Jez Lowe has written some dandy coal mining songs: Black Diamonds is fun to sing - Cindy Mangsen does a great version of it on Songlines & she covers the above mentioned West Virginia Mine Disaster on Long Time Traveling. I believe there are more Jez Lowe mining songs, but I likely have them on cassette & not CD and can't pull them up like the goodies on my iPod.

John Prine's Paradise is more about the after effects of coal mining, than the work itself.

Rick Fielding singing Pitman Blues on Lifeline - don't know whose song is but properly dismal:
"down in the mine
you're chalking up your time
on the back of a tombstone kid
don't you bother saving for your old age
if you do like your old man did"

Craig Johnson's Way Down the Road covered by Sally Rogers & Claudia Schmidt on Closing the Distance is lovely and a pleasure to sing along with, despite the sadness of it.

Draglines is one where the melody seems much more chipper than the lyrics

Joanne in Cleveland