In the photo, accepting the 2019 and 2020 Sentinels of Safety award on behalf of Eagle Mine at the Mine Expo in Las Vegas are (left to right): Bill Zeidler (Eagle), Meagen Morrison (Eagle), Pat Jeske (Eagle), Robert Murphy (Cementation), Jeremy Francois (Eagle), Jeff Angel (Cementation), Matt Johnson (Eagle), Justin Hardy (VanDamme), Jim French (Lundin), Amanda Zeidler (Eagle).

CHAMPION — Eagle Mine has been awarded the Sentinel of Safety award for 2020 for the Small Underground Metal Group.

This is the second year in a row that Eagle has been recognized for its safety performance by the National Mining Association.

The award was first established in 1925 by President Herbert Hoover and seeks to recognize excellence in safety standards and accident prevention measures and is considered one of the premier safety awards for the mining sector.

“This is not an award won by one person or one department; this is an award that is earned by everyone working at Eagle Mine,” said Amanda Zeidler, Eagle Mine Health, Safety, and Environment Manager in a press release. “Achieving this award demonstrates our value of safety that we hold as our top priority in everything we do.”

The NMA’s Sentinels of Safety Award recognizes coal and mineral mining operations in 10 categories for recording the most hours in a calendar year without a single lost-time injury. A minimum of 4,000 hours is required for award consideration. The award categories reflect the safety accomplishments of both small and large mines. Forty American mining operations –12 coal mines and 28 mineral/metal mines — were honored with the award recognizing performance in 2019 and 2020.

“Mining by its nature can expose people to hazardous conditions, and we have to work tirelessly to identify and remove these hazards to stay safe,” said Darby Stacey, Eagle Mine Managing Director. I couldn’t be happier to have our teams recognized for their good decision-making and dedication to safety.”

Eagle Mine won the small group category “small underground metal” for 2019 and 2020.

Last year’s ceremony was postponed due to the pandemic. Winners were recognized at this year’s event at the Mine Expo in Las Vegas on Sept. 14.