The Dugout Canyon and Sufco mines, operated by Canyon Fuel Company and recently sold by Arch to Bowie Resources, were recognized for their spotless 2012 safety records among industry peers in the RMCMI's eight-state region.

According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, whose standards are used to measure mine performance, the national underground coal safety average is 5.05 lost-time incidents per 200,000 employee hours.

Both mines reported zero lost-time incidents in 2012.

Dugout Canyon collected the award for small underground mines, achieving a perfect safety record across the 239,763 employee hours worked. It is the second consecutive year that Dugout has won the award.

Sufco took the award among large underground mines for a staggering 593,557 employees hours worked without a reportable incident.

"The employees of Sufco and Dugout truly deserve this recognition for their unwavering commitment to operating safely," Arch Western Bituminous Group president Gene DiClaudio said.

"Congratulations to our employees for operating a safe and productive workplace."

Canyon Fuel Company is Utah's largest coal producer, with a workforce of more than 700.

It operates the active Sufco and Skyline longwall mines as well as the Dugout Canyon room and pillar operation.

In perhaps the most significant deal in some time during the nation’s tough coal market, Arch Coal sold the three Canyon Fuel operations to privately held Bowie Resources in a $435 million deal earlier this month.