ST. LOUIS, April 2, 2012 -- Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) today announced that John Ziegler, Jr. has been named vice president of human resources, effective April 1. 

Ziegler will lead Arch's global human resources function, which includes responsibility for compensation, benefits, organizational development, labor relations, health and wellness, and staffing for a workforce of 7,400.  He will report to John W. Eaves, Arch's president and incoming chief executive officer.

"John is well-suited to lead our human resources function in a rapidly changing environment," said Eaves.  "As an accomplished and unifying leader with a deep understanding of our business objectives, John will be a great asset in helping guide our company forward."

Most recently, Ziegler served as president of Arch Coal Sales.  He joined Arch Coal in 2002 as director of internal audit and later served as vice president of marketing administration for Arch Coal Sales.  Prior to joining Arch Coal, Ziegler held various finance and accounting positions with bioMerieux and Ernst & Young.

Ziegler earned a bachelor of science degree in Accounting from St. Louis University in 1989.  He is a certified public accountant.

U.S.-based Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) is a top five global coal producer and marketer, with 155 million tons of coal sold in 2011.  Arch is the most diversified American coal company, with more than 20 active mining complexes across every major U.S. coal supply basin.  Its core business is supplying cleaner-burning, low-sulfur thermal and metallurgical coal to power generators and steel manufacturers on five continents.  In 2011, Arch continued to lead the U.S. coal industry in safety performance and environmental compliance among large, diversified producers.

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.  For a description of some of the risks and uncertainties that may affect our future results, you should see the risk factors described from time to time in the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.