The most recent accolades go to Arch Coal, which announced that mine rescue teams from two of its subsidiaries captured top honors at the 2013 Harlan County Safety Days event in Kentucky.

Arch’s Cumberland River Coal Blue Team was named overall grand champion, while Arch's Lone Mountain Processing team took second place.

Eighteen teams from around the country competed in the annual mine rescue competition.

"These competitions provide valuable practice for our miners," Arch Coal eastern operations president Charles Snavely said.

"When competing against some of the finest mine rescue teams in the country, winning the top two awards is extremely gratifying and it is further proof of the focus employees have on safety excellence."

The company also had four individual winners in the pre-shift, first aid, mine rescue and combination contests.