ST. LOUIS (March 17, 2006) – Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) today announced that the former Director of the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training for the state of West Virginia will join the company on March 20. Jack Douglas "Doug" Conaway will become Arch Coal's director of corporate safety, reporting to Anthony "Tony" Bumbico, who occupies the lead safety role at Arch Coal.

Conaway will be responsible for safety improvements and regulatory compliance initiatives. He will relocate to St. Louis.

"Working safely is a core value at Arch Coal," says Bumbico. "Doug is a great fit because he has built his career around mine safety, and we expect that his talent and passion will help take our safety programs to the next level."

For nearly 15 years, Conaway served in various capacities at West Virginia's Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training (MHST) and concurrently served as Chairman of the West Virginia Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety. As Director of MHST from 2001 to 2006, Conaway oversaw enforcement, training, certifications and investigations, as well as advised the Governor on safety-related issues. Prior to his appointment as Director, Conaway served as administrator of enforcement for MHST from 1991 to 2001.

Prior to joining MHST, Conaway served in a variety of mining positions with the Department of Energy, as well as Eastern Associated Coal Corporation.

Conaway received a bachelor of arts degree in education from Fairmont State College in 1980, a master of science degree in safety management from West Virginia University in 1982, and a master of science degree in occupational safety and health engineering from West Virginia University in 1989. Conaway is a Certified Mine Safety Professional.

St. Louis-based Arch Coal is the second largest coal producer in the United States. Arch Coal's 2005 lost-time safety incident rate of 0.88 per 200,000 hours was roughly four times better than the industry average of 3.49 as reported by the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Through its subsidiary operations in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia, Arch Coal provides the fuel for approximately 6% of the electricity generated in the United States.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," or "will." Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, particular uncertainties arise from changes in the demand for our coal by the domestic electric generation industry; from legislation and regulations relating to the Clean Air Act and other environmental initiatives; from operational, geological, permit, labor and weather-related factors; from fluctuations in the amount of cash we generate from operations; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.