The miner was Jessie Adkins, 39, of Belington, said CONSOL spokesman Joe Cerenzia.
Adkins was a miner operator working as a bolter, with seven years of mining experience, three of those at Loveridge, located near Fairview, Cerenzia said in a statement.
He was injured when coal and other materials from the rib, on the side of the mine entry, collapsed.
Adkins was taken to Fairmont General Hospital following the accident, Cerenzia said, and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
State Mine Health Safety and Training (MHST) spokesman Hoy Murphy said the accident occurred at 11:55 a.m. Adkins was pronounced dead at 1:18 p.m.
No other miners were injured, Cerenzia said.
Cerenzia said continuous mining machines are used in underground coal mining to drive tunnels, known in the industry as entries, into the coal reserve for ventilation, movement of min- ers, equipment and supplies; transportation of mined coal or for development of longwall mining sections.
Murphy said that section of the mine has been closed, and an MHST inspector is on site investigating the accident. U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is also investigating, said spokeswoman Amy Louviere.
Company officials are also investigating, Cerenzia said, and a final report will be issued at a later date.
Adkins leaves behind a wife, Melissa, and two teenage children, Cerenzia said.
Loveridge employs about 650 workers, Murphy said, and produces about 21,000 tons of coal a day.
According to MSHA records for 2009, Loveridge was the single-largest producing underground mine in Marion, Monongalia and Preston counties. It had 17 “days away from work” accidents, compared to 23 for CONSOL's Blacksville No. 2 in Monongalia and 11 for Robinson Run 95 in Marion.
According to MSHA records, Loveridge has had 10 nonfatal operator injuries to date in 2010, and one nonfatal contractor injury. For 2009, it had 15 operator injuries and two contractor injuries.
The last fatality at Loveridge was in 1996, when one operator was killed. Blacksville No. 2 has had no fatalities since 1995. Robinson Run had one in 1998.
Eastern Associated Coal's Federal No. 2 mine in Monongalia County — comparable in production to Blacksville No. 2 — had 25 days away from work accidents in 2009, with 26 operator injuries and 3 contractor injuries. It's had five operator injuries to date in 2010. There have been no fatalities since 1995.
Kingwood Mining's now-defunct Whitetail Mine in Preston County had 12 operator injuries in 2008, its last full year of operation. One miner was killed there in 2006.
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