St. Louis (May 4, 2005) - Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) today announced that Paul H. Vining has accepted the position of senior vice president of marketing and trading for the corporation, effective June 1. Vining will report to John W. Eaves, Arch's executive vice president and chief operating officer.

"We are pleased that Paul will be joining Arch Coal in this important capacity," Eaves said. "With his wealth of experience in coal sales, trading, transportation, contract administration and risk management, he is uniquely equipped to spearhead Arch's diverse and multi-regional marketing efforts. We look forward to his leadership as we seek to boost penetration of our ultra-low sulfur Western coals into Eastern power markets, while exploring value-creating opportunities for our Eastern coals through expanded participation in domestic and international metallurgical markets."

Vining will join Arch's senior officer team, which has responsibility for strategy development, policy formation and capital allocation. "We look forward to welcoming Paul to our senior team," said Steven F. Leer, Arch's president and chief executive officer. "Paul is a recognized leader in the coal industry and the ideal person to lead Arch's marketing function in today's fast-moving energy marketplace, where opportunities for value creation abound."

Since 2003, Vining has acted as president of a privately held coal trading, marketing and consulting company based in Williamsburg, Virginia. Prior to that time, he served as executive vice president for sales and trading at Peabody Energy from 1999 to 2002; president of Peabody Coaltrade from 1996 to 1999; and senior vice president of Peabody Coalsales from 1995 to 1996. Earlier in his career, he held leadership positions with Guasare Coal America, Agipcoal USA, Island Creek Coal and A.T. Massey Coal.

Vining has a B.S. in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, as well as a B.S. in Mineral Engineering and an M.S. in Extractive Metallurgy from Columbia University's Henry Krumb School of Mines in New York. He and his wife, Chris, will be relocating to the St. Louis area.

St. Louis-based 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 Coal provides the fuel for approximately 7% of the electricity generated in the United States.