Perfect 2001 Safety Record Earns Arch's Black Thunder Mine Top Industry Honors

ST. LOUIS, MO. (Sept. 19, 2002) - Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) David Lauriski today presented a prestigious Sentinels of Safety Award to Arch Coal's (NYSE: ACI) Black Thunder mine for achieving America's best surface mine safety record in 2001.

For last year's perfect safety record, Black Thunder mine of Wright, Wyo., was honored during an awards ceremony jointly sponsored by MSHA and the National Mining Association in Washington, D.C. Black Thunder employees worked 1.24 million hours in 2001 with no reported injuries.

"The employees at Black Thunder are to be commended for their tremendous accomplishments during 2001," said Steven F. Leer, president and CEO of Arch Coal. "They have demonstrated what can be achieved through a commitment to hard work, vigilance and a concern for one's fellow man. However, we are ever mindful that safety is a never-ending pursuit. The quest for continuous improvement must be a way of life at even the safest mines, and we must rededicate ourselves to the task at hand with each new day."

Black Thunder is the second largest surface mine in the U.S., and produces more than 60 million tons of coal per year. Black Thunder is part of Thunder Basin Coal complex, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arch Coal, Inc. Arch Coal is the nation's second largest coal producer and mines low-sulfur coal exclusively. Through its subsidiary operations in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, Arch provides the fuel for approximately 6 percent of the electricity generated in the United States.