Expands Recoverable Coal Reserves at Horizon Mine to 12.4 Million Tons Through Lease Modification and Revised Estimates at Existing Leasehold SALT LAKE CITY, April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Dan Baker, Chief Executive Officer of America West Resources, Inc. (OTC:AWSR) (BULLETIN BOARD: AWSR) , a domestic compliant coal producer with mining operations in Central Utah, today issued a formal corporate update to provide its stakeholders with greater insight into the Company's current operations and planned growth strategies. He stated: "Since successfully emerging from bankruptcy in December and completing a $5.2 million equity financing in January, America West has been squarely focused on executing a series of planned strategies designed to: -- overcome historical equipment challenges; -- materially increase monthly coal production from our Horizon Mine; -- continue to expand our base of recoverable coal reserves; and -- strengthen our operating platform through pronounced revenue growth, strong positive cash flow and sustainable profitability. "Despite our efforts to boost monthly production at Horizon in the Spring of 2009 we have encountered a series of unforeseen challenges, including artesian water in one section of the mine, unusual MSHA mandates, and equipment breakdowns. These challenges have compromised our ability to scale production on any consistent or meaningful basis. Over the last several months, we have averaged approximately 10,000 tons per month. However, it is our goal to ramp up to 40,000 tons by late 2009. We have ordered new equipment, which is expected to be delivered in May. Upon receipt of our new equipment, we plan to actively mine two sections simultaneously. Moreover, we also plan to lease and deploy a third continuous miner and other related equipment to allow us to operate as a three section mine - a key objective we plan to achieve yet this year. "In March 2009, we received an estimate from a third party engineering firm confirming that there were approximately 5.6 million tons of recoverable reserves in our Horizon Mine as of the end of 2008. This is up from an original estimate of 4.8 million tons, which was indicated in an earlier study conducted in 2007. The increase was largely due to an assumption in the prior year's engineering report that the main entry pillars would not be recovered. However, based on our current mining plan, these pillars are being recovered - a trend that we expect will continue. "I'm also very pleased to confirm that last month the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) granted America West a lease modification to access and lease reserves adjacent to the Horizon Mine. Based on our third party engineering report, this lease modification adds another 6.8 million tons in estimated recoverable reserves, increasing our reserve base to 12.4 million tons. Although we consider these reserves probable, estimates are subject to revision as actual mining activity reveals accurate information about coal seams, thickness, quality of coal and obstacles to mining, such as faults or rock intrusions into the seam. "Demand for our compliant steam coal remains at an all-time high from both existing and prospective customers, both in the U.S. and abroad. What's more, the current pricing environment favors revenue growth for our Company in the current year - even if our production levels remained unchanged. More specifically, in 2008 we sold our coal at an average price of $33 per ton. Currently, we are selling our coal at an average contracted price of $51 per ton, representing a 55% increase year-over-year. As we continue to increase our production, our costs to produce and deliver our coal to customers should continue to decline as a percentage of sales. "With a mission to become one of the nation's most prolific producers of clean coal, America West is seriously weighing the pros and cons of expanding our coal supply platform to provide for our own coal washing plant. We believe there exists an opportunity for us to acquire, wash and resell coal produced from other area mines. By blending this lower grade coal with our high quality, compliant steam coal, we can then command a higher resale value for the acquired coal. This potential new revenue channel - one that we are referring to as our "Green Coal" initiative - poses compelling growth opportunities for our Company and has earned our management team's interest and attention. As we progress through 2009 and further assess this opportunity, we look forward to sharing more details. "I am also very proud of the progress we've made over the past year in enhancing the safety of our miners. Thankfully, since 2005, our Horizon Mine has never had any mining fatalities and has had only one injury requiring hospitalization (dislocated shoulder). Nevertheless, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, our significant and substantial (S&S) violations incurred at Horizon in 2007 stood at 8.7 incidents per 200,000 hours worked in our mine. By comparison, the industry average is 4.74 incidents per 200,000 hours. (It is important to note that the citations we incurred in 2007 were largely attributable to cited roof falls in dormant excavation areas of our mine, where we had no active mining activity underway.) Through modifications to our roof support plan, advanced safety and emergency rescue training for our miners and improvements to our general mine development strategy, in 2008 we saw our S&S violation drop 73% to 2.33 incidents per 200,000 hours worked in our mine - less than half of the industry average. "2008 proved to be a year in which we overcame a number of daunting challenges to our very survival. 2009 will continue to be challenging, but we plan to stabilize our production and exploit prevailing growth opportunities. Our corporate goal remains building the Company to become a noted player in the global coal industry. With total recoverable reserves of 12.4 million tons of compliant coal at our Horizon Mine and 50 million tons of raw, recoverable metallurgical grade coal reserves in place on our Columbia leasehold, we have the opportunity to exploit strong, profitable growth over the next several decades - an opportunity we fully intent to optimize," concluded Baker. About America West Resources, Inc. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, America West Resources, Inc. is an established domestic coal producer focused on the mining of compliant (low-sulfur) coal and its sale primarily to U.S. utility companies for use in generating electricity. Since 2003, the Company has extracted over 1.4 million tons of coal from its owned and operated Horizon Coal Mine based in Central Utah. For more information, please visit http://www.americacoal.com/. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Please refer to the Company's Form 10-K and other filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") for additional information regarding risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed from time to time in such SEC reports. Copies of these filings are available through the SEC's electronic data gathering analysis and retrieval system (EDGAR) at http://www.sec.gov/. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: ELITE FINANCIAL COMMUNICATIONS GROUP Dodi B. Handy, President & CEO For Media Inquiries: Tiffany Korkis or Kathy Addison, Managing Directors of Elite Media Group 407-585-1080 or via email at DATASOURCE: America West Resources, Inc. CONTACT: Dodi B. Handy, President & CEO of Elite Financial Communications Group; or Media, Tiffany Korkis or Kathy Addison, Managing Directors of Elite Media Group, +1-407-585-1080, Web Site: http://www.americacoal.com/

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