Arch Coal Inc. is donating $300,000 to West Virginia University to fund the Arch Coal Inc. Endowment for Mine Health and Safety Research.

The funds, which will be managed by the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources’ Mining and Industrial Extension Department, will be used to conduct mine health and safety research with an emphasis on mine-level application. The gift is expected to qualify for a match from the state Research Trust Fund.

“We greatly appreciate the important work that WVU is doing to educate a new generation of talented engineers, particularly in the mining and industrial arenas,” said Steven F. Leer, chairman and chief executive officer of Arch Coal Inc. “We applaud the University’s efforts to develop a world-class applied coal mine health and safety research center.”

WVU’s Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies, located in the Mining and Industrial Extension unit, trained nearly 10,000 miners in 2010. The Academy offers a variety of courses, including certification courses for new miners and mine foremen, along with training in mine rescue, mine fire safety, and emergency preparedness.

“I want to thank the management and employees of Arch Coal for their generosity and support of our efforts to initiate an Applied Mine Health and Safety Research Center that will focus on industry-identified health and safety issues and emphasize research at the mine level,” said James Dean, director, Department of Mining and Industrial Extension. “We hope that other companies will follow their lead and support this initiative to improve mine health and safety into the future.”

“Since 1913, the Mining Extension program has been pursuing the betterment of the individual miner through a variety of training programs with an emphasis on health and safety,” said Gene Cilento, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. “Gifts, such as this from Arch Coal, allow us to not only continue our work to train the next generation of miners but also focus our research efforts on the issues that are of greatest importance to the industry.”

In 2008, the state created the RTF with an initial appropriation of $50 million to leverage public and private investments that will transform West Virginia’s economy. WVU is able to tap into the fund to double private gifts that support expansions to research faculty and infrastructure in key areas linked to economic development, healthcare and job growth. To date, private and state dollars combined for WVU total more than $43.74 million.

The gift was made through the WVU Foundation, a private, nonprofit corporation that generates, receives and administers private gifts for the benefit of WVU.

St. Louis-based Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) is a top five global coal producer and marketer, with mining complexes across every major U.S. coal supply basin. In 2010, Arch’s lost-time incident rate of 0.46 per 200,000 hours worked was one-fifth the national coal industry average of 2.52 per 200,000 hours worked. Arch’s enthusiasm for education is evident in the $2.8 million contributed by the corporation and its Foundation to schools and education-related programs in 2009 and 2010.

-WVU-

mcd/09/22/11

CONTACT: Mary C. Dillon; College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
304.293.4086; mary.dillon@mail.wvu.edu

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