CONSOL Energy Mines Receive State and Federal Safety Awards

PITTSBURGH, May. 12 /PRNewswire/ --

PITTSBURGH, May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Several CONSOL Energy mines received prestigious state and federal awards for safety performance during 2007 at ceremonies held this past weekend. For the third year in a row, McElroy Coal Company, a CONSOL Energy subsidiary, was recognized for its outstanding safety record in the large mine category.

McElroy Mine representatives accepted the certificate of achievement at the 25th annual West Virginia State Council of the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association at Oglebay Resort Conference Center in Wheeling, West Virginia. The Holmes Safety Association, an organization formed in 1916, and named after Dr. Joseph A. Holmes, a mining safety pioneer and the first director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, recognized McElroy Mine for outstanding service and contributions to mine safety and for an excellent safety record among underground mines producing more than 3 million tons of coal in 2007. McElroy Mine, which also won the award in 2006, produced 9.7 million tons in 2007, making it the largest underground mine in West Virginia and one of the largest in the nation. In addition, CONSOL's Robinson Run Mine in Marion County and Loveridge Mine in Monongalia County also received a Holmes Safety Award in the same category. Robinson Run produced 6.5 million tons in 2007, while Loveridge produced 6.6 during the same period. Robinson Run was also recently awarded the Liv Ireland Award. The award was named after a former CONSOL executive who was dedicated to safety and is given each year to the safest underground coal mine within the various CONSOL operations. For 2007, Robinson had an incident rate of 1.6, which translates into only 10 reportable accidents for the year.

In addition to underground mines, the Holmes Safety Awards panel also recognizes surface mines, preparation plants, quarries and independent contractors. In the surface mine category, the Fola Coal Company, a CONSOL Energy subsidiary, received honors for a company producing over 500,001 tons of coal, and in the prep plant division, Fola's Peach Orchard Prep Plant received honors.

Federal Mine Health and Safety Administration officials also presented the agency's Pacesetter Awards during the banquet. The Pacesetter Awards recognize mining operations that achieve the best injury-incidence rate of all underground coal mines and prep plants. CONSOL Energy operations receiving 2007 Pacesetter Awards included Robinson Run Mine, Lick Branch Mine #2 and Fola Coal Company's Peach Orchard Prep Plant and Loadout.

CONSOL Energy Inc., a high-Btu bituminous coal and coal bed methane company, is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Equity Index and has annual revenues of $3.7 billion. It has 17 bituminous coal mining complexes in six states and reports proven and probable coal reserves of 4.5 billion tons. CONSOL Energy was named one of America's most admired companies in 2005 by Fortune magazine. It received the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining National Award for Excellence in Surface Mining for the company's innovative reclamation practices in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Also in 2003, the company was listed in Information Week magazine's "Information Week 500" list for its information technology operations. In 2002, the company received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Climate Protection Award. Additional information about the company can be found at its web site: www.consolenergy.com.