Kanawha County Circuit Judge Charles King signed off on the deal between the families and Burrell Mining Products and Raleigh Mine & Industrial Supply on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. The groups agreed on undisclosed terms in June.
Burrell manufactured the block seals used in Sago’s mined-out and abandoned sections, and Raleigh supplied the Omega blocks to the mine.
The settlement brings to a close the involvement of the explosion's only survivor, Randal McCloy Jr. He and the estate of one of the late miners, David Lewis, against mine owner International Coal Group, settled in March under undisclosed terms.
In related news, attorneys for almost all of the 12 miners who perished in the January 2006 incident told a judge in the same circuit court in West Virginia on Tuesday that they need more time to prepare their cases, according to West Virginia MetroNews.
The group’s suit is against International Coal Group, the WL Ross Company, GMS Mine Repair, HD Supply Electrical Ltd, Electrotech Inc and self-contained self-rescuer producer CSE.
The legal representatives told a judge that “August may be premature” for a hearing date because the cases are not ready to move forward, the news service said.
Twelve men perished in the accident at Sago: Lewis, Jerry Groves, Alva Martin Barrett, Jim Bennett, Martin Toler, Jesse Jones, Tom Anderson, George Hamner Jr, Marshall Winans, Jackie Weaver, Terry Helms and Fred Ware Jr.
Many of the group were long-time mining veterans. The miners had been the first regular production workers entering after a holiday shutdown, and they were found about 260ft under the surface and 13,000ft in at the Tallmansville complex.
