Alpha Natural Resources Affiliates Recognized for Safety Excellence

BRISTOL, Va., May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE:ANR), a leading U.S. coal supplier, is pleased to announce that several affiliates were recently recognized for safety achievements.

The awards were distributed at the 29th Annual Meeting of the West Virginia State Council of the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, W. Va.  The following Alpha-affiliated operations were recognized:

• Brooks Run Mining Company, LLC for its Cucumber underground mine;
• Highland Mining Company for its Freeze Fork surface mine;
• Elk Run Coal Company, Inc. for its Republic Energy surface mine; and
• Alex Energy, Inc. for the Marmet Dock.

The Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association was founded in 1916 to reduce accidents, fatalities and mining-related illnesses in the mining industry. The awards recognize operations that have achieved safety excellence.

"We are proud of our safety accomplishments and the hard work our employees do every day. Safety and Running Right are part of our Alpha culture. We empower employees to make safe choices. We are honored that several of our affiliated companies received the Holmes recognition and we continue our pursuit of continuous improvement in safety excellence," said John Gallick, Alpha's vice president, health and safety.

About Alpha Natural Resources

With $7.1 billion in total revenue in 2011, Alpha Natural Resources ranks as America's second-largest coal producer by revenue and third-largest by production. Alpha is the nation's largest supplier of metallurgical coal used in the steel-making process and is a major supplier of thermal coal to electric utilities and manufacturing industries. In 2011 the company had more than 200 customers on five continents. More information about Alpha can be found on the company's Web site at www.alphanr.com.  

SOURCE Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.