Massey subsidiary Aracoma Coal's Alma and Hernshaw operations, as well as its Green Valley preparation plant, will receive the awards formally at a ceremony May 9 in West Virginia, part of the state's Joseph A Holmes conference.

Aracoma logged no lost-time accidents through 2007, ending the year with an NFDL (non-fatal days lost) rate of 0.00 in over 574,000 hours of work logged by workers.

Green Valley Prep employees marked 64,000 hours without a lost-time accident during the same period, also closing the year with a 0.00 NFDL.

“Safety is our top priority at Massey, and we are pleased that MSHA has again recognised our members’ unwavering commitment to working safely every day," said Massey chairman Don Blankenship.

“Our Aracoma members had a very difficult year after the tragedy in 2006, but they responded by pulling together to create a culture of safety … [and] all of us at Massey Energy are proud of the accomplishments of the members at Green Valley and Aracoma.”

The Aracoma operation also received the company's annual Bradbury Safety Award last month at a ceremony in Charleston that celebrated the achievements of the operator's mines.

Officials for Massey said the two crews' records helped the producer to mark its safest year ever in 2007, with a final NFDL rate of 2.05 versus an industry average of 3.31.