U.S. Department of Labor Honors Peabody's Farmersburg Mine as Safest U.S. Surface Mine

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 19  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The U.S. Department of Labor has presented Peabody Energy's Farmersburg Mine with its prestigious Sentinels of Safety Award for operating the nation's safest large coal mine in 2006. Peabody mines have earned the honor three of the past four years.

Farmersburg's 260 employees were recognized in the large U.S. surface mine category for working all of 2006 without a reportable accident.  Employees also operated more than one million hours and 19 months without a lost-time incident.  Located near Pimento, Ind., the Farmersburg Mine last year produced nearly four million tons of coal.  The mine is operated by Peabody's Black Beauty Coal Company unit.

"Leadership in safety starts with a clear vision and a personal commitment from every Peabody employee," said Peabody Energy President and Chief Executive Officer Gregory H. Boyce.  "Every shift and every activity at all of our operations is based on strong communications, best practices and safe operating procedures.  I'm proud of our employees for setting a standard of safety that is consistently recognized throughout the nation."

Peabody's safety vision is to achieve zero incidents of any kind.  The company achieved a new record of 2.82 incidents per 200,000 hours worked during the first half of 2007 and is on track to deliver its safest year.  The past two years have been Peabody's safest, and the company's results are typically better than the coal industry and other major U.S. industries.

Farmersburg joins Peabody award-winners Lee Ranch Mine in New Mexico and the North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Wyoming, which were recognized with Sentinels of Safety honors for performance in 2005 and 2003, respectively.

"Showcasing examples of good safety programs is very important," said Richard E. Stickler, Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Mine Safety and Health Administration. "Such recognition encourages safe operations to continue their best practices, and shows the rest of the mining industry that it is indeed possible to run safe mining operations every day of the year."

The Sentinels of Safety Award is the oldest safety award in the mining industry. The honor is co-sponsored by the National Mining Association and the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration and is presented to mines that achieve the fewest reportable accidents and the greatest number of employee work hours each year.

Peabody Energy is the world's largest private-sector coal company, with 2006 sales of 248 million tons of coal and $5.3 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel approximately 10 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and more than 2 percent of worldwide electricity.

  CONTACT
  Derrell Carter
  [phone]


DATASOURCE: Peabody Energy



CONTACT:  Derrell Carter of Peabody Energy, [phone]



Web site:  http://www.peabodyenergy.com/ 

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