Somerset, Colo., Aug. 21, 2013 - The Arch Coal Foundation will award Delta County teachers $10,000 in grants again this school year to support innovative teaching ideas. The announcement was made by Jim Miller, general manager of Mountain Coal Company's West Elk mine, who noted that this is the seventh year for the grants.

"Our unique program allows the professionalism and imagination of our Delta County teachers to enhance student learning," said Miller. "I'm always impressed with the quality of ideas from teachers in their grant applications. Since the Arch Coal Foundation began this program, students in many Delta County classrooms have benefitted from its successful teacher-generated ideas."

Eligible teachers, teaching teams and specialized education personnel in Delta County, including those who previously received grants, may apply each school year for one award of up to $500. Online application materials are posted at www.archcoal.com and completed grant requests will be due no later than Sept. 27. A panel of judges composed of Mountain Coal personnel, educators and community members will determine the grant recipients, who will then be notified in early October.

Last academic year, 24 grants were awarded to Delta County teachers to fund projects ranging from introducing students at Garnet Mesa Elementary to opera to conducting a writer's conference for Paonia High School students. Descriptions of five sample projects from last year will be featured on Arch Coal's website at www.archcoal.com/community/teachinggrants.aspx, along with many other innovative projects funded by grants in the past.

"Mountain Coal Company and the Arch Coal Foundation are pleased that we can continue offering these grants," Miller said. "We proudly support education and teaching excellence in the communities we call home."

Arch Coal's Mountain Coal Company and its West Elk mine are located in Somerset, Colo. About 350 people are employed at the mine. U.S.-based Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) is one of the world's top coal producers for the global steel and power generation industries, serving five continents. Its network of mining complexes is the most diversified in the United States, spanning every major coal basin in the nation. The company controls more than 5 billion tons of high-quality metallurgical and thermal coal reserves, with access to all major railroads, inland waterways and a growing number of seaborne trade channels. For more information, visit www.archcoal.com/.