Massey Energy Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Don Blankenship, who has been with the company for 30 years, would be placed by President Baxter Phillips Jr., who will take the CEO post, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Saturday.

In April, 29 miners were killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. The company is also facing safety issues at a mine in Kentucky, where officials have sought a court order to close operations due to safety violations.

In a statement, Blankenship said, "After almost three decades at Massey, it is time for me to move on."

But a former federal Mine Safety and Heath Administration official Tony Oppegard said, "I have never seen any indication that Mr. Blankenship was considering retiring. But they've been losing a lot of money and getting a lot of bad press, so I guess no one's immune."

Oppegard said, "I hope (the change) results in safer working conditions … someone with a stronger commitment to mine safety than Mr. Blankenship had."

Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).