PRICE, Utah, July 23, 2013 -- Arch Coal's Canyon Fuel Company subsidiary announced that its Sufco mine and Dugout Canyon's Castle Valley preparation plant received Utah state safety awards for best-in-class 2012 performance.

Sufco mine has been named 2012 Safe Operator of the Year among underground coal mines and Dugout Canyon's Castle Valley preparation plant has been named 2012 Safe Coal Processing Facility by the Utah State Labor Commission and Office of Coal Mine Safety (OCMS).

"Congratulations to Sufco and Castle Valley's employees for upholding our core values by running safe, responsible and efficient operations," said Kenneth D. Cochran, Arch's senior vice president of operations.

"Your safety record of zero accidents for 2012 is a great achievement in the coal industry and reflects your company's fine safety programs and training," Kent Houghton, director of Utah Coal Mine Safety, said in his congratulatory letter. "Thank you for being a leader in mine safety in the state of Utah."

In 2012, Sufco employees worked 593,557 hours with a total incident rate of zero, compared to the national underground average of 5.05 incidents per 200,000 employee-hours. Dugout Canyon's Castle Valley preparation plant has operated incident-free for more than six consecutive years.

Arch's Canyon Fuel Company is Utah's largest coal producer and a large state employer, with a workforce of more than 700. It operates the Dugout Canyon, Skyline and Sufco mines. Arch Coal recently announced a definitive agreement to sell its Canyon Fuel subsidiary to Bowie Resources. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2013.

U.S.-based Arch Coal, Inc. is one of the world's top coal producers for the global steel and power generation industries, serving customers in 25 countries on five continents. Its network of mining complexes is the most diversified in the United States, spanning every major coal basin in the nation. The company controls more than 5 billion tons of high-quality metallurgical and thermal coal reserves, with access to all major railroads, inland waterways and a growing number of seaborne trade channels.