The four-time winner Kingston No.1 Mine is managed by Foundation’s affiliate Kingston Resources.
Jim Bryja, senior vice president of operations for Foundation Coal, was pleased the mine was again chosen to receive the honour. “Receipt of the Mountaineer Guardian award underscores Foundation’s commitment to maintaining safe operations above all else,” he said. “I applaud the efforts of the Kingston No.1 employees who have earned this award four years out of the last five.”
The Kingston No.1 safety statistics reflect their outstanding efforts. According to Kingston Mining president Dale Birchfield, it had a lost time incidence rate of 0.89 in 2004 and total reportable incidence rate of 2.67. He added that the mine had only one lost-time injury last year, ending a streak of 639 consecutive days without.
The Mountaineer Guardian safety award was previously given to Kingston No.1 Mine in 2000, 2001, and 2002. The mine was also honoured with the Sentinel of Safety award in 1998 and 1999, and was a runner-up last year. Foundation Coal operates a total of nine underground mines and four surface mines in the Powder River Basin, Northern Appalachia, Central Appalachia and the Illinois Basin
The Mountaineer Guardian safety award was first given in 1983 to promote the advancement of safety in West Virginia coal fields, and has included the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training inspection staff as part of its selection process since 1997. The distinction has successfully heightened safety awareness and helped to reduce West Virginia mining accidents as a whole, according to the National Mining Association.
Offered to only the most safety-minded mining and mining-related companies, the conferment follows a rigorous protocol of safety criteria that must be met for consideration. Among the examined factors: fatality-free operations management, a minimal number of safety violations, prominent and superb safety programs and the level of the facility’s cooperative teaming efforts with authorities.
