Black Diamond blasting planned in Sandy Ridge District for a year

Blasting in Sandy Ridge District is set to continue for a full year just southwest of Isaban, where The Black Diamond Company says work under Surface Mine Permit S-3004-20 may run Monday through Saturday from sunrise to sunset, with no Sunday blasting.

The notice places the permit area about 5.75 miles southwest of Isaban and says blasting begins May 15, 2026, then continues through May 15, 2027. It lists The Black Diamond Company at 2020 North Park Drive, Suite 1A, Johnson City, Tennessee 37604, and gives the company phone number as 423-279-6900.

For nearby residents, the schedule is more than a legal formality. Blasting can mean noise, vibration, dust and short disruptions on roads that already run close to homes, churches, small businesses and creek bottoms in this part of McDowell County. Federal surface-mining rules generally require blasting schedule notices to be mailed to residents within one-half mile of blasting, and homeowners within one-half mile of permit boundaries can request a pre-blast survey of their home. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection says it enforces state and federal environmental laws in West Virginia and keeps public permit and mapping tools available.

That matters in a place like Isaban, where the coalfield footprint still shapes daily life. The community was originally known as Hardy, and the Isaban coal camp was built by the Hardy Coal Company in 1923. The surrounding Williamson coalfield has long linked employment, land use and transportation to mining activity, which makes each new blasting notice part of the local balance between industrial work and neighborhood routines.

McDowell County knows that tension better than most. In 1920, the county had 68,571 residents and ranked as West Virginia’s third-most populous county. By 2025, its estimated population had fallen to 16,878. That long decline has not erased coal mining from the county map; it has made every permit notice more visible, because fewer people and fewer institutions are left to absorb the impact when blasting, truck traffic and industrial noise return.

The Black Diamond Company is not a new player in the region’s corporate history. Virginia records show the company was incorporated in 1957 and was formerly known as Wellmore Coal Corporation, while West Virginia business filings show it registered in the state in 2018. In Sandy Ridge District, the notice signals another year in which blasting will be part of the landscape, with residents watching the clock from sunrise to sunset.