Southern Minerals files blasting notice for McDowell County permit S400307

Southern Minerals, Inc. filed a blasting notice for McDowell County permit S400307, putting another round of mining oversight on the public record and signaling that blasting-related activity may continue around the permit area. The notice listed the company at P.O. Box 770, Bluefield, WV 24701, and was filed under the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Mining and Reclamation.

For people living near active mine sites, the notice matters because blasting can affect the rhythm of daily life far beyond the permit boundary. State guidance requires operators to offer a pre-blast survey to every resident and owner of a building within the pre-blast survey radius, a step meant to document the condition of nearby structures before blasting begins. West Virginia law also requires site-specific blast plans that limit the type of explosive and detonating equipment, along with the size, timing and frequency of blasts, to prevent injury and property damage and minimize dust. The state’s blasting rules also require the plan to set limits for ground vibration and airblast.

Earlier filings tied to the same permit placed S400307 in Big Creek District of McDowell County, about 0.6 miles southwest of Cucumber. Another prior notice said blasting would occur in Big Creek District about 1.00 mile south of Warriormine. Those details put the permit in a part of the county where even small changes in drilling, hauling and blasting can be felt on nearby roads and around homes closest to the site.

The permit also sits within a larger mining footprint. A renewal notice said Southern Minerals had a permit on file for surface mining of approximately 413.77 acres tied to S400307. In 2024, the company also filed an operator-assignment application for the permit to Skyway Strip, Inc., showing the operation has already moved through ownership or operating changes.

Southern Minerals has continued to file other mining notices in McDowell County as well. In 2026, the company sought inactive status for permit S400909 near Welch in Browns Creek District, and a separate blasting notice covered permits S400909 and S401809 in Browns District about 1.3 miles southwest of Welch. Taken together, the filings show an active regulatory footprint across multiple parts of the county, where blasting notices remain one of the clearest signs that mining work is still moving forward under state oversight.