SEC Adopts Final Rules Governing Mine Safety Disclosure

On December 21, 2011, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) adopted the final rules to implement Section 1503 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Act) regarding certain mine safety disclosure requirements. Section 1503(a) of the Act requires issuers that are operators, or that have a subsidiary that is an operator, of a coal or other mine to disclose in their periodic reports filed with the SEC information regarding specified (i) health and safety violations, (ii) orders and citations, (iii) related assessments and legal actions, and (iv) mining-related fatalities. Section 1503(b) of the Act mandates the filing of a Form 8-K (Current Report) disclosing the receipt of certain shutdown orders and notices of patterns or potential patterns of violations from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (the MSHA). In general, the SEC decided not to adopt provisions in its proposed rules that would have expanded the required