Massey Energy is the sixth-largest coal company in the country , owning 56 mines . Historically , this area of West Virginia has been dependent on coal production and on Massey Energy . Relatives of the missing and confirmed dead expressed their anger that they were not notified directly by Massey Energy executives , but found out information from the company website or government sources . " They 're supposed to be a big company " , said Michelle McKinney , daughter of a missing employee , " These guys , they took a chance every day to work and make them big . And they could n't even call us . " McKinney was alerted of the incident by a local school . Miners stated that they were warned of reprimand or losing their jobs if they took time from work to attend funerals . A former miner asked , " Is a lump of coal that valuable to you that you ca n’t even give the miners a day off to mourn their friends ? " A miner 's wife told the '' World Socialist Web Site '' , " These are the miners ’ brothers ; they know them better than their own families , and they ca n’t even attend their funerals . ” Ted Turner commented on CNN about the mine disaster , stating " I 'm just wondering if God is telling us He does n't want to drill offshore ( in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off of the Gulf of Mexico . ) . And right before that , we had that coal mine disaster in West Virginia where we lost 29 miners ... Maybe the Lord 's tired of having the mountains of West Virginia , the tops knocked off of them so they may get more coal . I think maybe we ought to just leave the coal in the ground and go with solar and wind power and geothermals ... " The West Virginia University Mountaineers will wear Nike Pro Combat System of Dress uniforms , designed to pay respect to the deadly explosion at the Big Branch Mine , for the 2010 Backyard Brawl against the rival Pitt Panthers . According to the '' Pittsburgh Tribune Review '' , West Virginia will wear a shade of white " that looks as if it has a fine layer of dust on the jersey " and has accents in university gold that " references the canaries used long ago to test toxicity in mines . " The helmet has a thin yellow line , designed to look like " the beam of light emitted by a miner 's headlamp . " The Upper Big Branch Miners Memorial in Whitesville , West Virginia features a black granite monument with life-size silhouettes of 29 miners etched on the front
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Upper Big Branch Mine disaster