The US Department of Interior has honoured Arch Coal subsidiary Coal-Mac with one of America’s top  environmental awards of the year. Coal-Mac was recognised with a 2010 National Award for Excellence in Surface Mining for exhibiting exemplary environmental care for the construction of its Duty Branch overland conveyor belt line and adjacent slurry pumping project.

The conveyor transports nearly 3 Mt/y of coal annually to the rail loadout, eliminating the need for trucking on public roads and reducing the use of diesel fuel. The newly constructed 11.3 km slurry pipe line includes multi-walled pipe and a fibre optic system that enables real-time monitoring and flow control to help ensure environmental protection.

“Coal-Mac’s excellence has earned the respect of the Interior Department and our peers,” said Arch’s Chairman and CEO Steven F. Leer. “I applaud the employees of Coal-Mac for being recognised for their excellence in environmental stewardship again and again. The enduring results are a testament to their achievement.”

Coal-Mac is located near Holden, West Virginia, and employs approximately 300 people. In the past five years, the employees of Coal-Mac have received 11 national and state awards for environmental stewardship, including the US Department of Interior’s National Good Neighbor Award.