A free fall in U.S. coal mining employment that began after a near-term peak in the final quarter of 2011 has extended into 2014, with first-quarter employment dropping by more than 5,700 jobs, or a decline of about 7.0%, compared to same quarter a year ago.
Tin, tantalum and tungsten mines used to generate $185 million a year for armed groups. Now, about two-thirds of those operations are part of peaceful supply chains, study shows.