Press Releases

Peabody Energy today announced that its Farmersburg and Francisco mines in Indiana have earned President's Awards for achieving the company's best safety results for surface and underground operations in 2008 and contributing to Peabody's best safety performance in its 125-year history.

Peabody improved its global safety rate 30 percent in 2008, and its U.S. mines achieved a record 1.70 incidence rate per 200,000 hours worked, outperforming the industry average by nearly 60 percent. It is far safer to work at a Peabody mine than to work in retail, agriculture, forestry, construction or manufacturing.

The Farmersburg Mine's 260 employees were recognized for finishing 2008 with a record of zero reportable incidents. This compares to the 2008 national average for surface coal mines of 1.33 incidents per 200,000 hours worked. Farmersburg has a long tradition of safety excellence and was recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor in 2007 for operating the nation's safest large coal mine. Located near Pimento, Ind., Farmersburg produced more than 3 million tons of coal in 2008.

Employees at the Francisco Mine achieved the best underground safety record in 2008, earning the President's Award for the third consecutive year. The mine achieved a 2.52 safety rate, a 44 percent improvement over the 2008 industry average for underground coal mines. Located in Gibson County near Francisco, Ind., the mine has more than 120 employees and shipped approximately 1.5 million tons of coal in 2008.

"I am proud of our employees at the Farmersburg and Francisco mines for setting a standard in safety that is recognized throughout the nation," said Peabody President and Chief Commercial Officer Rick Navarre. "These mines show what we can do when employees believe in themselves and make a personal commitment to safety."

The President's Award for Safety was established to recognize excellence in safety toward Peabody's goal of zero incidents of any kind.

Peabody Energy is the world's largest private-sector coal company, with 2008 sales of 256 million tons and $6.6 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel 10 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and 2 percent of worldwide electricity.

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SOURCE: Peabody Energy