By: Brittany Mitrick, Janette Bolan, Laura Capobianco, Marissa Diem and Andrea Reilly

International Coal Group Inc.

The Sago Mine Crisis

Formerly known as Horizon Natural Resources, ICG was bought at an auction in 2003 by Wilbur L. Ross for $786 million.

CEO- Ben HatfieldServices span from Northern to Central

Appalachia. Operates 13 different mining complexes. Non-Union CompanyPublicly traded within theNYSE.

International Coal Group, Inc.

January 2, 2006Lightening caused an explosion

in the Sago Mine and trapped 13 miners.

Miscommunication from mine to control center.

January 3rd- rumors that all 13 miners were found alive.

CEO Ben Hatfield didn’t address the media until the early hours of January 4th to put an end to the rumor.

The Crisis

Ignored safety violations – cited with 208 safety violations in the previous year, 16 of which were considered serious violations.

No effective crisis communication plan.

Prodromes

Enabling Publics: Governor Joe Manchin, other government officials and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

Functional Publics: fellow mine workers at ICG.

Normative Publics: Family and friends of the miners involved in the tragic incident.

Diffused Publics: Media and general public.

Target Audiences

Two types of people within the organization:Corporate Executives/BusinessmenMiners

Change of ControlBillionaire Wilbur Ross take over in 2005

Corporate Culture

Ignored ProdromesNo Crisis PlanNo Public Relations Strategy“Crisis within in a Crisis”

Preparation (or Unpreparedness…)

To rescue the miners.

To inform about the rescue process.

Objectives

Cultivation Theory- The Sago Mine disaster was compared to the miracle at Quecreek in Pennsylvania.All 9 of the trapped miners were rescued.Created a false hope for the families of the

Sago miners.

Crisis Communication Theories

Image Restoration Theory- created the Sago Mine Fund as a way to fix their mistake of misinforming the public.

Apologia Theory- ICG should have offered a full apology for the mistake and taken full responsibility for their mistakes.

Crisis Communications Theories

Credibility- Lost all credibility when the false information was released. People questioned the ethics of ICG after the long amount of time before correcting their mistake.

Control- Had no control of the flow of information.

Compassion- Lack of compassion for the families of the miners.

Three C’s

Took Corrective Action by creating the Sago Mine Fund

Made an initial donation of $2 million.Should have offered a full apology for the

miscommunication.Hired Dix and Eaton.

Communication Strategies

Wanted to rescue miners safely.Stressed that their goal everyday is to get

their employees home safely.Offered sympathy to the families of the

trapped miners.Safety is their number one priority.

Key Messages

Ben Hatfield, the President and CEO of ICG released a statement saying, “This has been the most tragic period of my life. Our goal is always to see that our people get home safely each day and we will redouble our efforts to make sure that a tragedy like this never occurs again. Our management is working diligently with the government investigators to learn the cause of the explosion and we will report all findings in the hope that lessons learned here may help prevent similar problems at other mines. No amount of explanation can replace a loved one, nor can the Sago Mine Fund, but our fervent hope is that this will help. I reiterate the deep sympathy I have already expressed to the families. We regard our miners as part of our extended family and hope that many people will express their sorrow by contributing to the Fund."

Key Messages

Always speak with one voice.Spokesperson should remain empathetic but

not too emotional.Take corrective action.Constantly evaluating the companies’

communication and have a crisis communication plan ahead of time.

Recovery/Learning

Closed Sago Mine due to “ineffective mining” but now…

ICG is the leading producer of coal in Northern and Central Appalachia. It has grown from 11 to 13 mining complexes since the Sago Mine disaster in 2006.

According to ICG’s yearly report, the companies earnings last year were $211.1 million and is projected to sell over 16 million tons of coal by the end of 2011.

Where ICG is Now

“ICG operations worked the entire year without a lost time accident. ICG’s Non-Fatal-Days-Lost (NFDL) injury incident rate was 21 percent lower than the equivalent national industry average. Our goal is a continuous year-over-year improvement in our safety performance.”

February 7, 2011 ICG announced that 4 of its mining operations received the prestigious Mountaineer Guardian Award for outstanding safety performance in 2010 from the West Virginia of Miners’ Heath, Safety and Training and the West Virginia Coal Association.

Where ICG is Now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANXVY4ORTPQ