Press Releases

Eastern Associated Coal's Federal No. 2 Mine and Harris Plant Group have earned the 2005 Barton B. Lay Jr. Milestones of Safety Award and Mountaineer Guardian Award, respectively, for outstanding safety performance. The awards were presented by the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training. Eastern Associated is a Peabody Energy subsidiary.

The Barton B. Lay Jr. Award is the foremost award in West Virginia mine safety, presented annually to a mining operation that exhibits a visible and highly successful safety program. The Mountaineer Guardian Award recognizes mining operations that have achieved high productivity rates while maintaining exemplary safety rates. Award winners are nominated by the state of West Virginia.

"Safety is a core value for all of us, and we're pleased to be recognized among our peers for our continued commitment to safety," said Blair McGill, Operations Manager at Federal No. 2 Mine. "We value input from the state, which helps us continually evaluate and improve our safety practices as we work toward Peabody's ultimate goal of zero incidents."

The success at Federal No. 2 and the Harris Plant Group embody Peabody's Safety ... A Way of Life program that reinforces a constant focus on the fundamentals for best practices, excellence in training and strong communications.

Located near Fairview, Federal No. 2 employs about 400 workers and shipped more than 4 million tons of coal last year. The Harris Plant Group, located near Wharton, has about 75 employees who last year processed more than 2 million tons of coal. Harris has also gone more than four years without a reportable injury.

Peabody Energy is the world's largest private-sector coal company, with 2005 sales of 240 million tons of coal and $4.6 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel more than 10 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and 3 percent of worldwide electricity.

The use of the words "Peabody," "the company" and "our" relate to Peabody, our subsidiaries and our majority owned affiliates.

  CONTACT:
  Beth Sutton
  (505) 287-2636

SOURCE: Peabody Energy