The three-day event wrapped with a strong agenda of industry experts and topics, including keynote speaker West Virginia governor Joe Manchin, who spoke on the state of the state.
"We can't settle for anything less than zero fatalities," Manchin stressed as he took the podium the second day of the symposium.
"Excellence is not an act, but a habit," he added, reminding the industry crowd that the greatest value in mining is the human value.
He also recalled a trip to China he made late last year with a collection of coal industry representatives to gather and share information on mine safety and technology. Manchin said it was vital that the Chinese officials knew the state and nation wanted to find "common solutions" to improve safety.
"We sent a message that we are serious about safety," he said, adding that the two now have open dialogue on safety and new clean coal technology.
Another highlight of the symposium was a presentation by US Mine Safety and Health Administration acting assistant secretary Richard Stickler, who provided an update on the agency's regulatory changes and MINER Act implementation.
Stickler's proclaimed that the agency is "firmly on target" to reach its goal of 100% federal inspection completion rate for its first fiscal quarter ended January 1.
While the preliminary data is still being collected, he told media he felt "pretty confident" that the mark would be hit, the first time in six years the agency has had complete coverage.
The agency's abilities and capabilities to review the nation's total 731 underground mines will be impacted by groups of inspector trainees that continue to graduate from its academy in Beaver, West Virginia, Stickler added.
With 263 enforcement personnel hired, its net gain after expected retirements would be about 177.
Kentucky Coal Association president Bill Caylor also took the stage on the final day of the symposium, happy to announce a record marked by the state in 2007 - zero underground fatalities and two surface deaths, the lowest in Kentucky history.
While two fatalities is two too many, he pointed to recently-enforced mine safety regulations, including a drug-testing program, for the positive direction.
Overall, last year was marked by several issues, including increased costs incurred by mines for training and equipment to comply with the MINER Act. Those expenditures had a "big impact", as did heightened public opposition to mining in light of global warming talks and industry accidents.
He also touched on the outlook for US coal, where numbers were up in the west while down in the east. The only exception was the Illinois Basin, where production was up 3.5 million tons, or about 3.7%.
While the region is enjoying new and larger operations and lower transportation costs, eastern mines face shorter seams, more complex geology and smaller mines.
While there was an overall drop in US coal-producing regions, even the Powder River Basin, in 2007 Caylor said the situation began improving with numbers rebounding as the year ended.
As the event wrapped, it awarded its Mountaineer Guardian awards, 2007 Barton B Lay Jr Milestones of Safety Award - which went to Consolidation Coal Company's Robinson Run Mine - and its Environmental awards and Greenlands Award 2007, which was given to ICG Eastern's Birch River Mine Complex.
While the Association said it can not confirm the dates for next year's symposium, it is looking at February 18-20 due to the nation's election year and subsequent inauguration.
