mining

Mining once boomed in Mongolia but as commodity prices fell, the economy tanked and companies went bankrupt. Unemployed men are taking over abandoned coal mines to extract what's left. Some have died.

Long known as a workplace hazard, silica dust can cause irreversible lung scarring and cancer. The Department of Labor expects its new limit to save about 600 lives a year. But industry is balking.

The coal region of western Kentucky has managed to keep its mining industry alive through changing energy trends of the past few decades. That is, until now.