ST. LOUIS, July 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Patriot Coal
Corporation (NYSE: PCX) today announced that Michael D. Day has been promoted to Senior Vice
President – Engineering & Surface Operations. In his
expanded role, Mr. Day will assume responsibility for the Company's
engineering, technical services, environmental and process
improvement functions. He will continue to report to Charles A. Ebetino, Jr., Senior Vice President
& Chief Operating Officer, and will continue to oversee
Patriot's surface mining operations in Central Appalachia.
"Mike will now be responsible for the Company's engineering
group, a critical component as we implement our multi-year
metallurgical coal expansion program. The engineering group
is responsible for services related to drilling and exploration,
mine planning, equipment selection, capital deployment, maintenance
and process improvement," said Ebetino. "Mike has done an
excellent job managing various operations and projects for Patriot,
including the start-up of our Winchester met coal mine and our Blue
Creek and Hill Fork thermal coal mines, as well as securing a major
follow-on permit for our Hobet mine in 2010. We look forward
to Mike's leadership and contributions as we continue our organic
growth plans, as well as achieve ongoing efficiencies and
improvements at our existing operations."
Newly reporting to Day will be Gerald R.
Swanson, Jr., Vice President – Engineering; John P. McHale, Vice President – Environmental
Services; and Jim R. Clendenen,
Director – Underground Equipment Resources.
As part of the management realignment, James N. Magro, Senior Vice President –
Underground Mining, will assume responsibility for the Blue Creek
and Campbell's Creek complexes.
Accordingly, Douglas R. Fala,
Operations Manager – Midland Trail Energy LLC will now report to
Magro.
Mr. Day has more than 20 years of mining experience and has held
various senior leadership positions in Operations, Engineering,
Process Improvement and Environmental Affairs. Day holds a
Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering from the
University of Kentucky.
About Patriot Coal
Patriot Coal Corporation is a leading producer and marketer of
coal in the eastern United States,
with 14 active mining complexes in Appalachia and the Illinois Basin. The Company ships to
domestic and international electricity generators, industrial users
and metallurgical coal customers, and controls approximately 1.9
billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves. The
Company's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under
the symbol PCX.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking as
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that
may be beyond our control and may cause our actual future results
to differ materially from expectations. We do not undertake
to update our forward-looking statements. Factors that could
affect our results include, but are not limited to: price
volatility and demand, particularly in higher margin products;
geologic, equipment and operational risks associated with mining;
changes in general economic conditions, including coal, power and
steel market conditions; coal mining laws and regulations; the
availability and costs of competing energy resources; legislative
and regulatory developments; risks associated with environmental
laws and compliance, including selenium-related matters;
developments in greenhouse gas emission regulation and treatment;
negotiation of labor contracts, labor availability and relations;
the outcome of pending or future litigation; changes in the costs
to provide healthcare to eligible active employees and certain
retirees under postretirement benefit obligations; increases to
contribution requirements to multi-employer retiree healthcare and
pension plans; reductions of purchases or deferral of shipments by
major customers; availability and costs of credit; customer
performance and credit risks; inflationary trends; worldwide
economic and political conditions; downturns in consumer and
company spending; supplier and contract miner performance and the
availability and cost of key equipment and commodities;
availability and costs of transportation; the Company's ability to
replace coal reserves; the outcome of commercial negotiations
involving sales contracts or other transactions; our ability to
respond to changing customer preferences; failure to comply with
debt covenants; the effects of mergers, acquisitions and
divestitures; and weather patterns affecting energy demand or
disrupting coal supply. The Company undertakes no obligation
(and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. For additional
information concerning factors that could cause actual results to
materially differ from those projected herein, please refer to the
Company's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q reports.
SOURCE Patriot Coal Corporation