Handed out by the WMA and the state mining inspector, the awards honour the mines with the lowest accident frequency rates each year.

Rawhide took the first place award for surface mine safety in the small mines category for its 1.33 incident rate per 200,000 hours worked in 2008. For the year, the 230-worker mine produced a total of 18.4 million tons.

Taking second place for surface mine safety in the large mines division was Peabody’s 420-worker Cabello complex.

In 2008, Cabello’s staff produced 31Mt and worked more than 927,000 hours without a lost-time injury. Its final incident rate of 0.66 was almost 60% better than the national average for mines of the same type.

"Both mines are setting the pace in our pursuit of the ultimate vision: zero incidents of any kind," Peabody executive vice-president Eric Ford said.

Peabody marked its safest year on record in 2008 with a total incident rate of 1.7 per 200,000 hours worked, and took home a total of 11 safety awards during the year.

It is the second time in five years that Cabello and Rawhide have earned the state’s safety honours.