He was responding to a progress report submitted by the producer recently, one required under its settlement agreement with the US Attorney’s Office last December.

Goodwin said according to Alpha, accidents at operations it acquired from Massey last June had fallen by almost one-third and injuries were down almost 25%.

Specifically, the total reportable incident rate at former Massey mines fell from 5.74 in the quarter just after the acquisitions were made to 3.86 in the quarter after the agreement last December – a 32.8% drop.

Non-fatal days lost in the respective quarters dropped from 3.23 to 2.45, a decrease of 24%.

The office said since coming to the agreement, Alpha had paid more than $34 million in penalties which were incurred by the former Massey Energy – a record for federal penalties resolution.

Alpha also earmarked $US48 million for its research and development plans.

Goodwin confirmed the $18 million training facility Alpha announced earlier this year, known as the Running Right Leadership Academy, was under construction and expected to open next June.

The 126,000sq.ft building in Julian, West Virginia, will contain a 96,000sq.ft mine simulation laboratory for realistic miner training.

The facility will be open not only for Alpha miners but also to any operator wishing to take advantage of the facility for comprehensive training.

“The progress Alpha reported is a very positive beginning to our agreement,” Goodwin said.

He said Alpha also made “great strides” to address systematic issues it inherited in the takeover.

“The health and safety research foundation and the innovations in safety equipment under our agreement have the potential to create major improvements in mine safety, not just at Alpha but across the country … and the financial consequences of Massey’s behavior are a powerful reminder that cutting corners on safety is bad for business,” Goodwin said.

“There is still work to be done, as Alpha has acknowledged.

“But a lot’s been accomplished over the past six months and I look forward to another good report in December.”

Alpha busy with upgrades, improvements

While Alpha officials did not release a public statement following Goodwin’s announcement, the US attorney did outline several projects the producer had brought to fruition since signing its settlement deal.

For example, remedial safety maintenance was performed at all former Massey mines and the company added maintenance and safety staff at the operations.

Alpha also purchased digital explosibility meters, one of the recommendations made by an independent investigation panel following the UBB explosion in April 2010.

Rock dusting and clean-up plans for all its mines had been implemented, including former Massey complexes, as well as a monitoring system.

This month Alpha purchased its first cascading oxygen escape system and projected it would spend $10-12 million on the effort.

It retained a mine technology company to develop wireless sensors to monitor methane and would place the devices at all of its operations by next year.

“Alpha has hired a new director of regulatory compliance to focus exclusively on meeting health and safety standards,” Goodwin said of Alpha’s progress.

“Under the supervision of the [individual], Alpha has conducted safety compliance visits at all its underground mines.

“Those visits will be repeated at least every six months.”

The operator also re-engineered ventilation systems at the former Massey mines where it found a need for improvements and a similar re-tooling system was done to prevent roof falls.

The company’s Running Right program was implemented portfolio-wide, including at all former Massey complexes.

More than 4200 workers had been trained in identifying safety problems, proper examination techniques and leadership.

“Alpha also reported that it plans to meet the 2018 requirements for emergency refuge shelters several years earlier than required, pending [Mine Safety and Health Administration] approval,” Goodwin said.

“These upgrades include shelters that can withstand more powerful explosions and hotter temperatures and that have space for more miners.”