St. Louis (July 31, 2002) - Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) announced today that C. Henry Besten has been promoted to the newly created position of senior vice president of strategic development. In this newly created position, Besten will lead the organization's permitting and post-mining development efforts, with a strong emphasis on identifying, initiating and implementing plans for economic development and community improvement projects on the company's post-mining lands in the eastern United States.

"We are pleased that Henry has accepted this highly strategic position," said Steven F. Leer, Arch Coal's president and chief executive officer. "As a responsible natural resources company, I believe that we have an obligation to ensure that our reclaimed lands serve a productive and beneficial use for the surrounding communities long after mining is complete. In this new role, Henry will be responsible for the company's efforts to initiate viable and sustainable economic development opportunities on our post-mining lands."

As part of this effort, Besten will work closely and cooperatively with a wide array of internal and external groups, including state and federal regulatory agencies, local development authorities, landowners and developers.

"While we have initiated many successful economic development projects on our reclaimed properties, the creation of this new position signals my strong belief that it is both good corporate citizenship and good business to expand and intensify our efforts in this arena," Leer said. "Henry will bring Arch's market-driven focus to our post-mining development efforts by integrating our permitting, mining and strategic development efforts into a single, market-based decision-making process."

Recent economic development projects on Arch's reclaimed lands include a new wood products firm on the border of West Virginia's Mingo and Logan counties that employs nearly 100 people and has plans to expand; a fish hatchery in Mingo County that makes use of the cold, pure waters of an Arch deep mine; the new Twisted Gun public golf course in southern West Virginia, the only 18-hole course in a three-county area; and an Australian pilot project that is seeking to convert coal to liquid fuels, the first clean coal technology testing facility of its kind in the United States.

Besten will continue to have responsibility for the company's information technology group and will also provide leadership and direction in special marketing projects. He joined one of Arch Coal's predecessor companies in 1972, and most recently served as vice president of strategic marketing.

Arch Coal is the nation's second largest coal producer, with subsidiary operations in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. Through these operations, Arch provides the fuel for approximately 6 percent of the electricity generated in the United States.