Peabody Energy's El Segundo Mine Honored as Safest Surface Mine in New Mexico

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --  The New Mexico State Mine Inspector has recognized Peabody Energy with three of the state's highest honors for safety excellence at the company's El Segundo Mine. The Inspector named El Segundo the safest surface operation in New Mexico and recognized the mine workforce with two additional major awards for outstanding safety performance.  

The workforce of approximately 230 at El Segundo earned the Surface Coal Safe Operator of the Year Award for operating from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010 – more than 400,000 work hours – without a reportable incident.

In addition, the team received both the Safety and Health Innovator and Rescue Response awards. The honors were jointly presented by the State Mine Inspector and the New Mexico Mining Association.

"Congratulations to the workforce at El Segundo for setting a standard that has been applauded by our peers and top mining authorities in New Mexico," said Eric Ford, Peabody Energy Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "The health and safety of our employees guides us in all we do, and the team at El Segundo is living our safety vision of zero incidents of any kind."

The Rescue Response Award honors individuals and groups employed at New Mexico mines for demonstrating excellent first aid, first responder or rescue skills in an emergency. Five members of the El Segundo emergency response team – Jeff Cook, Teddy Gonzales, Allen Jaramillo, Charles Ortega and James Francis – were recognized for their response to revive a 24-year-old contract archaeologist after she was struck by lightning while working on mine property in July 2009.

The El Segundo team also received the Safety and Health Innovator Award for a communication program designed to reinforce key drivers of safety best practices and safety alerts via signage in high-traffic locations.

Awards were presented at the New Mexico Mining Association Convention in September. El Segundo Mine, located in Northwest New Mexico, opened in 2008. The mine shipped 5.1 million tons of coal in 2009. Peabody's operations in New Mexico repeatedly have received recognition as the safest in the state, earning this distinction nearly a dozen times, as well as in the nation.

Peabody Energy achieved the safest year in its 126-year history in 2009, marking a 21 percent improvement in its global safety rate. Worldwide, Peabody has earned more than two dozen awards for safety, financial leadership, stewardship and good neighbor practices over the past two years.

Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) is the world's largest private-sector coal company and a global leader in clean coal solutions. With 2009 sales of 244 million tons and $6 billion in revenues, Peabody fuels 10 percent of U.S. power and 2 percent of worldwide electricity.

SOURCE Peabody Energy