OREANDA-NEWS. October 04, 2016. Arch Coal, Inc. announced today its Vindex Energy’s Wolf Den Run mine recently earned the prestigious Sentinels of Safety Award for outstanding safety performance in 2015 among small-scale surface coal mines.

In 2015, Wolf Den employees worked 27,552 hours with a lost-time incident rate of zero. Wolf Den has operated for more than three years without a safety incident. Its last and only, recordable incident occurred in December 2012.

“Commitment to safety and environmental protection make up the strong foundation of our operating philosophy,” said John W. Eaves, Arch’s chief executive officer. “We drive that message home to our employees every day through a number of initiatives, and awards such as this one recognize their dedicated efforts. We congratulate each Wolf Den employee for achieving this national recognition, and we applaud their strong commitment to safe and responsible mining practices.”

The Sentinels of Safety Awards, sponsored annually by NMA, recognize the nation’s safest mines. The awards are given to coal and mineral mining operations in 10 categories for recording the most hours in a calendar year without a lost-time injury. A minimum of 4,000 hours are required for award consideration. The award categories reflect the safety accomplishments of both small and large mines, mills and preparation plants.

Sentinels of Safety awards were initiated in 1925 by then-Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover and remain the nation's most prestigious awards for recognizing safety in coal, metal and nonmetal mines. More information on the Sentinels of Safety awards and categories is posted at www.nma.org.

In 2015, Arch posted company-best performance in safety and environmental compliance, with subsidiary operations earning top state honors for these core operating values in Colorado, West Virginia and Wyoming. Arch subsidiary operations and facilities have earned a total of nine Sentinels of Safety awards since 2002.

U.S.-based Arch Coal, Inc. is a top coal producer for the global steel and power generation industries, reliably serving customers worldwide. Its network of large-scale, low-cost mining complexes and high-quality metallurgical and thermal reserves are located in the most strategic coal supply basins in the United States. For more information, visit www.archcoal.com.