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ST. LOUIS, Feb. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Peabody Energy announced that its Cottage Grove Mine in Southern Illinois has earned both the Chairman's Award and the President's Award for achieving the company's safest U.S. performance for surface operations in 2014.

The Chairman's Award for Safety Excellence recognizes employees at operations who end a calendar year with zero reportable incidents.  The award was created in 2013 and employees at Cottage Grove have earned the award two consecutive years. 

As a three-time winner of the President's Award, Cottage Grove achieved the best safety performance for Peabody Energy surface mines in 2012, 2013 and 2014.  Employees have operated free of a reportable incident since July 2011. Cottage Grove employees worked more than 437,500 hours in 2014. Cottage Grove is located in Saline County, Ill. and has a workforce of approximately 200.

"Cottage Grove shows an excellent example of a long-term commitment to excellence in safety," said Peabody Energy - Americas President Kemal Williamson. "Our goal is for all workers to go home safely each day, and Cottage Grove employees have consistently met that benchmark for 41 months. I am very proud of their achievement and commitment to safety. Honoring the team with these two awards is our way of thanking them for what they achieve each day in the workplace." 

Strong communication and looking out for one another are hallmarks of the safety culture at Cottage Grove. John Keller, Operations Manager at Cottage Grove, credited his team's success to strong camaraderie and a commitment to safety innovation. "The awards bring recognition for what I witness every day amongst our workforce," said Keller. "Our team prides itself on safety both in the workplace, at home, and in our communities."  He expressed appreciation to the miners and support staff at Cottage Grove for their safety success. "We have a great team at Cottage Grove. Our workers take care of one another like family."

Globally, Peabody achieved a 1.44 safety incidence rate per 200,000 hours worked, driving the best safety performance in the company's 132-year history.

Peabody Energy is the world's largest private-sector coal company and a global leader in sustainable mining, energy access and clean coal solutions. The company serves metallurgical and thermal coal customers in more than 25 countries on six continents. Peabody was named Energy Company of the Year at the 2014 Platts Global Energy Awards. For further information, visit PeabodyEnergy.com and AdvancedEnergyForLife.com.

CONTACT:
Charlene Murdock
(307) 687-3987

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SOURCE Peabody Energy