town owned by De Beers. The company abandoned the mine in 2012 saying it was too expensive to continue mining. For 12 years Shane Bennett has been digging illegally for diamonds at various mines in the Namaqualand.
Where did the River Slope Mine disaster happen?
Near the entrance of the River Slope Mine this stone commemorates the twelve miners who died in 1959. On January 22, 1959 a tragedy so corrupt and catastrophic occurred at the River Slope mine in Port Griffith, Pennsylvania that it changed the future of the Anthracite coal industry forever: The Susquehanna River had ruptured the mine.
What was the cause of the Knox Mine disaster?
The Knox Mine disaster is considered to have been the proverbial nail in the coffin that virtually destroyed the coal mining industry in northeastern Pennsylvania. The River Slope Mine, an anthracite coal mine owned by the Knox Coal Company, flooded when coal company management had the miners dig illegally out under the Susquehanna River.
