The Scotia Mine began operating in 1962 and was a subsidiary of the Blue Diamond Coal Company. The mine was located in the Oven Fork Community of Letcher County, about fourteen miles northeast of the town of Cumberland (Harlan County, Kentucky).The Scotia Mine was originally opened into the Imboden coalbed. In 1975, an additional opening in the form of a concrete lined 13+1⁄2 foot diameter shaft, 376 feet deep. The lining of the shaft was completed July 21, 1975, and work was begun to install an automatic elevator. On March 9, 1976, the construction had not yet been completed and the shaft was being used only as an intake air opening. Of 310 employees, 275 worked underground on two coal producing shifts and one maintenance shift per day, 5 days a week. Approximately 2,500 tons of coal were produced daily on six active sections, consisting of five continuous mining sections and one conventional mining section.The last federal inspection of the Scotia Mine was completed on February 27, 1976. On March 8, 1976, on the evening shift, a Federal Coal Mine Inspector conducted a Health and Safety Technical Inspection.