Ten American coal and mineral mines have won annual awards from the US Department of the Interior (DOI) for their outstanding contributions to the environment, mine reclamation and community outreach. The awards were presented by officials from the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) in ceremonies hosted in Washington by the National Mining Association (NMA). The NMA and the US Department of Labor also recognised 20 mines for their outstanding safety record in 2008, awarding them with ‘Sentinels of Safety’.
“NMA is proud of these award winners for the commitment they have demonstrated to modern mining techniques and for the progress US mining has made in practicing sustainable mining in co-operation with local communities,” said NMA President and CEO Hal Quinn.
Bob Abbey, Director of the BLM, and Glenda Owens, Acting Director of OSM, presented the awards to winning operations selected by DOI judging panels. The two federal agencies sponsor the annual awards recognising the best environmental and reclamation practices throughout the year for coal and mineral mining.
This year’s winners featured reclamation projects that used innovative and best practices for controlling erosion and sedimentation and to enhance wildlife habitat on former coal mine sites. Reclamation activity included reforestation projects that promoted biodiversity and carbon sequestration. Another reclamation project winner reclaimed almost 26,325 ha for forest and pastureland. Since passage of the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) in 1977, post-mining reclamation in the US has become a built-in component of coal mining.
Other DOI awards recognised environmental outreach programs that provide valuable infrastructure and conservation services to local communities. One mining company won its ‘good neighbour’ outreach award, for its efforts in providing local teachers with hands-on training to help students better appreciate conservation practices. Other winners routinely sponsor mining tours for the public and support local sports teams in addition to inviting public scrutiny of surface mining operations.
The DOI began the environmental awards program for mining in 1986 with the OSM ‘Excellence in Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Award.’ A parallel program for abandoned mine land reclamation was launched in 1992. BLM first presented its mining awards in 2003 to recognise sustainable development practices that include five separate categories for environmental practices throughout the mining community.
The winners of the DOI’s annual Reclamation and Sustainable Mineral Development Awards are:
- BLM Hardrock Mineral Environmental Award – Kinross DeLamar mine, Owyhee County, Idaho
- BLM Hardrock Mineral Small Operator Award – Mike Pryce, Golden Eagle mine, White Pine County, Nevada
- BLM ‘Fix A Shaft Today Award (FAST)’ – Abandoned Mine Lands Unit, California Department of Conservation, Sacramento, California; and Nevada Operating Engineers Union, Joint Apprenticeship Committee for Northern Nevada, Reno, Nevada
- OSM National Awards – La Plata mine, San Juan Coal Company, New Mexico; Spring Creek mine, Spring Creek Coal LLC, Decker, Montana; Caballo mine, Peabody Energy, Campbell County, Wyoming; and Viking mine, Peabody Energy, Daviess County, Indiana
- OSM Director’s Award – Luminant Mining Company, Fairfield, Texas
- OSM Good Neighbor Awards – Gateway mine, Peabody Energy, Randolph County, Illinois; Patriot Surface mine, Patriot Coal LP, Henderson County, Kentucky and Red Hills mine, North American Coal, Choctaw County, Mississippi.
The ‘Sentinels of Safety,’ awarded annually to the nation’s safest mines with a minimum of 4,000 injury-free hours, this year went to six coal mines and 14 mineral mines chosen from ten different categories. “These award winners are among the safest mines found anywhere in the world and reflect proudly on the commitment the US mining community has made to constantly improve its safety record,” said Quinn. “Thanks to that commitment, US mines are on pace to establish a new record for mine safety in 2009.” Altogether, 85% of US mines operated in 2008 without a single lost-time injury; making it the safest year in the history of American mining.
“These award winners are leading by example, and they are leading the way to a safer mining industry,” said Joseph A. Main, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health. “Recognising these operations for outstanding safety programs shows the rest of the industry that it is possible to run mining operations safely every day of the year,” he added.
Sentinels of Safety winners are mines that have worked the most employee hours in each category without suffering a lost-time injury. A minimum of 4,000 hours without a lost-time accident is required for award consideration – a requirement met by many more mines than were award winners. The awards were initiated in 1925 by then Commerce Secretary, Herbert Hoover.
Award winners are chosen from categories that reflect the type and the size of mines, both surface and underground. Official safety figures maintained by MSHA indicate that since 2002, US coal and mineral mines have reduced the rate of fatal injuries by 13% and the rate of non-fatal injuries by 26%.
In recent years, NMA members have dedicated greater resources than ever to mine safety improvements, said Quinn. Coal and mineral companies have spent more than $800,000 in the past three years on advanced communications and safety gear, added dozens of new mine rescue teams, jointly sponsored research to examine new safety technology with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and established new industry-wide accident prevention programs targeting high-risk activities.
The 2008 Sentinels of Safety Awards winners in all categories are as follows:
Large Company Award winners:
- Coal Processing Facility – Chess Processing, Elk Run Coal Company of Massey Energy; Sylvester, West Virginia.
- Surface Coal – Surface mine #2, Fola Coal Co of CONSOL Energy; Bickmore, West Virginia
- Underground Coal – Dominion #36, Dominion Coal Corp; Whitewood, Virginia
- Bank or Pit – ISP Granule Products; Ione, California
- Dredge – Briggs plant, Fordyce Holdings; Victoria, Texas
- Metal-Nonmetal Mill – Edgar plant, BASF Catalysts; McIntyre, Georgia
- Open Pit – Dry Valley mine, URS Washington Division; Soda Springs, Idaho
- Quarry – Three Rivers quarry, Martin Marietta Materials; Smithland, Kentucky
- Underground Metal – Barrick Cortez, Cortez Joint Venture of Barrick Gold; Crescent Valley, Nevada
- Underground Nonmetal – The Detroit salt mine, Detroit Salt Co; Detroit, Michigan.
Small Company Award winners:
- Coal Processing Facility – Chesterfield Prep plant, Omar Mining Company of Massey Energy; Madison, West Virginia
- Surface Coal – North Surface mine, Alex Energy, of Massey Energy; Holden, West Virginia
- Underground Coal – Clas #4, Clas Coal Company; Kite, Kentucky
- Bank or Pit – Big Red Dirt Farm; Fayetteville, Arkansas
- Dredge – Garland Aggregate, IA Construction-Garland; Franklin, Pennsylvania
- Metal-Nonmetal Mill – Dixie Lee quarry, Vulcan Construction Materials; Concord, Tennessee
- Open Pit – Kaufman-George pit, New NGC of National Gypsum Corp; Fort Dodge, Iowa
- Quarry – South Ridge Granite Quarries; Comer, Georgia
- Underground Metal – Resolution mine, Resolution Copper Mining of Rio Tinto; Superior, Arizona
- Underground Nonmetal – New York mine, Imerys Marble; Marble Hill, Georgia.
