Utah coal mine said that it has been forced to shut down major operations a third time in the past two weeks in an escalating safety dispute with federal regulators.

The West Ridge mine near Price was operating a longwall mining machine by remote control but said regulators asked it to stop, disassemble the machinery and skip a section of the coal panel.

UtahAmerican Energy Inc a subsidiary of Ohio based Murray Energy Corp said that miners are now out of work in a standoff over the best way to proceed in a mine troubled by mountain bounces.

A bounce is a seismic jolt that can propel lethal chunks of coal inside a mine, but the company said the Jan. 31 injury that intensified federal scrutiny was caused by a foreman losing his balance and falling down and not the result of being hit by a burst of coal. Since then, the Mine Safety and Health Administration has twice ordered the longwall operation shut down, forcing the layoff of miners each time.

After the second order, the company said it voluntarily agreed to operate the machinery by remote control, but that step failed to satisfy regulators. UtahAmerican said it had to lay off miners a third time, but didn't say how many were put out of work, or what day that happened.

(Sourced from forbes.com)