Grundy, Va.; Charleston, W.Va.; and Latrobe, Pa.: The Metallurgical Coal Producers Association (MCPA) announced today that two of their member companies, Alpha Metallurgical Resources and MetInvest, received prestigious awards after participating in the 2022 National Mine Rescue Contest last week in Lexington, KY.
“I’m incredibly proud of our miners and their respective companies, but also not surprised by the outcome,” said Ben Beakes, president of the association. “Our members always put an emphasis on maintaining a safe work environment and on ensuring that their employees are properly trained to respond to an emergency at a moment’s notice, if needed.”
Taking first place and the national champion title in the Mine Rescue category was the Wellmore Coal Company (MetInvest). In the Technician Team category, Alpha Metallurgical Resources’ southern WV team claimed first place while their Paramont Team took third place. Alpha’s southern WV team also claimed second place in the First Aid category in the West Virginia-specific contest.
The 2022 National Mine Rescue, First Aid, Bench and Technician Team Contest was held in Lexington, Kentucky on August 8-11, 2022. The contest, sponsored and supported by the Holmes Mine Rescue Association, MSHA, and the various state mining agencies had over forty (40) coal mine rescue teams and over twenty-five (25) metal/nonmetal mine rescue teams from across the nation compete in various competitions. Mine rescue contests are designed to sharpen skills and test the knowledge of team members who would be called on to respond to a mine emergency. The contest requires team members to solve a hypothetical problem while being timed and observed by judges according to complex rules. Mine rescue contests and simulations are an essential part of the training process and ensure that teams receive hands-on exposure to a range of potential hazards and mine emergency scenarios.
MCPA represents over 6,500 coal miners at 63 mines in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. MCPA’s producing members mined over 29 million tons of metallurgical coal in 2021, or 46% of the nation’s total metallurgical coal production.
Comentarios