HINDMAN, Ky. (AP) - A Knott County miner was killed Tuesday when the highwall of a surface mine collapsed on him as he operated a drill, a state official said.

The body of Jason Mosley, 28, of Hindman, was recovered about 11 a.m. at the Hendrickson Equipment Inc., Smith Branch No. 1 mine near Hindman, said Chuck Wolfe, spokesman for the Office of Mine Safety and Licensing.

The OMSL district office in Hazard was dispatched by Kentucky State Police about an hour earlier. A new state law that went into effect July 12 requires coal companies to directly notify state mine safety officials within 15 minutes of a fatality or life-threatening agency.

"Whether this was in compliance with the new law is something that will be addressed in the investigation," Wolfe said.

He said state investigators were evaluating the scene Tuesday afternoon, but further information was not immediately released.

The mine had been inspected twice by the state since it began operations in October 2005. It was cited for faulty equipment in December and June and lack of emergency supplies in December.

The U.S. Mine safety and Health Administration also cited the mine 10 times, most recently in June for equipment violations and allowing loose, hazardous material to accumulate atop pits and highwalls.

The owner of the mine, Leonard Hendrickson, was not available at his Hindman office Tuesday, according to a woman who identified herself as his wife. She declined to comment further.

Mosley was the 13th mining fatality in Kentucky this year. The largest disaster occurred at a Harlan County mine, where five men were killed in an underground explosion in May.