This week the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted MSHA spokesperson Amy Louviere as saying that Massey crews have been laying a line underground at the Raleigh County, West Virginia operation which will allow water into the longwall section as the company continues its probe of the April blast.

The two were recently at odds over MSHA’s desire to test the longwall shearer’s water sprays for its own investigation, with Massey claiming this would destroy evidence it had not yet logged.

"We're extending it one day at a time, as long as they continue to cooperate," Louviere said.

The federal agency had initially put a deadline to the company before issuing a J order which would permit the US secretary of labor to take over the investigation, but those issues appear to be defused for now on Massey’s cooperation, including installing a generator and equipment doors in the longwall section.

"Massey Energy is still working with MSHA to resolve all issues," Massey general counsel Shane Harvey said, according to the Post-Gazette.

Neither MSHA nor Massey responded Wednesday to an ILN request for comment.

Company, state and federal officials are still working on their respective investigations into the April 5 explosion that killed 29 workers.

Witness interviews for the state’s probe are continuing. Massey chairman and chief executive Don Blankenship – who announced his retirement last Friday evening – is scheduled to testify December 14 at the National Mine Academy in Beaver, West Virginia.