Arch Resources announced that its Leer longwall mine in West Virginia has achieved Level A verification for all protocols comprising the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative. Leer is the first mine of any type to achieve and verify this performance level through TSM’s new subscription program, which allows any mine anywhere in the world to implement this globally recognized sustainability initiative for the mining industry.
“Arch views leadership in all aspects of sustainability — including mine safety, environmental stewardship, community outreach, inclusion, and integrity — as the bedrock of its corporate culture and the key to its long-term success,” said Paul Lang, president and CEO, Arch Resources. “On behalf of Arch’s board of directors and its entire senior officer team, I want to congratulate the Leer workforce for meeting the rigorous and comprehensive requirements of the Towards Sustainable Mining initiative and, in doing so, demonstrating yet again its deep and abiding commitment to the highest standards of sustainability.”
“Congratulations to Arch Resources’ Leer mine for this significant accomplishment,” said Pierre Gratton, CEO, Mining Association of Canada. “As TSM continues to drive performance in more and more jurisdictions around the world, it is heartening to see Arch leading the way in the U.S. This kind of achievement helps demonstrate to the world that mining is not only essential, but that it can be done responsibly.”
TSM provides a set of tools and indicators that drive performance and ensure that key mining risks are managed responsibly. TSM’s eight performance protocols center on indigenous and community relationships; crisis management and crisis planning; safety and health; prevention of child and forced labor; tailings management; biodiversity conservation management; water stewardship; and climate change.
Arch said it would pursue TSM verification at its other metallurgical coal mines starting in 2024 as it works to extend its sustainability leadership in the mining industry and to strengthen its position as a supplier of choice to an increasingly sustainability-focused global steel industry.
