The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "minerals" ...
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As Mine Protections Fail, Black Lung Cases Surge
A joint investigation by NPR and the Center for Public Integrity mined government databases and analyzed together for the first time ever, coal dust enforcement records and black lung occurrence data. We compiled what appear to be the most comprehensive accounts to date of an unexpected reemergence of black lung, sharp increases among younger miners, rapid progression to the most serious stages, widespread fraudulent coal dust testing by industry, weaknesses and loopholes in federal regulations, and ineffective enforcement by federal regulators. We asked Ken Ward Jr., the veteran coal industry reporter at the Charleston Gazette, to contribute web and print stories about the history of failed government regulation, as well as fraudulent coal dust testing specifically at the Upper Big Branch mine, where 29 miners died in an explosion fueled by coal dust in 2010. Our reporting prompted the Labor Department to establish an internal team to review the agency's enforcement of coal dust regulations, according to internal agency e-mails obtained by NPR. Federal regulators stepped up coal dust enforcement, targeting mines with a history of violations. Members of Congress cited the series in calling for tougher regulations, and one group launched a petition drive demanding action.
Tags: mining; miners; black lung disease; coal dust; government
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CIF's Grab for Oil and Minerals
This story examines how a well-connected Chinese conglomerate eased out its Western rivals and wrangled lucrative resource deals in Africa. Its competitive edge? Promises of billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects, most of which never materialized.
Tags: Oil; China; Conglomerate
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Yellow Dirt
The radioactive "yellow dirt" -- a world class deposit of uranium under the Navajo reservation in the American Southwest -- lay beneath an earthen shield until the U.S. government cam calling, desperate to make atomic bombs. The book reveals ow the government looked away as miners, and then the neighbors were exposed to uranium's dangers.
Tags: Native Americans; yellow dirt; atomic bomb; uranium; environment
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Yellow Dirt: An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed
This book reveals how the U.S. government consciously looked away as miners, and then the neighbors, were exposed to uranium's dangers as it was mined on a Navajo reservation, in a slow-motion environmental catastrophe that last for decades and continues today.
Tags: uranium; radiation; mining; Navajo; Indian reservation; yellow cake; yellow dirt; EPA; Environmental Protection Agency; Indian Health Service; Bureau of Indian Affairs; Atomic Energy Commission; National Cancer Institute; environmental pollution; environmental disaster; nuclear power; atomic bomb
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"Defective Drywall Series: Made in the U.S.A.?"
An investigation into faulty drywall arose after "devastating" structural damage occurred in homes across the U.S. Health concerns were also called into questions as some of the drywall proved to be toxic. At first Chinese produced drywall was blamed, but further in-depth investigation revealed that in was American made drywall that was being produced at a low, almost dangerous quality.
Tags: Chinese drywall; white mineral gypsum; plaster; Georgia Pacific; National Sypsum
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Toxic Showdown
Rita Smith's husband Steve won his court case with his former employer Searles Valley Minerals regarding the toxins that killed thousands of migratory birds in a nearby lake.
Tags: department of fish and game; health problems; substances; poison; inspector; brine;
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Royalty-In-Kind Invesgation
The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) has been investigating federal royalty collections since 1995. Oil and gas royalty collections make up the second largest source or government revenue, but throughout POGO's investigations, there have been many concerns as to whether the federal government is collecting all of the money that oil and gas companies owe to taxpayers for drilling on federal lands. Based upon talking to insiders with the Department of the Interior (DOI), POGO conducted the first study to link the management problems that plague the agency with the structural design of the Royalty-in-Kind (RIK) program, as advocated by the oil and gas industry. This series of stories investigated royalty collection at DOI, with a sharp focus on the Minerals Management Service (MMS) and their management of Royalty-In-Kind program. The series found that not only did MMS have an overly close relationship with the industry that they were supposed to be overseeing, but that industry influence had been pervasive and could be traced from the program's inception through its expansion into the full-blown program that exists today. Additionally, the series of stories found that there are extensive inappropriate auditing of royalty payments between MMS employees and the oil and gas industry, insufficient auditing of royalty payments, serious mismanagement of the RIK program, and a debilitating lack of transparency in the program. These findings call the legitimacy of the RIK program into question, and particularly raise questions as to whether this program can effectively pursue royalty collection on behalf of taxpayers.
Tags: Department of the Interior; Minerals Management Service; corruption; royalty-in-kind program; government oversight; federal royalty payments
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Too much time, Too few answers
The Crandall Canyon min in Huntington, Utah collapsed, killing six miners and a subsequent cave-ion took the lives of three rescuers. The event was blamed on a mine bounce, when pressure from the roof causes the thick coal pillars supporting the roof to explode. Several months earlier in March a major bounce occurred 900 feet from where the collapse in August happened, and it was never reported to federal mine regulators. Mining experts wondered why the federal regulators approved the original mine plan to begin with.
Tags: accident; mine; land management; coal; mine safety; Robert Murray; Richard Stickler; MSHA
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Mine Dangers/Mine Safety
This series on mine safety by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette uncovered several problems: with training, mine seals, ventilation, airpacks and fire suppression systems. Reporters Roddy and Twedt found out that the Mine Safety and Health Administration "narrowed its definition of work-related deaths, making its annual death tally artificially low and allowing them to declare that mining was safer than ever."
Tags: mine safety; mining tragedies; Mine Safety and Health Administration; MSHA; coal miners; mine ventilation; Department of Labor's Inspector General's Office; FOI; Assistant Secretary of Labor David Dye; Assistant Secretary of Labor Richard Stickler
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Water Worries
"This four part series found serious flaws in management of the Madison Water Utility and, as a result, troubling problems with safety of the city's water supply. The series showed that the utility's response to the contaminant manganese in the tap water of many Madison homes and the potential health impacts of exposure to the mineral was late and inadequate."
Tags: water; magnese; industrial carcinogen; aging wells; pipes; Board of Water Commissioners; Madison Water Utility