Coal companies can't find enough qualified people to become deep miners, especially in Appalachia

Coal companies continue to have difficulty finding qualified miners, and with prices and exports at an all-time high, government data shows underground mines will have to hire 17,000 miners by 2018 to keep up with demand. Salaries can climb into six figures with overtime, but many young people have been steered away from the profession by family members and fear of early death or serious injury. (Photo by Stephen Wilkes, GalleryStock)

Appalachian mines are having the hardest time recruiting new miners, reports Mario Parker of Bloomberg Businessweek. The region will lose many of its current miners to retirement as an increasing number of baby boomers are hanging up their hard hats. Consol Energy, Appalachia's No. 2 coal producer, is preparing to lose over half its employees to retirement, spokeswoman Michelle Buczkowski told Parker. She said many young people don't want to accept a life of hard work underground that requires them to be responsible for the lives of their co-workers. Drug use in some coal-mining areas is also limiting recruitment of qualified individuals.

Filling the hiring gap is becoming a pressing issue for companies since U.S. coal exports could reach 99 million tons this year, and according to Energy Department figures, the global consumption of coal will continue to climb to 209 quadrillion British thermal units by 2035. However, young people from Appalachia are more willing to take a job that pays far less than mining because they think the risks outweigh the benefits. As Logan, W. Va., teen Deyonta Coleman said about taking an underground mining job: "I might die on the first day." (Read more)