Patriot Coal Signs Joint Venture Agreement to Develop Central Appalachian Coal Reserves

ST. LOUIS, April 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE:PCX) today announced that it has entered into a joint venture agreement to develop certain Patriot reserves in the Central Appalachian Kanawha River region. In accordance with the agreement, Patriot holds a 49% interest in the joint venture, will lease up to 25 million tons of undeveloped coal reserves to the joint venture, and will contribute a minimal amount of cash. The remaining 51% interest is held by a Charleston-area investor group.

The reserves are located in the vicinity of Slaughters Creek and Paint Creek, near the Kanawha River. The joint venture has made arrangements to purchase the Slaughters Creek preparation plant and associated infrastructure. It has also negotiated a throughput contract for the Chelyan Dock to transload coal from truck to barge. The joint venture is expected to reach an initial production level of at least 1.0 million tons per year.

"This further extends Patriot's strategy to form selective alliances that maximize the value and use of our resources," said Patriot President and Chief Executive Officer Richard M. Whiting. "We structured this transaction similar to our successful Kanawha Eagle project, and we expect the joint venture to efficiently develop and bring to market these strategically-located reserves."

About Patriot Coal

Patriot Coal Corporation (the "Company") is a leading producer and marketer of coal in the eastern United States, with ten company-operated mines and numerous contractor-operated mines in Appalachia and the Illinois Basin. The company ships to electric utilities, industrial users and metallurgical coal customers, and controls approximately 1.3 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves. The company's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PCX.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that may be beyond our control and may cause our actual future results to differ materially from expectations. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect our results include, but are not limited to: failure to obtain Company stockholder approval of the proposed issuance; failure to obtain, delays in obtaining or adverse conditions contained in any required regulatory or other approvals; availability and cost of financing; failure to consummate or delay in consummating the transaction for other reasons; changes in laws or regulations; changes in general economic conditions, including coal and power market conditions; the outcome of commercial negotiations involving sales contracts or other transactions; the Company's dependence on Peabody Energy Corporation in the near future; geologic, equipment and operational risks associated with mining; supplier and contract miner performance and the availability and cost of key equipment and commodities; the Company's ability to replace coal reserves; labor availability and relations; availability and costs of transportation; weather patterns affecting energy demand; legislative and regulatory developments; risks associated with environmental laws and compliance; the outcome of pending or future litigation; and the availability and costs of competing energy resources. The Company undertakes no obligation (and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those projected herein, please refer to the Company's Form 10-K and 8-K reports.

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Source: Patriot Coal Corporation

CONTACT: Janine Orf, +1-314-275-3680, for Patriot Coal Corporation

Web site: http://www.patriotcoal.com/

2008-04-24 18:17:16 0345035 PRNEWSWIRE