CONSOL Energy's Wiley Surface Mine Earns Third R.E. Bailey Safety Award

PITTSBURGH, June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CONSOL Energy's (NYSE: CNX) Wiley Surface Mine in Mingo County, W.Va., recently celebrated the achievement of its third consecutive R.E. Bailey Safety Award during a dinner at the Chief Logan Lodge in Logan County, W. Va.

The company's 50 employees were honored for having achieved a milestone in safety by working another million hours without a lost-time accident. The stellar safety record had its origins 25 years ago in December 1986 when the last lost-time accident occurred at Wiley. With the million hours achieved in March 2011, the hours Wiley employees had worked without a lost-time accident totaled three million hours. Six original members of the Wiley team were recognized and presented with commemorative hard hats.

CONSOL Energy's R.E. Bailey Safety Award was established in 1977 to recognize operations recording one million hours without a lost-time accident. The Wiley Surface mine is the last CONSOL Energy mine to earn this award, which has since been retired and replaced by the J. Brett Harvey Safety Award.

"Winning the Bailey award three times," CONSOL Energy Vice President of Safety Lou Barletta told those gathered for the award presentation, "is unique and not something that has ever been achieved by any other CONSOL operation. This is not your first or second time, but your third time. I congratulate you for that." He concluded his remarks by challenging Wiley employees to keep safety at the forefront in all they do.

"Safety is our core value," said Central Appalachia Operations Vice President Jack Richardson. "Safety trumps everything. Period. This group has carried on that same belief for 25 years and it is an amazing story to look back through and to see they are still at zero."

Bart Hyita, CONSOL Energy Chief Operating Officer of Energy Operations, noted the keys to safety include communication and teamwork. "If you have a safe environment and safe people and you put them together, this is what happens," Hyita said.

CONSOL Energy Coal Operations Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Brock and Miller Creek Superintendent Keith Bartley also offered congratulatory remarks to members of the Wiley team. Representatives of the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the West Virginia Office of Mine Health, Safety and Training were also on hand to congratulate employees on their achievements.

Wiley Surface Mine is part of the Miller Creek Complex operated by CONSOL Energy's CONSOL of Kentucky subsidiary. In September 1991, the mine marked its first million hours worked without a lost-time accident; the second million hours was recorded in 2001.

Wiley Surface Mine produces steam coal. In calendar year 2010, the mine produced 560,302 tons. The coal is trucked to CONSOL Energy's Miller Creek Preparation Plant, where it is processed and shipped to customers.

CONSOL Energy Inc., the leading diversified fuel producer in the Eastern U.S., is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Equity Index and the Fortune 500. It has 11 bituminous coal mining complexes in five states and reports proven and probable coal reserves of 4.4 billion tons. It is also a leading Eastern U.S. gas producer, with proved reserves of over 3.7 trillion cubic feet. Additional information about CONSOL Energy can be found at its web site: www.consolenergy.com.

SOURCE CONSOL Energy Inc.